Best books of the year (so far)

This has been a good book reading year for me; so far I am significantly ahead of my goal for the number of books I would read this year (and I’ve already read more than I did all last year), so I thought that at the mid-year point, it might be good to reflect on […]

A few thoughts about the Bible, homosexuality, and SCOTUS

We are now about 10 days past the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States preventing states from denying marriage licenses for homosexuals. The decision may be final, but the discussion about it is not. Because this topic includes both politics and faith, virtually everyone has an opinion on the topic. And because […]

What should we think about the Supreme Court ruling?

The ruling by the Supreme Court last week about same sex marriage has produced much conversation both in the secular press and among believers. Because of the variety of viewpoints, you may be confused about all the things you should be thinking about in relation to that ruling. So below are a list of a […]

Enjoy the chief good of Heaven

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from A Body of Divinity. Let it be the chief end of our living to enjoy this chief good hereafter [in Heaven]. Augustine reckons up 288 opinions among philosophers about happiness, but all were short […]

If I’m not praying

What do you do if you aren’t praying? How do you stimulate yourself to pray when you are disinclined to pray and don’t pray? Everyone battles the temptation not to pray. The flesh resists prayer, no matter how much we say we want to pray (which is why Jesus told the disciples to keep watching […]

What to pray for one another

In one of the shortest verses of the Bible, believers are instructed to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). The believer is not only to pray regularly and habitually, but prayer is to constantly be at the forefront of his mind. He is to be always ready for communication with His Lord and Master. And […]

Sermon: A Life of Prayer, Pt. 2

“Caring for One Another: A Life of Prayer” (Pt. 2) Romans 1:8-10 June 28, 2015 Loneliness is an age-old problem, and in Japan one restaurant has come up with a novel solution. The owners of Tokyo’s Moomin House Café observed many customers who came alone and sat alone. So they set about to cultivate a […]

GBC will begin live streaming Sunday

This Sunday GBC will begin live streaming the morning worship service, and all teaching events hosted in the church sanctuary (including BCDC this fall). You may access the worship service here, or click the link “Live Stream” on the left-hand menu on the GBC main page. On that page, you will also find a link […]

Pray for us

Three times New Testament writers ask their readers to pray for them: Brethren, pray for us. (1 Thess. 5:25) Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you. (2 Thess. 3:1) Pray for us, for we are sure that we […]

Counterfeit Repentance

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from The Doctrine of Repentance. To discover what true repentance is, I shall first show what it is not. There are several deceits of repentance which might occasion that saying of Augustine that ‘repentance damns […]

Sermon: A Life of Prayer

“Caring for One Another: A Life of Prayer” Romans 1:8-10 June 21, 2015 Speaker Robert Henry went to a large discount department store a number of years ago in search of a pair of binoculars. Charles Swindoll tells the story: As he walked up to the appropriate counter he noticed that he was the only […]

Grace and peace

Grace and peace. Two nouns, both very common. They are common in the culture of the world and they are even more common in biblical and church culture. They are one-syllable words with relatively simple and concise meanings. Grace is undeserved favor and peace is the absence of conflict and the presence of blessing. And […]

What is enjoying God forever?

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from A Body of Divinity. …what is enjoying God for ever but to be put in a state of happiness? As the body cannot have life but by having communion with the soul, so the […]

Sermon: Paul, God, and the Gospel (Pt. 4)

“Paul, God, and the Gospel” Pt. 4 Romans 1:1-7 June 14, 2015 A couple of years ago, Business Insider reported the following story: In 1962, a man named George Walton wanted to find out what his 1913 Liberty Head nickel coin was worth. But on his way to the coin show, his car crashed and […]

The evil of temptation is overruled for good to the godly (part 2)

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from All Things for Good, and continued from last week. (3) These temptations are overruled for good to the children of God. A tree that is shaken by the wind is more settled and rooted; […]