How affliction works for our good (continued)

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is a continuation from last week’s selection from A Divine Cordial (currently in print under the title, All Things for Good), chapter 2: “The Worst Things Work for Good to the Godly.” (5). Afflictions work for good, as […]

Sermon: What Members Do

What Members Do 1 Peter 4:7-11 November 23, 2014 One hundred and two years ago, the Titanic sank quickly and unexpectedly in the Atlantic Ocean. But it took about nine decades to determine the reason why the Titanic sank: Recent in-depth research into the sinking of the Titanic has discovered that faulty rivets may have […]

You have one wish…

It’s your birthday. And positioned on the table in front of you is your celebration cake, loaded with far too much candlepower — bearing testimony to your advancing age. Your family and friends encourage you to “make a wish” before you have your lung capacity tested in the attempt to extinguish the dancing flames. What […]

How affliction works for our good

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from A Divine Cordial (currently in print under the title, All Things for Good), chapter 2: “The Worst Things Work for Good to the Godly.” As the hard frosts in winter bring on the flowers in […]

“I’m tired…”

Are you tired? Maybe this is why: I’m tired because I’m overworked. The population of this country is 237 million, and 104 million are retired. That leaves 133 million to do the work. There are 85 million in school, which leaves 48 million to do the work. Of this, there are 29 million employed by […]

BCDC Update

This past weekend our church hosted the final weekend of our annual Biblical Counseling and Discipleship Conference. The audio from the first two weekends is already posted (track 1 | track 2) and the audio from this past weekend should be posted soon. Additionally, you can find my power points from my sessions in track […]

BCDC weekend 3 notes

The following documents contain the Power Point slides I used in my presentations in this weekend’s Biblical Counseling and Discipleship Conference (track 2). These notes cover the questions on pneumatology and several counseling questions on the ACBC certification exam. Session 1 — Pneumatology 1 & 2 Session 2 — Pneumatology 3 and Counseling 20 Session […]

Hungry?

In his book Finding God in Unexpected Places, Philip Yancey recounts the story of some early Spanish sailors who reached the continent of South America after an arduous voyage. “The caravel sailed into the headwaters of the Amazon, an expanse of water so wide the sailors presumed it to be a continuation of the Atlantic […]

No ordinary man

Most of us are pretty ordinary people. Perhaps we have some influence in our particular circle of relationships, but the breadth and depth of influence for the majority of us is neither significantly deep or wide. And that is true of most individuals mentioned in Scripture as well. Sure, we know the stories of Abraham […]

Tozer’s Attributes of God audio book — for free

This month’s free book from Christian Audio is A. W. Tozer’s classic, The Attributes of God. This is an excellent book and worth the investment of your time to listen to it. Free Download.

It’s Reformation Day — lots of treats and no “tricks”

Today is what is commonly known as “Reformation Day,” the 497th anniversary of the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the Wittenburg Church. Those brief theses were written in the manner of the day as topics for debate; Luther saw a great many failures and unbiblical works in the […]

Give thanks — even when fearful of Ebola

First Thessalonians 5:18 is a verse that often comes to mind when I am wrestling with discontentment and disappointment. I want something that I didn’t receive or have something that is taken away. And sometimes I am fearful or anxious of something that might happen. The question in all these circumstances is, “can I give […]

BCDC Weekend 2 notes

The following documents contain the Power Point slides I used in my presentation in this weekend’s Biblical Counseling and Discipleship Conference (track 2). These presentations covered three areas of theology to help participants prepare for the ACBC exam for certification. Anthropology Questions 1 & 2 Counseling Questions 16 & 17 (Anger & various homework) Counseling […]

Church membership — it’s more than a nametag

After this morning’s sermon on church membership, someone shook my hand and quipped, “so I guess [church membership] is more than wearing a name tag.” Yes, it is indeed. My friend was obviously being facetious. Yet his point was obvious. Church membership is a priority for every believer, and being a church member has implications […]

Sermon: A Biblical Perspective on Church Membership

A Biblical Perspective on Church Membership Selected Scriptures October 19, 2014 A few days ago, I went though a file in one of my cabinets and I found an old copy of the “Grace Bible Church Membership Qualification Examination.” As I read it, I thought, “maybe this is why some people have delayed joining GBC…” […]