A testimony for biblical counseling

Jenn Chen tells her story of movement from one trained as a psychological counselor to embracing biblical counseling. She says, “Biblical counseling is applied theology.” And, “I’ve learned the things in biblical counseling that I thought I was going to seminary for…”

Good reads from 2013

As I evaluated my reading habits at the end of last year, I began to recognize a diminishing ability to give sustained attention to the longer and more involved discourses and arguments contained in books. So one of my goals this year was to read more books. Cover to cover. I set a specific goal […]

MacArthur Study Bibles for Kindle

Amazon is currently offering three versions of the John MacArthur Study Bible for $4.99. This is an excellent deal, so take advantage of it now, if you have a Kindle reader. The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV Holy Bible – ESV MacArthur Study Bible The MacArthur Study Bible, NIV (Signature)

Christmas Eve: The Indescribable Gift

The Indescribable Gift 2 Corinthians 9:15 December 24, 2013 It was the Christmas that almost wasn’t for me. I think I was about 8- or 10-years-old. I didn’t almost miss Christmas because I overslept or was out of the country. It was because I made a tactical error. In my recollection, in those years my […]

Sermon: What’s in a Name?

What’s in a Name Selected Scriptures from Mt. 1-2; Luke 1-2 December 22, 2013 When Raye Jeanne was pregnant with the girls, we spent many hours reading names back and forth to one another, trying to come up with something that we thought sounded right and would be fitting for our unknown child. At the […]

Reading Zechariah

This week we’ve been reading Zechariah in our Old Testament reading plan. Are you confused about this book of visions? One of the dominant emphases of the book is the revelation of the Messiah. The concept of the Messiah is extremely prominent in this book. No other Old Testament book seemingly is so filled with […]

2014 Bible reading plans

For a number of years, our church has followed a “Through the Bible” annual Bible reading plan. Then two years ago, we created a “Through the New Testament” Bible reading plan that read the NT chronologically, as well as the Psalms (to read on Sundays). The intent with this plan was to encourage those who […]

The gospel message

Two weeks ago we were going to have an outreach meal at the church. As part of that event, we were going to show a video presentation of the gospel as a stimulant to conversation around the dinner table. Because of the ice storm, we canceled the meal, but the video was still made. I […]

What the Messiah does

This is our Savior who in the fullness of time appeared to accomplish the redemption and salvation of mankind.

Sermon: Sin, Righteousness, and the Believer (Pt. 2)

Sin, Righteousness, and the Believer (Pt. 2) 1 John 3:4-10 December 15, 2013 The story is told about Calvin Coolidge — nicknamed “Silent Cal” for his reticence to talk — that after returning to the White House from attending worship one Sunday morning he was asked by his wife Grace about the sermon. “It was […]

Christmas in Dark Places

[HT: Challies]

Book Summary: The Practice of Godliness

Jerry Bridges has been one of the most influential writers on the topic of sanctification in this last generation. Here is a summary of one of his most-read books, The Practice of Godliness: CHAPTER 1 — VALUE FOR ALL THINGS (1 Tim. 4:8) • Devotion in Action: Enoch (Gen. 5:21-24) • Focused on God — […]

Daniel’s 70 weeks

As a young man, Daniel was taken captive by Babylon in 605 B.C. There he served under several rulers and two empires (the Babylonian and the Medo-Persian). Near the end of his life, while reading the book of Jeremiah (9:2; cf. Jer. 25:11-12), Daniel realized that the promise of 70 years of judgment under the […]

Daniel’s visions

In Daniel’s prophecy, he received a number of visions relating to future empires and their relationship with Israel. Here is a simple chart to overview and explain these visions:

Some lessons in God’s story of Nebuchadnezzar

The story about Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4) is remarkable — not only for the bizarre events that Nebuchadnezzar endured, but also the interpretation of his dream by Danie and the response of Nebuchadnezzar after the dream (vv. 34-37). Yet whatever else we learn about Nebuchadnezzar in this story, the story is not ultimately about him. The […]