How the Pew Can Help the Pulpit
Any church can have good preaching if they take care of their pastor and encourage him.
Sometimes pastors struggle in preaching because they don’t take their pulpit work seriously. Others struggle in preaching because they struggle alone. But good preaching is a partnership between pastor and congregation, pulpit and pew, the one who preaches and the one who listens. The pastor preaches to help those in the pew. But the congregation can and... Continue Reading
Pray for Success
The greatest success in this life is that our eyes would be opened to know Christ as He truly is according to His Word.
The Lord has given such spiritual success to some. Are we praying for this success in many more? Are we calling the world to faith in Christ with the expectation that the Lord will indeed bring success? May the Lord Jesus Christ grant success to His Word that the eyes of the blind might see... Continue Reading
God’s Providence Applied in Our Lives
Could it be that God’s providence arranged for you to come across this article so that you would be converted and follow Christ?
Christians should be eternal optimists. Heidelberg Catechism 28 says that the doctrine of providence encourages us to “place our firm trust in our faithful God and Father.” Literally, the Dutch reads, “have a good expectation.” Child of God, do you have a good expectation for your future? The hand of our Father rules the world,... Continue Reading
Proclaim, Promote, Protect!
Let us not give in to lies, even if very popular lies, but contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Contend wisely, contend with love, contend without malice, but contend earnestly with zeal, truth, and boldness that the weak might not be deceived and the deceivers might not be wise in their own conceit. The tried and true way to protect the faith is to know the faith. You will quickly stumble if you are... Continue Reading
The Lost We Love the Most: Evangelism to Friends and Family
What if the situation with our lost loved one is more dynamic than Satan would have us believe?
One of the reasons we feel stuck in our evangelism may be that we’ve wrongly narrowed down our task to sharing a message about how to be saved. That message is crucial and central, but if it’s all we have to share, and we’ve already shared it, and it’s already been rejected, we might feel... Continue Reading
Restricted Yet Advancing
Cancellations, altered plans, and even persecution can still yield a harvest of good for those who purpose their lives according to God’s will.
Typically a prisoner is the recipient of comfort and encouragement from those closest to him. Yet, Paul gave both to his brothers and sisters in Christ, as he was more concerned about the progression of the gospel than the trials of his own life circumstances. What an example! Unlike Paul, we often live in a very small world, reduced... Continue Reading
Church Small Talk Was More Important Than I Thought
We’re not best friends; we’re friends who talk at church. Except we don’t, anymore.
Sometimes in the church we are quick to emphasize the particularly intimate friendships that grow in small groups, mentoring relationships, or accountability partnerships. These are vital connections indeed. But it would be a mistake to also conclude that just because a relationship isn’t close it isn’t important. I have a friend at church whom... Continue Reading
Simeon and Anna’s Testimonies
Are we following the Jesus that Simeon and Anna worshiped or are we following the humanistic Jesus of the apostate compromised church?
We lament the sad state of affairs in the Church in our time as we should. However, we must remember that God is using this to reveal the authenticity of the faithful in contrast to the apostasy of the merely religious. That is why we must hang onto our Lord Jesus Christ in our faithfulness... Continue Reading
Progressive Ideology and the Hijacking of the Christian Faith
If progressive Christians are truly progressing toward God’s standard, then why do they continually support policy positions that are clearly contrary to His standard?
Who can be against freedom and choice? No one, unless you ask them to complete the sentence. Freedom to choose what, murder? Should we have the freedom to rape and choose slaves too? And why does a woman have the freedom to choose to kill her children, but not the freedom to choose where she... Continue Reading
Why Read Full-Length Historic Christian Biographies?
Acquiring a fuller historic understanding of the Church helps us to better understand and evaluate the Church today.
We’ll comprehend how we got to where we’re at. We’ll see that many of our current spiritual blessings and successes have come at least in part from the faithfulness and sacrifices of outstanding Christians who labored diligently and capably before us. We’ll be encouraged to see that we’ve learned from and overcome some of the... Continue Reading
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