Problems, Pain, and Perseverance
Introduction Do you ever get tired in your spiritual life? Sometimes we can be prone to weariness in serving God or doing what’s right. Life can be difficult, and the burdens of this world can wear upon our souls. But Galatians 6:9 reminds us: “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time […]
Book Review–The Doctrine and Administration of the Church
The Doctrine and Administration of The Church Book Review Recently I read the book The Doctrine and Administration of the Church by Paul R. Jackson. While I had never heard of this book previously, it was recommended to me as a standard text on the topic of church polity. Therefore, I decided to read through […]
Spiritual Barrenness
Introduction We are at the time of year when our Minnesota landscape begins to change. Plants lose their color, grass ceases to grow, and in keeping with the name of the season–fall, leaves float to the ground from their location on tree branches. In many senses, our countryside is beginning to look barren. Soon the […]
Ministry Faithfulness
Introduction I have been thinking about finishing well. As I study through the end of II Timothy and prepare for closing out my current sermon series on this book, I am struck at Paul’s faithfulness. Even throughout his last days, he never stopped ministering. In II Timothy 4, while sitting in prison, the Apostle Paul […]
Nuggets And Nuances–Luke 10:38-42
Introduction Recently I preached on the account of Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38-42. As I prepared for this text, I did what I always do whenever I can—I translated the text from Greek to English, noting the main verbs, participles, infinitives, and a few lesser significant parts of speech. My goal in this was […]
Gospel Definitions
Introduction The term “Gospel” is one of those words you hear a lot around churches, especially our church! But what does it mean? Oftentimes we use these words—you could call them “church words”, and people who have spent time in churches know what they mean, but if you have not spent a lot of time […]
On Plagarism In The Pulipit–Part 3
Introduction We have come a long way since the start of this short series addressing plagiarism in preaching. We began in article one by acknowledging the issue and giving some caveats when it comes to plagiarism in the pulpit—namely that preaching is a unique medium of communication which does not fit into the typical model […]
Praying for Saturation
Introduction I am praying for saturation this weekend! Let me explain what I mean. God has been giving us some much needed rain here in southern Minnesota. As I sit in my office today and watch the rain fall I can not help but remember the Scripture passage in which God describes His Word as rain that […]
Real Life Discipleship–Part 10
Introduction We are continuing our talk about discipleship. I hope you have been able to put some of what we have discussed into practice! Today I would like to talk about the importance of focusing on the Spirit over our skill in discipleship. A lot of emphasis is given to a disciple maker’s skills. Certainly, we do need to have some […]
