Titus–Book Overview
INTRODUCTION Certain things in the world have this power or ability to affect how we live and act. One thing I’ve noticed
Pastoral Reflections on Life and Ministry
INTRODUCTION Certain things in the world have this power or ability to affect how we live and act. One thing I’ve noticed
Introduction We all have things that matter to us. And certain things matter to some people more than others. For some people,
Introduction What would you do for your family? Let me flip the question around—what wouldn’t you do for your family? We all
Introduction Perhaps you’ve heard the humorous song entitled “Excuses” sung by the Southern Gospel quartet The Kingsmen. The song tells the story
Introduction Are you a “people person?” There really are two types of people in the world—those who are people-people, and those who
Introduction One of Aesop’s fables tells the story of a donkey. As the donkey was wondering about he came upon a lion
INTRODUCTION I don’t know if you have a lot of kids toys at your home, but we do. And one of the
Introduction I don’t know if you’ve ever gone on an adventure. We like to go on adventures in our home. Many adventures
INTRODUCTION I’d like to talk about something that I would guess every single one of us did before coming to church this
INTRODUCTION Are you a control freak? Do you like to be in control? You plan and over plan and have every little
INTRODUCTION Have you ever underestimated your own strength? Maybe you thought you could do something but you really couldn’t? This becomes
Preaching: A Simple Approach to the Sacred Task. Daniel Overdorf. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregal, 2022. 240 pages. Print, $17.80. Summary Given the
INTRODUCTION There’s a difference between those who sit on the sidelines, and those who play in the game. Some people get involved
INTRODUCTION Nearly everyone, if asked to be truly honest, would admit that they have regrets. Certain things we have done or said
INTRODUCTION His sin is perhaps one of the most well-known sins of all those who follow God. This man in leadership gave
INTRODUCTION Have you ever met someone who was well-known? Perhaps someone who did something spectacular that few people ever do? I’ve had
INTRODUCTION Have you ever allowed your feelings to control you? I know I have! Sometimes our feelings can be so strong and
Church Revitalization: A Pastoral Guide to Church Renewal. Russel Small. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregal Ministry, 2023. 232 Pages. Print, $23.99. Summary Church
INTRODUCTION He was only 15 years old when he staged his first con. Frank Abagnale, one of the greatest con men to
INTRODUCTION Have you ever traveled internationally? If you travel to other countries, it’s important to understand the currency. You want to make
Dispensational Hermeneutics: Interpretation Principles that Guide Dispensationalism’s Understanding of the Bible’s Storyline. Michael J. Vlach. Columbus, SC: Theological Studies Press, 2023. 111
Introduction Have you ever needed to detox? There are all kinds of ways that people detox, but it’s become popular today for
Introduction Pain has a way of sobering us, doesn’t it? Life can be going smoothly and well and all of a sudden
INTRODUCTION My wife and I used to enjoy watching HGTV. We love to watch the decorating and design shows and how they
Introduction Recently I wrote an article reflecting on orphan care and some of the realities of families that minister to children who
Introduction Our current time period is a very difficult one in which to pastor a church. Pastoral tenures are becoming shorter and
Introduction I have been pondering the concept of gratitude. At certain times, gratitude seems easy. At other times, one must fight for
Introduction Last Sunday our church celebrated “Orphan Sunday.” Every year, our church sets aside time to pray for and remember those who
Introduction I recently had the opportunity to preach from Luke 8:40-56 (yet again), the story of Jairus and his daughter. I do
Introduction I have pushed off writing for several weeks now but would like to finish a series of three articles I began
Introduction I have been writing about the idea of teaching. I opened the discussion by emphasizing how many preachers, in their zeal
Introduction I do not mean that pastors need to be the sole teachers of the church who teach on Sunday morning, Sunday
Introduction I have been pondering this article: Five Reasons Some Pastors Regret Quitting Their Churches. I have been thinking if I should
Introduction As a young man, I particularly enjoyed watching western movies. My favorite star, of course, was John Wayne. Wayne had a
Introduction Recently I had the opportunity to preach for a second time on the story of Jairus and his daughter. The account
Introduction We have come a long way over the past few months. We started eight weeks ago, with an introduction to the
Introduction We are continuing our series on paradigm shifts for the church. We began several weeks ago with an overview of eight
Introduction Our discussion over the past several weeks has been over paradigm shifts for churches. We have been discussing how churches can
Introduction We have been discussing paradigm shifts for church ministry. You can go here to see the first article in the series,
Introduction We are continuing in our series on the topic of paradigm shifts for churches in 2022 and beyond. You can go
Introduction As we continue our discussion on changes in church culture, another crucial paradigm shift for churches to thrive is a shift
Introduction We have been discussing shifts that need to take place for churches to move forward in the next year and beyond.
Introduction If you have read the introduction to this article series, you know that in that first article we highlighted eight different
Introduction The time we live in—this current period in church history, is a difficult one. This episode has been dubbed by several
Introduction Do you ever get tired in your spiritual life? Sometimes we can be prone to weariness in serving God or doing
The Doctrine and Administration of The Church Book Review Recently I read the book The Doctrine and Administration of the Church by
Introduction We are at the time of year when our Minnesota landscape begins to change. Plants lose their color, grass ceases to
Introduction I have been thinking about finishing well. As I study through the end of II Timothy and prepare for closing out
Introduction In the contemporary Christian world, there has been a lot of “hype” recently about goals. Believers are encouraged today to follow
Introduction I was thinking of the Old Testament narrative of Ruth this morning. Ruth is such a wonderful account of God’s grace
Introduction Recently I preached on the account of Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38-42. As I prepared for this text, I did
Introduction Do you like stories? I love stories! I prefer mostly adventure novels or mysteries, but who does not like a good
Introduction The term “Gospel” is one of those words you hear a lot around churches, especially our church! But what does it
Introduction Recently our church parking lot received a new top seal coat. I am always amazed at how nice a new coat
Introduction When interpreting the Word of God, great care needs to be taken to understand words. If we as interpreters believe in
Introduction We have come a long way since the start of this short series addressing plagiarism in preaching. We began in article
Introduction I am praying for saturation this weekend! Let me explain what I mean. God has been giving us some much needed rain here
Introduction We are continuing our talk about discipleship. I hope you have been able to put some of what we have discussed
Intoduction One important aspect of discipleship that is not spoken of enough is the role of a “disciple maker.” If you are
Introduction We are continuing our discussion on discipleship. We have been talking about various ways that we can be involved in discipleship.
Introduction In part one of this article I acknowledged the issue of plagiarism in the pulpit and how that it has recently
This issue is not new, though it has erupted again: plagiarism in the pulpit. Some of the most recent situations have involved
Introduction Can you be a Christian without being a disciple? A lot of discussion exists on this topic today. The thought is common in our world today
A Vital Question Can you be a Christian without being a disciple? A lot of discussion exists on this topic today. The
Context, Context, Context I remember very vividly my hermeneutics professor in Bible college. One thing he used to tell us in almost every
Quality Or Quantity As we continue to think about discipleship, I would like to think about the importance of quality time. When
Where We Are Heading We have been talking about discipleship in these articles, and I have been attempting to help us all
A Crucial Question When talking about discipleship, a question that must be answered early on is “what is a disciple?” Many different
Review Last week I wrote about some misconceptions relating to discipleship. I noted how often believers focus on being a disciple without really making a disciple. This is
Introduction I have been thinking about discipleship. Discipleship is a word that we hear a lot in “church circles”. Sad to say,
A Brief Summary We have spent the past two months in our Friday updates looking at the life and example of Nehemiah.
Where We’ve Been We are nearing the end of our evaluation of leadership lessons from the life of Nehemiah. We have seen
A Study In Context Though this series is generally dedicated to dealing with exegetical nuances based on language and words, this time
Cathching Up We have been walking through excerpts from the book of Nehemiah and making observations regarding lessons in leadership from his example.
Where We Have Been I have been sharing with you my own personal method for exegesis. I have noted how that my
Leader’s Lead A pastor friend of mine, one who has been a mentor to me in my own ministry, has told me
Where We Left Off In my last post, which was an “introduction” to this series, which I’ve called “nuggets and nuances”, I
Introduction For a while now I have been meaning to start a blog series entitled “nuggets and nuances”. In fact, the very
I have many different directions I could go for a post on Mother’s Day. I have a mother, a mother-in-law, my wife
I like Mother’s Day. This time is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the impact that moms across the world have made on
An Honest Prayer As we continue our study in the beginning of the book of Nehemiah we come to Nehemiah’s prayer. What
Introduction From time to time on this blog I will feature articles under the label of “what they did not teach you
Introduction to the “good news” The term “gospel” is a common word in church circles. Sad to say, many people—even “church people”,
Romans 15:4 reminds us: For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the
As we continue our journey through the life of Nehemiah, we have noted how he led the people in the vital task of supporting the remnant in Jerusalem and rebuilding the walls. I
We’ve been talking about the story of Nehemiah and have been using this excerpt from the Biblical text as a model to
Last week I mentioned how I’ve been thinking about the book of Nehemiah. In order for churches to move forward after the
I’ve been meditating on the story of Nehemiah–specifically the first two chapters of the book titled with his name. I’ve been thinking about
Good Friday. Have you ever wondered how the Friday before Easter got the name good? What is good about the crucifixion of God’s own Son? Why not “sad”
Hey there, I’m Jared! I’m just an ordinary guy living in Minnesota. I’m the husband to a wonderful woman named Emily and a dad to four energetic and enthusiastic boys. I have had the privilege of serving as a pastor in several Minnesota churches, and currently serve as the director of communications at Central Baptist Theological Seminary.
