Helping you grow in God's all-sufficient grace and truth
“Your testimonies also are my delight; they are my counselors.” – Psalm 119:24
Immediately following Adam’s and Eve’s choice to rebel against God’s singular command, the eyes that were blinded by Satan’s lies were opened (Genesis 3:7). Guilt was known. Shame was felt. They did what they could to hide their sin. And
Continue readingWhen Eve succumbed to the craftiness of the serpent, she gave in to all three major categories of temptation, as described in 1 John 2:16. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of
Continue readingHide, Replenish, and Go – “The Great Commission doesn’t just tell us what we will do. It also tells us what Jesus has already done. Scripture is not about you; it is about Jesus.” Eight Questions on Addictions for Pastors
Continue readingGenesis 3 opens with the presence of an evil serpent in the garden. He is “more crafty than any other beast of the field.” Sometime between God’s pronouncement of all creation as good, and the temptation of man, was the
Continue readingFive Reasons Many Pastors Struggle with Depression – “Too many pastors have been taught that depression is a mark of them being a failure in ministry.” Did You Know Charles Spurgeon Struggled with Depression? – “Spurgeon believed that God had
Continue readingThis week, another pastor and I were talking about the analogy of faith as a muscle that needs to be regularly exercised in order to grow. This is based upon the simple understanding that true faith is living faith, as
Continue readingAs the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have always lived in relationship, so we were created to live in relationship—first with God and then with others who are made in the image of God. In other words, when God created
Continue readingThinking theologically about disability is a massive need in today’s church. That’s one reason I’m thankful to the Lord for recently bringing the Beyond Suffering Bible onto my radar, and into my life and home. In addition to many “Connection
Continue readingHere are two videos that I encourage you to watch, and one article to read, this weekend. Biblical Counseling and Mental Illness – In their latest podcast, the Biblical Counseling Coalition graciously speaks to the issue of mental illness. Don’t
Continue readingYesterday morning, through my involvement in the training of another pastor who wants to be more effective in the personal ministry of the Word (counseling), I became aware of a wonderful sermon Ligon Duncan preached at Capitol Hills Baptist Church.
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The Bible begins with a dramatic display of the glory of God. The historical account of creation is nothing short of pure majesty. God is clearly the center. Genesis 1 describes the set which God builds to show the drama
Continue readingGospel ministry has been the main vocation of my life for over 25 years and expository preaching has been the main part of my calling. Therefore, I am continually blessed and challenged to read books that aim to help guys
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Imagine the Lord Jesus Christ is in attendance when we gather in our churches for worship. Imagine he listens to us sing and pray, and peers into our hearts. I wonder, would He find us prepared to take Communion? Or
Continue readingTrusting God is one of those challenges we as Christians talk about, but may not necessarily define. We encourage one another to “trust the Lord,” but we are not sure what it really means. We also tend to view it
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In the past few weeks, we visited the book of Philemon twice. There we learned of what true, gospel-motivated forgiveness looks like in both heart and actions. One of the actions we saw modeled by the apostle is restitution. Restitution
Continue readingIt’s a privilege to serve as the series editor for the LifeLine Mini-books from Shepherd Press. Todd Friel of Wretched Radio and TV recently gave this commendation: The Shepherd Press Help! series is the single most helpful counseling resource a
Continue readingAlthough in recent decades the biblical expectation of church discipline has fallen on hard times, there is a renewed understanding of its importance and practice among those whose desire for a faithful church is greater than their desire for a
Continue readingPreviously, we noted three reasons God gave us the book of Lamentations. First, to show us the awful reality of sin so that our hearts will long for reconciliation with God. Second, to remind us how much we need God’s
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By God’s grace, I’m a husband, dad, grandpa, and pastor at Cornerstone Community Church in Mayfield Hts, OH. I love Christ because He first loved me.
