The talk about the law has been more technical than some might prefer (just one more week). But there are real-life practical applications. One of those is how we approach the 10 Commandments. Some Christians obey them because they believe these commandments are the summation of God’s moral law. Others, like me and maybe some of you, look at them and see the consistency of God’s moral character de...  Read More

Just for fun on this Friday, I wanted to share 3 videos from 2 renowned Bible scholars, each answering questions about a Christian’s relationship to the Mosaic Law.  <iframe width="612" height="282" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yLW7x8kR_Lw" title="Don Carson on the Relationship between Old Testament Law and New Testament Ethics" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write...  Read More

As the New Covenant people, all of Scripture is Christian Scripture. We don’t read the Old Testament and apply it as if it is our covenant law or as if the prophets are speaking directly for us. I shared this quote on Sunday, but it bears repeating,“We access and apply Moses’ law only through Christ and in view of the Apostles’ teaching, which together ground and sustain the church.” - Jason Derou...  Read More

I would have loved to tease this out even further on Sunday morning. But time didn't allow it. So, let's take some time now here to see Jesus' covenant fulfillment and His I AM statements in a bit more detail.In John's Gospel record, Jesus' "I AM" statements teach us something about Him. They help us to see Him in light of the Gospel work He has come to accomplish, but they also help us to see how...  Read More

I started as an accidental Dispensationalist. I didn't even really know what it meant, nor did I understand that it was an overarching view that informed how I approached the Bible when I finally began to read it. I would have classified myself as a Dispe simply because of my view of the end times (rapture, seven-year tribulation, etc.). But, I hadn't come to those through a study of the Bible but...  Read More

We often speak of God's work in our world according to the conditions, or lack of conditions, surrounding that work. For example, we often say God's love or grace is unconditional. We can do nothing to earn either of them. Because of God's grace in Christ, we can do nothing to cause Him to love us more, nor can we do anything to cause Him to love us less.While it might be helpful in some limited w...  Read More

As we work our way through God’s covenants with people, there are certain aspects of these covenants that I can’t possibly do justice to on Sunday morning. But, in the same way, I provided some additional notes while we were working through the creation account I will do that here also.In our study of God’s covenant with Abraham this week, I highlighted that the Scripture speaks of the “offspring”...  Read More

<iframe width="612" height="282" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xbgBvBuSFqw" title="Where Do We Go From Here?" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>Sermons can be powerful and emotional at the moment they are preached. But their effect...  Read More

<iframe width="612" height="282" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/13lsEcOAYJs" title="Preach the Word" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>2 Timothy 4:1-3 (ESV)1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge t...  Read More

If the average church worship gathering lasts 90 minutes (that’s actually on the long side) that translates to less than 1% of our time each week. Assuming we never miss a week over the course of a year, we will have spent 78 hours of our 8,760 hours worshipping together with other Christians. Of course, this doesn’t account for other weekly Bible studies or missional projects that for which we ga...  Read More

Ephesians 5:18-19 (ESV)  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing andmaking melody to the Lord with your heart,Something special happens when we sing in worship together, maybe even more special than any other moment we share as Christians. Maybe that’s why God reserved more pages i...  Read More

Click here if you prefer to watch/listen.To this point, our focus has been directed to those moments of the Sunday morning worship gathering before the service begins. Hopefully, you have sensed how important it is that we each strive to be very intentional in coming to church with as much to give in love, hospitality and service towards others as we are looking to receive as we gather. But as imp...  Read More