Worth Reading

Ruth 3

Do you come to our gathered worship service expecting God to speak to you through his Word? We encourage you to prayerfully read through the passage that will be preached prior to the service to help you prepare.

Canonicity: Why These 66 Books?

Have you ever looked at your Bible and wondered, “How do we know that these 66 books, and no others, comprise the inspired Word of God?” That is a critically important question, since there are many today who would deny that these 66 books truly make up the complete canon of Scripture.

So, how do we know that “all Scripture” consists of these 66 books? How do we know that the Bible we hold in our hands is the complete Word of God?

… in this article, I would like to offer a simple answer that I hope will be helpful – because it gets to the heart of the whole matter.

It is this:

We believe in the 39 books of the Old Testament, because the Lord Jesus Christ affirmed the Old Testament. And we believe in the 27 books of the New Testament, because the Lord Jesus Christ authorized His apostles to write the New Testament.

Five Reasons You Need the Westminster Shorter Catechism

My first encounter with the Westminster Shorter Catechism was in a church membership class. I was 18 years old and had recently become a Christian. While I told the pastor I found reading it helpful, I didn’t imagine using it much afterward.

How wrong I was! Thirteen years later, I continually find the Shorter Catechism helpful in my Christian walk and ministry.

Here are five reasons I consider this catechism worth engaging today.

What to remember when prayer feels like a chore

As Jesus’ story of the forgiven runaway son shows, that mercy has made us children of our heavenly Father, created to live in a close, warm relationship with him, as part of his family, with all the protection, provision and privileges which that entails. Remembering the kind of Father we can come to will draw us to real prayer.

Worth Reading

Ruth 2

Do you come to our gathered worship service expecting God to speak to you through his Word? We encourage you to prayerfully read through the passage that will be preached prior to the service to help you prepare.

The Ministry of the Pew

A great follow up on last week’s point from Ruth’s commitment: Your people shall be my people. Practical ideas for us as a young church learning to Love People.

Ray’s advice was based on a particular view of church. He saw church as a place where Christians go to work. Church is a gathering of God’s people to hear his word and respond in faith and obedience. In this gathering, we are in fellowship with each other, through the blood of Jesus, and, because of our fellowship, we seek to serve each other. We use our gifts and abilities to strengthen one another and build Christ’s Church—‘edification’ is the word often used to describe what goes on in church. All believers are involved in building the church, not just clergy or preachers. The New Testament consistently teaches that in the growth of the body of Christ each part must do its work (see Eph 4; 1 Cor 12-14). Because of this, we aren’t to see ourselves merely as part of an organization called [Proclamation Church], but as servants of God’s people, eager to meet the needs of others even if it means sacrificing our own.

GLADYS AYLWARD – TOUCHING WITH GOD’S LOVE

Take a moment to read this true story recounting the wondrous deeds of the Lord:

Gladys Aylward (1902-1970), a plucky British missionary to China, was once led of the Lord to minister for several months in China’s second largest prison. At the same time, she was ministering at a nearby leper colony, and the Christians there earnestly prayed for her prison ministry.

In Community Group with David Foster Wallace

Reflecting on Wallace’s depiction of community, I couldn’t help but think: Wouldn’t this be a great kind of church, a great community? One filled with listeners who identified your pain as part of their own. One of such un-pretense that even the most bottomless confession is received with grace by people who all count themselves as the chief of sinners. One of such consistency that the members live life together instead of merely gathering when they feel like they need it and scattering until their next crisis.

Worth Reading

Ruth 1:1-6

Do you come to our gathered worship service expecting God to speak to you through his Word? We encourage you to prayerfully read through the passage that will be preached prior to the service to help you prepare.

Christ Descended into Hell: No Hope without It

Of the twelve affirmations that constitute the Apostles' Creed -- perhaps the most regularly recited statement of basic Christian doctrine in the western Church of the last 1500 years -- none has caused greater uncertainty and debate over the centuries than that declaring that Jesus Christ "descended into hell."

Followed By The God of Grace

It was early in my junior year at Virginia Tech—and I felt like everywhere I turned, God was following me around…

Do not underestimate how important it is to always be throwing Gospel seed wherever you go. Whether we are on a beach, in a Waffle House, flying a plane, driving drunk people home, or doing normal life; remember that God is working to call His people to Himself—and He is using you to do it.

My wife regularly reminds me that “every brief encounter is from the Lord.” It may be a full Gospel conversation on a short-term mission trip or it may be simply asking a cashier how you can pray for them. God uses all sorts of “brief encounters” to awaken Gospel interest in the hearts of His elect.

The question is, are you actively seeking ways to help others hear the good news of the sinner-seeking Savior?

The Title of “Brother” Means Something

I grew up in the church and I’ve always heard the title “brother” as a prefix to almost every man in the church. As I became a teenager, I remember thinking that the prefix was merely an old fashioned way of addressing one another in the church. . . I came to understand that the title was not merely an antiquated word thrown around in the community of the local church. (The article addresses the title “brother”, but applies equally to “sister”.)

Worth Reading

Romans 4:13-25

Do you come to our gathered worship service expecting God to speak to you through his Word? We encourage you to prayerfully read through the passage that will be preached prior to the service to help you prepare.

What Do Expiation and Propitiation Mean?

When we talk about the vicarious aspect of the atonement, two rather technical words come up again and again: expiation and propitiation….

This is about the essence of salvation—that as people who are covered by the atonement, we are redeemed from the supreme danger to which any person is exposed. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of a holy God Who’s wrathful. But there is no wrath for those whose sins have been paid. That is what salvation is all about.

The Resurrection of Jesus, the Memory of Chappo, and How History Works

Holy Week and Easter turns our minds naturally to the events in Jerusalem in either AD 30 or 33, and to the Christian contention that Jesus of Nazareth, after his death by crucifixion, was raised from the dead. It is an historical rather that merely religious claim. Christians contend that it happened in time and space.

Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?

This one is worth watching. A short, animated video on the historicity of the resurrection that you might find enjoyable and edifying this Easter. May be particularly appealing to children and youth.

Worth Reading

Mark 15:21-47

Do you come to our gathered worship service expecting God to speak to you through his Word? We encourage you to prayerfully read through the passage that will be preached prior to the service to help you prepare.

The Holy Spirit Never “Convicts” Christians

So if the Holy Spirit doesn’t convict us, condemn us, or otherwise put us on guilt trips, what does He do?

Two Vantage Points Become One

In a similar way, Scripture helps us see past the dark times to the coming end-of-days party. Or to put it more accurately, the Spirit swoops in on our earth-bound existence and takes us into the triune God, from whose vantage point all things look very different. Everything changes once our vision is aligned with the Lord’s.

10 MARKS OF AN IMMATURE BELIEVER

Be not then discouraged, you who discern in yourselves but small measures of grace; look on your wants and imperfections so as to grow in grace, and not to be content with any measure, but look not on the small beginning in grace as discouragement to you. When you see a great oak in a field, you may say this great tree was once but a small acorn…Grace, where it is true, will be growing.