Certain details in Scripture are easy to miss if we do not slow down to meditate on them. One of those passages tells us Daniel was overcome and lay sick for some days after seeing a vision (Daniel 8:27). We can often read passages like the one that reveals the vision Daniel saw with presumption. … Continue reading The Vision that Made Daniel Sick
Of all organizations, does the local church have preeminence in our lives? In the clip below, Pastor Jeff Saltzmann of Bethel Grace Baptist Church unpacks a quote from the church covenant. What he says is counter-cultural to non-believers and even ruffles the feathers of many professing Christians. Many others would agree with this idea of … Continue reading The Preeminence of the Local Church
The following is a guest post by Pastor Rob Golding of First Artesia Christian Reformed Church. He also writes for the Westminster Theological Seminary Magazine. Nothing is more frustrating than being a small-time pastor. Pastors spend their time reading and preaching God’s word. They constantly pray that the New Heavens and New Earth would come, that unbelievers … Continue reading The Pastor’s Futility and the Pastor’s Hope
The following is a guest post by Pastor Rob Golding of First Artesia Christian Reformed Church. He also writes for the Westminster Theological Seminary Magazine. Why are God’s leaders so quick to count and boast about what God has given them? That is an interesting question. More interesting, however, is the following question: Why does God hate … Continue reading Evangelicalism’s Hezekiah Problem
There are two dangers Christians face when culture pushes against our beliefs. The first is to give in to the pressure to conform, and the second is to stand defiant in an ungodly way. The first danger reveals itself in some professing Christians' fear of the world's disapproval. This fear is not only true of some churchgoers but … Continue reading Two Dangers Facing Christians Under Cultural Pressure
Church is often dull because we think about it like secularists, not according to scripture. This world takes its stand against Christ, and Jesus tells us that as believers, we will have trouble. He also reminds us to take heart because he has overcome the world (John 16:33). For us to take heart, which leaves … Continue reading Why Church is Often Boring
No matter how hostile the world may become towards Christians, the Lord always has fellow believers available to us for support. We were never meant to stand alone, and we should be available to encourage other believers as well. The apostle Paul faced countless persecutions as a Christian. From stonings to beatings to imprisonment, all … Continue reading Together in a Hostile World
No preacher worth his weight enters the pulpit without some distress. There is a heaviness to delivering the word of God that is unlike anything else. Even if the preacher is naturally jovial, the man moved by the Spirit of God will tremble under the gravity of what he is doing. I do not hold the office … Continue reading The Distress and Delight of Preaching
There are times when we falter in our faith and give into temptation, but that does not mean that Jesus Christ is not in us. Unless, of course, we examine ourselves and fail to meet the test (2 Corinthians 13:5). Even in the Christian, there are times when quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and … Continue reading 3 Steps to Examining Your Faith
It is not that what many evangelists today say is untrue, they simply put the emphasis on the wrong syllable, and it can have a damning effect. Arthur Pink wrote this over 100 years ago, and it is just as true today as it was then. The nature of Christ’s salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day … Continue reading Defective Evangelism
The Fight of Faith 