The Gospel and the Church

Why Good Sermons Are Idealistic, Realistic, and Optimistic from Crossway on Vimeo. Anatomy of the Soul John Calvin once said that the Psalms are an anatomy of all parts of the soul. What the Psalms do is present the idealistic, the realistic, and the optimistic view of the Christian life. In a sense, the whole […]

How Does the Holy Spirit Beautify the Church? from Crossway on Vimeo.   Our Helper We can’t talk about the church without talking about the Holy Spirit. He is our helper. He is our beautifier. Perhaps there’s no better or more familiar expression of the Holy Spirit’s beautifying work within the church than a very

 Loving the Church for Who She Is, Not for What She Can Do for You from Crossway on Vimeo. A Better Question Over the past number of years, in reading various books and various texts, there have been so many good things to come out about the organization of the church, its functionality, and

Why is it that most churches that hold to the doctrines of grace lack evangelistic zeal? If we are going to foster evangelism today in our churches, we must first build into its culture. Ray Ortlund helpfully notes that: “Gospel doctrine creates a gospel culture. The doctrine of grace creates a culture of grace. When

The fourth book of the Bible has something to teach us about an argument for female pastors.  With so much noise recently regarding the idea of who can and cannot serve as elders/pastors (I think of the controversy regarding the removal of Saddleback Church from the SBC), Christians would do well to look to the

Seven Commitments Church Members Make Every metaphor for the church in the New Testament – a people, a house, a body, a family, a flock, a temple, an assembly – highlights the communal reality of following Jesus. Christians are church members, part of the universal church, and, therefore, committed to a local church. As a

A Blazing Light in a Dark World from Crossway on Vimeo. The Truth Upholds Us The apostle Paul tells his young son in the faith, Timothy, that the truth, given to us through Scripture, is a pillar and buttress. I really love those words. That is, the truth of Scripture upholds and sustains the church

“I don’t need to go to a building to meet with God.”“I can read my Bible and pray anywhere.”“I love Jesus, but I’m against organized religion.” I often hear these types of statements as a justification to skip out on the weekly gathering of God’s people (church). It’s true that we can meet with God