A great gospel for great sinners
Ivan Milat is currently serving seven life sentences for murdering seven backpackers, with many other murders attributed to him. He is one of Australia’s most prolific serial killers. Now suppose Milat actually repented and trusted in Christ to forgive him. Then pretend he was miraculously released on parole. How safe would you feel this Sunday, if Milat walked in and sat next to you in church? You might think: Is this for real? Can we
There’s nothing in all the world like the local church
There's nothing in all the world like the local church. There's joy. There's friendship. There's fellowship and life. People are being born again. People are testifying publicly through baptism. People are learning to love and know God. There are wise elderly mentors. There are children. There are families. There is love and giving. We rejoice to serve each other food and coffee. We look out for each other and care for each other's needs. We
A. W. Pink on God’s sovereignty
I'm at that busy point in the semester where if it's not an exam it's an assignment due! So I've decided to let someone else—namely A. W. Pink—take my post for the week. This is from his The Attributes of God. If you haven't read it yet, I encourage you to do so. It's chapters are succinct and pointed. Their object is God. The full text of this book is available for free here. The
Jonah and Jesus
Jonah's story as "the man who ran away from God" is for everybody. Adults identify with Jonah, as we all can admit that we often hear God's instruction yet rebel against him. Jonah discovered he could not outrun God, which teaches us to stop putting off what God through his word has told us to do. But Jonah’s experience is more than a moral. The deeper truth is that Jesus compared himself to Jonah, saying
Why the gospel is good news
I'm reading John Piper's God is the Gospel, where he asks: "Why is the gospel good news?" The reason this must be asked is that there are seemingly biblical answers that totally ignore the gift of God himself. A person may answer, "Being forgiven is good news because I don't want to go to hell." Or a person may answer, "Being forgiven is good news because a guilty conscience is a horrible thing, and I
Dependence
Here is a quote I found that really challenged me on whether or not I was relying on God... "We are looking for our own virtue, our own piety, our own goodness, and so live on and in our own poverty and weakness - today pleased and comforted with the seeming firmness and strength of our own pious tempers and fancying ourselves to be somewhat. Tomorrow, fallen into our own mire, we are dejected, but
Missional fundamentalists?
"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." This oft-quoted and helpful mantra raises the question of what is "the main thing"? I think I'm fairly safe to say the typical Independent Baptist answer is "missions." Though it might be surprising to some, Bill Hybels and Rick Warren were not really the pioneers of the Church Growth Movement. It was actually Fundamentalist leaders like Jack Hyles who were the true pioneers
Shhh… who’s talking?
"Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4, ESV) I have never met a Christian who has ever denied verbally that God is great, that God loves, that God forgives, that God is sovereign, that God provides our needs, and so on. In fact, many Christians would proactively share many of these attributes and characteristics
Loved
Hosea, the minor prophet, ministered in a time when the Northern kingdom was enjoying peace and prosperity. Unfortunately with this prosperity came great moral decay and as a result, Israel forsook their God and worshiped idols. So God instructed Hosea to marry Gomer, a “wife of whoredom” (1:2), to be an example to Israel of their great unfaithfulness. Despite their great unfaithfulness, the book of Hosea shows the depths of God’s love for his people, a
He knows we’re frail
“He knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” –Psalm 103:14 Times of difficulty and suffering remind us that we are frail. 1. We are spiritually frail. Those moments when we feel most strong and stable can be so close to those moments when we stumble and fail. We are prone to rebellion and idolatry. Our hearts are deceitful and wicked. 2. We are physically frail. There are a thousand dangers that could throw