Ouch! A Synopsis of Christ’s Teaching on Money

I’m in the middle of a two-part series on The Christian and Money, and it’s killing me. Seriously, comparing my thoughts on money with Scripture’s is devastating, though necessary. All of us—rich or poor, old or young, male or female—struggle with greed. In fact, I think there is probably no part of life in which [...]

Pastor Albert N. Martin’s Retirement

One of my favorite preachers, Albert N. Martin, has retired following 46 faithful years pastoring Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, NJ. He concluded his ministry with 9 messages filled with counsel to his beloved congregation. You can read about the messages (which seem to encapsulate his strong philosophy of ministry) here. (Thanks for the good [...]

The Heartbeat of Tri-County Bible Church

Yesterday I preached a message entitled “The Heartbeat of Tri-County Bible Church.” It was (to quote the sub-title) “A Look at TCBC through the Lens of Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians.” It’s essentially our philosophy of ministry in one “drink-from-a-fire-hydrant” message. It addresses issues that are vitally important to us, including a doxological purpose, cross-centeredness, [...]

Quick Hits (7/28/08)

Here are some miscellaneous links, thoughts, and resources I’ve been collecting for a while. Some (like the sermon and a few outreach ideas) are quite serious. Another (the Wordle of Ephesians) is fascinating, I think. And others (including a shocking article about a Florida friend, a thought about HomeSat, and a “you might be a [...]

Quick Hits (7/16/08)

There is more pleasure in God than sin.
This first link is just fantastic. It’s well worth a few minutes of your time. I’ve wanted to read Charnock’s Existence and Attributes of God for some time; in the past I’ve merely referenced it when studying a particular topic. Beyond that, I’m very aware that my reading [...]

National Church Planting Conference Workshops Online

The mp3 files of the network sessions from ARCH Ministries’ 2008 National Church Planting Conference in Mentor, Ohio are now online. There were 5 sessions, all of which can be downloaded here (or at the links below). I’ve also made the handout from my session available as a pdf here. Perhaps someone will find it [...]

Purity Is a Positive Pursuit

A few weeks ago I completed a brief series on “Guys and Girls in the Church” with a message entitled “Purity is a Positive Pursuit.” The gist of it is this:
1. Merely avoiding immorality is an insufficient goal.
2. Merely avoiding immorality is an ineffective strategy.
In short, I believe that the pitfall into which many Christians [...]

2Marks on 9Marks

I’ve been eager to hear Mark Dever’s interview of Mark Minnick ever since I heard that it was going to take place. It features two pastors for whom I have a great deal of admiration and who have influenced my own philosophy of local church ministry for good. I appreciate both men, particularly Pastor Minnick, [...]

Quick Hits (5/14/08)

Several links to articles and sermons to pass on…
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Here are two great links on educational choices and the local church. As a pastor of a church which has something like 1/3 public school kids, 1/3 Christian school kids, and 1/3 home school kids, I heartily agree with the Harris’ perspective and the need for churches [...]

Dever Sounds Like Doran

During Dever’s lecture at T4G on the folly of trying to “improve the gospel,” I wrote in my notes that he “sounds like Doran.” The first point of Dever’s message has now been posted at the T4G blog. Give it a read (or give the whole message a listen), and tell me if you can [...]