7 Ways to Become a Welcoming Church
In his important book, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, Jack Miller recounted an experience he had at a church in which he had been invited to speak. As he and his wife walked around and…
Nick Batzig
Divine Mathematics of Salvation
More than ever before, we desperately need to answer the question, “What does Modern Judaizing look like?” The Judaizers were, of course, false brethren who–in the days of the Apostles–secretly…
“Top Down” or “Grassroots” Ministry?
In the early years of my seminary experience, I quickly began to realize that within the Calvinistic and Reformed Church at large there was something of a divide over whose…
7 Things to Remember Before You Quit a Pastorate
While it is difficult to determine the precise percentage, almost all studies have shown that the average pastor leaves a church within the first five years of ministry there. Though…
5 Works on Assurance of Salvation
As a pastor, I find that there are several subjects that have abiding significance in the lives of the people of God that do not seem to get adequate attention…
A Law-Keeping Redeemer is Born
One of the most important of all the statements about the birth of Jesus is that He was "born under the Law" (Gal. 4:4). The one who gave the Law…
The Serpent on the Pole and the Cross of Christ
When Jesus explained the nature of His atoning death on the cross to the Israelites of His day, He appealed to what is arguably the most fascinating of the redemptive…
Jesus, the True and Greater Gardener
The Scriptures tell us that the Son of God began His sufferings in a Garden and brought them to a close in a Garden. That is an absolutely amazing display…
The Sin-Bearing, Curse-Removing True Israel
There are two theological truths that structure the entirety of the biblical storyline. The first is that Jesus is the second and last Adam. The second is that Jesus is…
The Sin-Bearing, Curse-Removing Second Adam (Part 1)
When Paul says of Christ, in Galatians 3:13, that He “became a curse for us,” this carries with it a world of biblical and theological meaning. Surely, the Apostle had…
It All Leads Straight to the Cross
In seminary, a friend of mine would often challenge me on my insistence that whatever portion of Scripture we preach, we ought to get our hearers to the cross. Whether…
A Biblical Theology of Burial
Recently, I have had an extraordinarily high number of people ask me what the Scriptures teach about burial versus cremation. Not being the sharpest tool in the shed, I did…