Tulip: Perseverance of the Saints
Think of a cup being filled to the brim—or inflating a children’s play castle or a basketball to its entire design. The thing being pervaded is what it is, but it is in the process of functioning fully and living…
Tag Biblical interpretation
Deacons: The Office & How to Decide
The office of deacon is an important one. In one sense the deacon or servant is not distinctive. Christ described himself as a servant in Mark 10:45 saying, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served,…
Note Taking in Worship
One of the joys of gathering with my local church on Sundays is sitting under the ministry of the Word. This is especially dear to me after having been un-churched for many years. I was spiritually malnourished by the time…
Gerasim Kyrias – Zealous Evangelist and National Hero
Gerasim Kyrias – Zealous Evangelist and National Hero On 16 February 2000, eight months after the end of the Kosovo War, Rexhep Meidani, then President of Albania, gave a glowing accolade to the Evangelicals who had promptly banded together…
Church Discipline: Wisely and Lovingly Receive Righteous Rebukes
This Church Discipline series focused on guiding members in need of repentance by formal levels of rebuke. But the hopeful prayer of elders at each point of censure along the way is that it need never go further, especially not…
My Covid Year Reading: Knowing the Times
The ability to ‘read the room’ is a really good life skill to have. What do I mean? Oftentimes one may get themselves in a fair bit of trouble if they, in whatever varied situation they find themselves in, are…
Satan’s Propaganda War
The book of Ezra is notoriously difficult to read, let alone preach; but it is there in the canon of Holy Scripture to edify and equip the saints (2Ti 3.16). Whereas, at one level, it provides a crucial link in…
What the Bible Teaches About Fear & Courage
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many things. One of those things that has stood out to me has been the realization of how many of us are absolutely driven by fear. We all remember how the toilet paper aisle…
The Reformation Solas: Sola Scriptura
Not long ago I sat across from a young man who complained, “The Bible itself does not teach Sola Scriptura.” In that meeting I took him through several passages and because the divide between Reformed Protestants and Rome is as…
Names, Numbers and Covenant Faithfulness
There are more than a few places in the Bible – frequently in the Old Testament, but also in the New – where we find long lists of names, sometimes bound up with numbers. And, when we find ourselves in…