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We all face various trials—from minor frustrations at home to tremendous grief; from small setbacks at work to great heartache; from slight opposition from the world to severe persecution. All of us have the need for patient endurance. But a patient endurance that glorifies God doesn’t come so easily in trial. God's word through James gives courage to persevere.

Covenant is a crucial theme in Scripture. Covenants provide the key framework to understanding God and how we relate to him and to one another. What are the major covenants in Scripture and what do they mean?

Hebrews 8 teaches that Jesus mediates "a better covenant." How exactly is the new covenant better than the old covenant?

We’ve all experienced it. Matthew 2:15 asserts that Jesus fulfills the prophet’s words. Then, flipping back to Hosea 11:1, we discover Israel coming out of Egypt. “How did Matthew get that?” we wonder. When comparing the historical, contextual meaning of an Old Testament verse with its appearance in a New Testament context, we often feel tension. How are the NT authors using the OT?

So what does preaching the gospel to yourself look like? We learned in Part 1 that amazing news that God changes the heart. Yet we also know that change comes through hearing, treasuring, and heeding his word.

I want to explore how the gospel functions in the life of the church. No matter what the church faced, the apostles wove the gospel into the very fabric of the church’s life, ministries, and mission. The gospel never amounted to a “shelved” message for the church. It has ongoing significance.

As a church, why do we give such priority to the gospel message? Answers to that question revolve around the basis for our relationship with God, the nature of the local church, and the only hope for the nations.

In The Gospel (Part 1), we looked at why the gospel. We turn now to the question, what is the gospel? At the most basic level, the Scriptures indicate that "the gospel" was employed as a label to summarize the authoritative news of Jesus Christ, which Jesus himself also entrusted to his apostles.

In The Gospel (Part 1) we asked why the gospel? In The Gospel (Part 2) we looked at what the gospel is. I now want to sharpen the lens another notch to help us behold the unspeakable riches of the gospel, as well as what all this means in terms of our relationship to God, to each other, and to the world. Stated as a question: how do the apostles unpack the meaning of God acting in Christ for us?

Our Lord has purposed to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic, and we believe it is both wise and loving to continue not meeting for Sunday gatherings or in groups of more than 10. We might experience several more weeks of temporary confinement. But God’s word remains unbound, unrestricted. As we observed from Acts, no obstacle is too great for God’s word. His kingdom marches on. The question is whether we have the spiritual eyes to see it and the willingness to participate in it. In that light, here are some ways to act…

James 2 has challenged the church for centuries. Based on Paul’s teaching in Romans 3:28, Reformed Protestants have confessed that justification is by faith alone apart from works. Yet James asserts that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone (Jas 2:24). So the question becomes, “Does James contradict Paul?” Since the Holy Spirit inspired both James and Paul, we must answer No. Rather, the following observations demonstrate how the two complement one another.

What does the resurrection of Jesus mean? What makes it so significant for the world?

The world has other false stories it wants us living by, as does our flesh and the devil. But only God’s story is true. He sees things about ourselves and the world that we cannot see but desperately need to see; and he has written it down for the sake of our eternal joy in him. Therefore, O how much we should fill our souls with the written word of God!

Sunday morning the Houston Chronicle published the first in a series of articles investigating numerous sexual abuse cases in Southern Baptist contexts. The Chronicle’s report serves as a sobering reminder for all of us to ensure the best care for our children. Here are several principles that guide Redeemer Church when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable in our midst.

The Lord’s word speaks pointedly to so many issues we face. Some months ago, our church studied Paul’s speech before the Areopagus in Acts 17:16-34. It took two Sundays, but we drew several inferences. One inference spoke directly to an issue that many, for varying reasons, have been thinking about afresh: racism. Acts 17 gives us at least four truths about all people that, when embraced rightly and applied comprehensively, kill racism.

Of all the thanksgiving words and concepts in the New Testament, over seventy-five percent appear in Paul’s letters alone. Here are seven observations about thanksgiving from Paul's letters.

How does Paul's theology of thanksgiving confront false notions of thanksgiving in our culture?

In the book of Acts, how does water baptism relate to receiving the Holy Spirit?

Pornography is one expression of sexual immorality inundating our culture.[i] Grievously, it’s far too common in the church as well. Covenant Eyes reports that “64% of Christian men and 15% of Christian women say they watch porn at least once a month.”[ii] Such statistics hardly represent the biblical imperative: “sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints” (Eph 5:3). Are you among the 64% or the 15%? By God’s grace, you don’t have to be. Are others you know among them? By God’s grace, you can help them not to be. Contrary to popular resolve, Christians can say No to pornography and to any other sexual temptation.

The following reasons remain part of my own arsenal in the fight against lust and sexual immorality. I share them to equip you in the same fight. Part two will come soon, where I develop eight ways to fight sexual temptation. Until then please consider these seriously, especially those of you who may be looking at and thinking about porn. Some of my comments are geared toward men, but much of this post also applies to women.

What is family worship and how does one go about it? Several years ago, a brother in our congregation asked me this question. Here was my response.

Vision in the local church is what the Bible tells us God wants for us, in us, and through us to the praise of his glory in Jesus Christ. Based on the observations below, it is our conviction that an important part of the Bible’s vision for local churches is for them to plant more local churches, where new disciples can manifest God’s kingdom on earth and submit to one another in love and truth.

We live in a world that devalues and oppresses children. In the Bible, it was a Pharaoh or a Herod killing babies to protect their throne. It was nations sacrificing their children to false gods...We still see it in things like abortion, abuse, and neglect. The birth-control industry suggests children are a burden more than a blessing. Similar attitudes characterize people who refuse to care for the orphan...But by his grace, God has brought us out of that world into another kingdom. In that kingdom, we offer the world the King’s view of children.

What is the church? While certainly not exhaustive, here's a brief portrait of the church based on numerous texts from Scripture.

The gospel of Jesus Christ motivates our giving. Giving is motivated not by looking at another ‘law’ for a minimum amount I’m constrained or required to give, but by looking at Jesus’ person and work for the maximum amount I’m freed to give. When we look at the gospel, we find at least four principles that guide our giving.

The Bible implies that every believer knows which elders he/she is accountable to obey under the Lord and that elders know which believers are directly under their pastoral care. Insofar as these appointed men follow Jesus Christ and extend his shepherdly care, members of a local church should submit to the elders God has placed over them in particular. But what does such submission to one’s elders include?

Part and parcel to God’s design in building the church and equipping her members is providing exemplary leadership through whom he administers his own shepherdly care. The Lord uses these leaders to press the truth and grace of his character into the life of the congregation. Insofar as these appointed men look like Christ and follow him, the congregation will benefit.

When we discuss the nature of biblical eldership, we are seeking to answer the question, What should Jesus Christ’s care for the church look like when it comes through the elders? Using terms often associated with shephering in the Scriptures, we could summarize the nature of eldership under four headings: lead, feed, protect, and care.

Jesus doesn’t need us, but he chooses to use us in the unstoppable advance of his kingdom across geographical boundaries and ethno-linguistic barriers. The kingdom grows as we announce to all peoples the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name. The following are a few considerations in making evangelism a priority for our own lives.

Social media also for some (and I want to emphasize for some) an avenue to vent frustrations quite apart from lifting high the cross of Christ. In light of this potential for social media as well as its abuses, I want to offer the following counsel. I’m a bit late to the game. But I pastor a local church in Fort Worth. I love them dearly. I think of them often. And I’ve written these things first to equip myself and them.

Still grieving for families in Baton Rouge and Minneapolis. Still hurting for my friends who fear for their children. Still angry at all the injustice, whether interpersonal or systemic. Still feeling the thick darkness of sin. Still wondering how and when and what to speak. Still troubled by my own subtle fears of people and death. Ten ways the book of James helps us respond.

“What happens in your elder meetings?” is a question that several brothers ask. Some want to know as a way to evaluate their own elder meeting agendas. Others ask as their church transitions to a plurality of elders, and they needed guidance as “first-timers.” Our meeting times break into three parts: care for one another and prayer for the body, reformation, and reaching.

How does a church determine a budget? What biblical principles should guide the church in evaluating a budget?

Some of you may be asking how to practice praying, or how to make prayer a more regular part of your Christian walk? Here are a nine ways to foster a life of prayer.

Christian, what’s your role in the mission to see disciples in disciple-making churches exist among all peoples? Because the Lord has given you the Spirit and promised you the grace to serve him, you have an important role to play in the mission. Is your role to serve and support the mission through local ministries? Or, is your contribution to advance the gospel among the unreached through frontier missions? Or, does your role involve a bit of both, as these pursuits often overlap one another? Do you know?

One of the most breathtaking sentences I’ve encountered in the writings of Paul appears in Romans 15. In the midst of describing his plans to visit Jerusalem, Rome, and ultimately Spain, Paul justifies his travel to Spain by saying that he has fulfilled the ministry of the gospel, even to the extent that he has no more room to work in the regions stretching from Jerusalem to Illyricum (Rom 15:19, 23). What?! Has he really fulfilled the ministry of the gospel?

For many of us at Redeemer Church, it may be clear why we include both “our neighbors” and “the nations” in our vision statement. But over time new people join our local church and even existing members can forget why we’re so explicit about both neighbors and the nations. Thus, consider the following a brief primer on some of the theology driving the distinction in our vision statement.

Rachel and I sat to talk last night about the people suffering the aftermath of an earthquake in Nepal, the decision regarding marriage before the Supreme Court, and even longer about the situation in Baltimore and the hurt we feel for all involved. The events seem so huge; the issues involved, so complex; the people needing help, so many. We both wanted so badly to do something to bring healing, reconciliation, help, immediate relief, but what could we possibly contribute?

We began by looking at the sole basis of our fellowship, unity in Christ, and then turned to taking advantage of every means of grace afforded us to foster gospel-centered community that makes Christ supreme in every area of life. In particular, we looked at how small groups

I pointed out a distinction the Bible makes between progressive sanctification and positional sanctification. As we learn together, I thought it would be helpful to highlight the distinction for you again and then show you why this distinction matters for your Christian walk.

The application of 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 sometimes suffers from two unhealthy extremes in contemporary Christian circles: undiscerning "engagement" and exclusivist "holiness". Here are some questions we should be asking to avoid both.

Being “authentic” is popular nowadays, and usually carries with it connotations of casting off all the outward constraints preventing someone from “true self-expression.” But that’s not the sort of authenticity I have in mind or that one should find characterizing Jesus’ church, especially when the church is defined, not by what is inside us but by what is outside us. If there is any casting off to be done, it is to be the casting off of what is inside us

We meet together as a church to help each other live in the good of the gospel daily. And that means motivating each other to follow Jesus with the gospel’s empowering truth(s). We lead each other to drink deeply from the endless fountain of God’s glory in Christ, so that our souls rise with gratitude and run with faith.

In this post, I begin by looking at devotion to biblical truth. From the start, the church devoted itself to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42; 4:33). Fellowship wasn’t centered on just anything, but on the living word of God, which revealed Christ to them, brought them joy, and shaped their devotion to God, their love for one another, and their witness to the world (Acts 2:41; 6:7; 11:1; 12:24; 1 Cor 15:2; Col 3:16; Jas 1:22).

A new book is out titled, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships, by Matthew Vines. The question the church must answer is this: “Does Vines’s interpretation of the Old and New Testament passages on human sexuality accurately represent what God says about human sexuality?” Several leaders in the evangelical church have already served us well by giving extensive interaction with Vines’s book. The answer to the above question remains No.

The aim of the following posts is to give you a biblical framework on the church, that you might better understand how care groups serve the church’s health. Each post will make observations from the Bible on the nature of the church, also giving vision for how her members function together and clarifying how to walk out this vision in the smaller setting of care group.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers when circumstances such as the one with ISIS transpire, but the Bible instructs us to respond in at least the following five ways. These are not five additional things to “tack on” to your Christian walk; they are the overflow of who God has already made us to be in Christ.

The discipline practiced by an identifiable assembly of believers, the leadership given over definable congregations, the submission offered to particular elders, the interdependence expressed by each body member, and the corporate nature of the Christian life together make membership to a local church crucial.