Forgiveness and Satisfaction Symbolized in the Lord’s Supper
When we reflect on the meaning of the Lord’s Supper, we commonly understand the wine to symbolize Christ’s shed blood and the bread Christ’s broken body. And such a view…
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Church
8 posts
How Does the Church Reach the World?
We like things big. It’s the American way—big events, big crowds, big numbers. To us, big equals successful. A chief goal is to achieve size. If it’s big, it’s good;…
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Worshiping God in God’s Way
After Solomon’s downfall, the book of Kings is primarily concerned with the evil of Israel’s kings. These kings don’t follow the Lord, and in their wake the people of Israel…
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Is Hearing God’s Word Really the Most Important Thing a Church Needs? Is Explaining the Bible a Pastor’s Main Work?
I was recently listening to a Christian podcast about churches and the role of pastors. In the middle of the podcast, the host commented, “The most important thing you can…
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How Do We Attain Christian Unity? Christian Unity is a By-Product
Striving for Christian unity isn’t just a modern ideal. It’s quite biblical. The epistles, which are God-breathed letters to churches, abound with the goal of unity: “I appeal to you,…
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God’s Shocking Love for His Own
It’s a difficult topic to discuss. I don’t want to say things that are incorrect. But more importantly, I especially don’t want to utter any slanderous statements about God and his love. God is love (1 John 4:8)—wonderfully so. It will take forever for the saints to understand the infinite love of God (Ephesians 3:19). I, a small mind, cannot fully grasp the grandness and grandeur of God’s love. I look forward to forever swimming in that ocean. Yet while reading the Bible, we come across some strange statements—remember, from God himself!—that describe God’s love. They’re declarations that I know I wouldn’t make if I were to write a treatise on the love of God. These statements particularize his love. And they do so to such an extreme that it can be jarring.
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The Enemy’s Various Tactics Against Us
Jonathan Leeman, in his book Church Membership, explains the biblical principles concerning church membership and how they apply to different settings (I heartedly recommend the book on the subject). At one point, he describes how although churches may be in different areas, they each are under enemy attack…
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If You Have Any Christian Community At All, Praise God
In the first chapter of his book, Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer starts by reminding the reader how special it is to have Christian community, to be able to live in this life with other Christians. He reminds us how much it is a gift of God’s grace. He starts by explaining that God has orchestrated it so that the kingdom of God is a scattered people throughout the world, in the midst of the world…
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