Resurrection Sunday Devotional Main Text: Luke 24:1-7 There have been many wonderful moments in human history. Just within the past 200 years, we have seen: the invention of telephones, televisions, and computers; the development of x-rays, CT scans, and world-changing medications; transportation methods via aircrafts, automobiles, and subways. It is remarkable to consider how one event, […]
Saturday Devotional Main Text: Matthew 26:62-66 Think about the last time you made a mistake, and tried to keep it from being revealed. Perhaps you told a lie that got out of hand, or manipulated a situation to make yourself look better than others. In the final analysis, it has always been characteristic of sinners […]
Good Friday Devotional Main Text: Matthew 27:45-56 It would be an understatement to say that there are many problems facing mankind. Such are the consequences of living in a sin-cursed world (Genesis 3:17-19; Romans 8:19-22). Yet in God’s perfect timing, He has begun the process of making all things new through the work of Jesus […]
Tuesday Devotional Main Text: Matthew 21:23-23:39 Everybody has an ultimate authority for what they believe and how they live. If pressed hard enough, people will eventually appeal to a supreme standard that governs their intellectual convictions and daily actions. When it comes to identifying the origins of one’s ultimate authority, there are really only two […]
Monday Devotional Main Text: Matthew 21:12-22 It has been well said that death focuses the mind. As one thinks about death, the human tendency is to be drawn to what is supremely cherished. Indeed, the prospect of death tends to reveal a person’s most foundational character traits. At the practical level, a historical survey of […]
Monday Devotional Main Text: Matthew 21:12-22 It has been well said that death focuses the mind. As one thinks about death, the human tendency is to be drawn to what is supremely cherished. Indeed, the prospect of death tends to reveal a person’s most foundational character traits. At the practical level, a historical survey of […]
Not: Part 1 of this series. Passage of Focus: Luke 1:26-38 (cf. Isaiah 9:6-7) Cur Deus Homo. Translation: “Why God Became Man.” Such a phrase encapsulates one of the greatest mysteries that has ever been pondered by mankind, and it serves as the title for one of the most significant theological works to ever be […]
Introduction Last time we left off talking about sin. Namely, whether our first parents sinned, the definition of sin, and the nature of that sin our first parents committed. Now we begin to look into the effects of the preliminary sin committed by our first parents. This will take up a few articles, including this […]
*Note: Parts 1 and Part 2 of this series What is truth? For the human race, few questions are more recurring—and few pursuits are more elusive—than identifying absolute truth in reality. Even the most intellectually astute philosophers seem no closer to satisfying this inquiry in the twenty-first century than during the era of the Pre-Socratics. […]
Introduction Now that we have considered God’s existence, attributes, and trinity, we may begin to contemplate His acts. We start not with the external acts of God. We start with the internal acts, namely His decrees or sometimes referred to in the singular as His decree. Body Question 10 A. Question and Answer Q. 10. […]
Introduction Now that we have considered God’s existence, attributes, and trinity, we may begin to contemplate His acts. We start not with the external acts of God. We start with the internal acts, namely His decrees or sometimes referred to in the singular as His decree. Body Question 10 A. Question and Answer Q. 10. […]
*Note: This is the third installment in a three-part series. You can access part one (link to article) and part two (link to article) on the Covenant Confessions blog. Premises 3 and 4: Moreover, God has transcribed His moral law upon the hearts of every human being, leaving man without excuse to abide by the […]
*Note: This is the second installment in a three-part series. You can access the previous article here. Premises 1 and 2: As a natural law, the Sabbath pattern[1] is universally binding throughout every generation of human history. From the outset of creation, God sanctified one day to be reserved for resting from weekly labor and […]
*Note: This is the first installment in a three-part series. You can access each subsequent article as they are released on the Covenant Confessions blog. Throughout the history of the Western world, few philosophers have managed to define the meaning of human life as succinctly as Saint Augustine. In the opening remarks contained in his […]
Introduction It has been some time since we considered the Baptist Catechism and the Scriptural truths it states and orders simply and memorably. We ended with the sixth question that set the stage for questions 7-86. Q. 6. What are the Holy Scriptures mainly about? A. 6. The Holy Scriptures are mainly about what man […]
Introduction The last question we answered told us how we know there is a God. We know there is a God because the light of nature in man and the works of God plainly declare there is a God, but His Word and Spirit only do it fully and effectually for the salvation of sinners. […]
Introduction Who is the first and greatest of beings? God is the first and greatest of beings. Should everyone believe there is a God? Everyone should believe there is a God, and it is their great sin and folly who do not. The questions and answers of the catechism are interrelated and build off of […]
1. Remember God is in complete control. He removes leaders and appoints them. Daniel 2:21 says, “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings.” Take heart that no matter what, everything is coming to pass according to God’s perfectly wise and eternal decree. His purposes are good, holy, and just. Let […]
Introduction Not long ago, I wrote the first part of this mini-series. In it, I defined what both a confession of faith and catechism is: A confession is a statement of what a group believes the Bible teaches on various topics in a succinct, orderly, and comprehensive manner. A catechism is a series of questions […]
Introduction Not long ago, I signed to write and publish a discipleship curriculum with H&E publishing titled Confessing Sound Words: A Discipleship Curriculum Through the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith. The basis of this curriculum is the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (2LBCF) and The Baptist Catechism (BC). I’m still in the early […]
Devotion From Genesis to Revelation, God’s desire is to showcase Himself as the origin and goal for all comprising His created order, demonstrating how He has worked in many portions and in many ways to accomplish His impeccably good purposes (Isaiah 46:9-11; Hebrews 1:1-2). Tragically, one of the most neglected realms of examining how God […]
If you have pastored a single congregation for any length of time, then you know how difficult it can be to shepherd those who disagree with you. The first few months of ministry at a new location are similar to a new happy marriage. But soon after the honeymoon phase has ended, opposition soon arises. […]
Devotion We live in a world dominated by hedonism: the ideology insisting that pleasure and/or happiness is the chief good in life. To be sure, hedonism “sells” to sinners navigating through a fallen world (James 1:14). In a created order full of turmoil, adversity, and hardships, it undoubtedly appeals to the human senses to prescribe […]
Devotion You and I are liars by nature (Psalm 116:11; Romans 3:4). How’s that for an introductory statement? Although it may not be a “politically correct” or popular accusation to make, there are few characterizations that are more accurate in describing sinful humanity. Lying and deceit have been fundamental traits of Satan and his legion […]
Devotion During my childhood, my younger brother and I attended Little Country Daycare in Haslet, Texas. It was at that daycare center where I first began to learn how to pray. To this day, I can still vividly remember the two types of prayers that the Little Country staff taught us to recite on a […]
Devotion When examining the nine fruit of the Holy Spirit cited in Galatians 5:22-23, kindness and gentleness may receive the least amount of study and discussion. Myriads of books, songs and sermons have been produced on God’s love, goodness and faithfulness. When listening to a Christian share their testimony, it is likely they will reference […]
Devotion[1] In 1533, God set into motion a series of events that would provide His church with one of its greatest gifts received over the past 500 years. After coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ and renouncing his commitment to Roman Catholicism as a priest, Alexander Canus was sentenced to death for heralding the […]
