Sir Isaac Newton was one of the great scientists of all time. Most men of science today agree that his great book Principia is the greatest scientific book ever written. Yet of his achievemen...
2 Chronicles 7:13-14, Micah 7:18-19, Luke 15:11-32 , James 5:16, Psalm 32:5, 1 John 1:8
Pastor: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. People: But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from a...
Daniel 3:16-18, Esther 7:3-6, Jeremiah 32:17, Psalm 2:1-6, John 20:19-20
During the infamous Dreyfus trial in France, Jewish army officer Captain Alfred Dreyfus was falsely accused of treason, sparking a national scandal marked by anti-Semitism and injustice. Among Dreyfus...
Pastor: Let us pray to the Father who has given us the water of eternal life in His Son. Father of glory, only the gift of Your Spirit quenches the thirst of mankind. Look in mercy on all the way...
There’s a somewhat naïve belief among some that, in general, most people are inherently good. While many Christians may not fully embrace John Calvin’s doctrine of total depravity (which I believe is ...
We have an outdoor church readerboard (yep, manual, press-in-the-grooves-black-plastic-letters) near a busy street that I enjoy changing every couple of weeks. The challenge of saying something meanin...
Statistics show that 80 percent of new pastors leave the ministry within five years. A friend once remarked, “If they were able to pastor churches without people, they might last ten years.” Most past...
Let’s say I interviewed ten people, asking each the same question—“Do you trust God?”—and each answered, “Yes, I trust God,” but nine of the ten actually did not trust him. How would I find out which ...
I once had the opportunity to speak briefly to a large Mormon audience at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. I told them that I feel badly about the fact that we evangelicals often tell Mormons what th...
Every time you feel hurt, offended, or rejected, you have to dare to say to yourself: “These feelings, strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself. The truth, even though I cannot...
Notes on the Passage Besieged from All Angles: The context of this passage is best summed up with the words recorded throughout the letter: Trouble, Distress, Suffering, Hardship, Death at work, Ja...
Luke 9:28-43, Matthew 17:1-3, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:19, Luke 9:22-27, Exodus 14:19-20, Numbers 9:15-16, Ezekiel 10:, Psalm 18:, Isaiah 4:, Daniel 7:9-14, Exodus 34:29-35, Deuteronomy 18:15-19, 2 Peter 1:16-18, John 1:4-9, John 1:14, Exodus 13:21, Exodus 24:15-18, Exodus 40:34-35, 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, Luke 9:37
The Context Introduction The Transfiguration stands out like, well, a bright light on a dark mountainside in the Gospel of Luke. The customary earthiness of the rest of the gospel falls away as heav...
Introduction Psalm 121 is the second in a collection of Psalms referred to as the Psalms of Ascent. Scholars surmise that these Psalms were likely read or sung as pilgrims made their way “up” to Jer...
Luke 1:46, Luke 1:39-56, Psalm 145:3, Psalm 48:1, Psalm 34:3
Another Bible translation says that Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord” (NKJV, emphasis added). What did she mean by magnifies? When you look at something through a magnifying glass, it looks much...
In this first-person memoir, Pastor Peter Chin shares a story that most pastors can probably relate to, the reality vs the expectation of a church-planter or even the pastor of an established church: ...
Introduction During my time in seminary (and the year after I graduated) I spent a lot of time at a church in southern New Jersey. It’s actually how I met Scott Bullock, TPW board member and creator ...
Introduction During my time in seminary (and the year after I graduated) I spent a lot of time at a church in southern New Jersey. It’s actually how I met Scott Bullock, TPW board member and creator...
John 10:11-18, John 9:null, Genesis 4:2-4, Numbers 14:33, 1 Samuel 16:11, 2 Samuel 5:2, Isaiah 56:11, Zechariah 10:2, Jeremiah 23:1-2, Jeremiah 50:6, Zechariah 10:2-3, John 10:11-18, Ezekiel 34:11-16, Psalm 23:, Luke 15:1-7, Matthew 18:12-14, John 13:1, John 15:13, John 9:34-35
Preaching Commentary Context Signs and Dialogue There’s a reoccurring pattern in Johns’s Gospel in which Jesus performs a sign, which is followed by dialogue and then commentary from Jesus that pr...
Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a), Luke 9:28-43, Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:19, Luke 9:22-27, Exodus 14:19-20, Numbers 9:15-16, Ezekiel 10:, Psalm 18:, Isaiah 4:, Daniel 7:9-14, Exodus 34:29-35, Deuteronomy 18:15-19, 2 Peter 1:16-18, John 1:4-9, John 1:14, Revelation 1:12-16, Exodus 13:21, Exodus 24:15-18, Exodus 40:34-35, 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, Luke 9:37
Preaching Commentary The Context Introduction The Transfiguration stands out like, well, a bright light on a dark mountainside in the Gospel of Luke. The customary earthiness of the rest of the go...
Luke 13:31-35, Luke 11:51, Jeremiah 23:6, Deuteronomy 32:11, Ruth 2:12, Psalm 17:8, Isaiah 31:5
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? On the Road to Jerusalem Luke 13 begins with Jesus teaching on the nature of the kingdom of God and it concludes with our passage, in w...
Luke 13:31-35, Luke 11:51, Jeremiah 23:6, Deuteronomy 32:11, Ruth 2:12, Psalm 17:8, Isaiah 31:5
AIM Commentary Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? On the Road to Jerusalem Luke 13 begins with Jesus teaching on the nature of the kingdom of God and it concludes with ...
Depression takes so many forms. Here’s how it looked for me today: All day I felt like a failure. An unending loop played in my head telling me that I have failed everyone in my life who loves me. My ...
2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:9, Psalm 145:4, Genesis 17:null, 1 Thessalonians 2:17, 1 Thessalonians 3:6, 10, 2 John 1:12, 3 John 1:14, Luke 14:28
Preaching Commentary God as the Thanksgiving Hub Given how pervasive the theme of gratitude is in Scripture—and how my wife and I try to condition our children always to say “thank you” to anyone w...
Spirit of Truth, as we turn to your Word, let the light of your countenance be upon us, that we may come to know more fully the one who is the way, the truth, and the life, through Christ Jesus, our...
2 Corinthians 11:13-15, 1 John 4:1, Proverbs 14:15, John 8:32, Psalm 119:105
It’s important, then, to have our eyes open to this deception. How is it that so many modern promises sound true but in the end lead to our deception, or even our destruction? A long, long time ago, t...
Genesis 22:1-18, Isaiah 50:4-7 , 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Matthew 3:16-17 , John 5:19-20 , Psalm 40:6-8
In stark contrast to ourselves, when Jesus needed to know who he was, he listened to his Father’s voice, trusted that voice and claimed its truth for his own life.
Psalm 19:null, Psalm 1:null, Psalm 119:null, Exodus 20:2-3, Galatians 3:24-26, John 14:6, Matthew 22:37-40
Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? The Books of the Psalms and David The Book of Psalms is divided into five books, like the five books of the Torah. While it is not obvi...
1 Samuel 16:7, Micah 6:8, Proverbs 22:2 , James 2:1-4, Luke 14:12-14 , Psalm 146:3-7
Impostors draw their identity not only from achievements but from interpersonal relationships. They want to stand well with people of prominence because that enhances a person’s résumé and sense of se...