The Compelling Community by Jamie Dunlop is simply one of the most helpful books I have read concerning meaningful church membership. I have recommended it to several pastors and I am so grateful that my fellow elders have led us to study this in our weekly Family Bible Hour. Dunlop’s biblical arguments are compelling and his wise advice as to how to implement them is … [Read more...]
Knowing God (Psalm 36:1–12)
For several years now at BBC, we have promoted a “prayer psalm of the week.” We simply follow the Psalms systematically, and each week we encourage the church to use the psalm for that week as a means to pattern their prayers. In August 2014, to help the church understand how the psalms can guide our prayers, we made the decision that, when one of our own elders preached a … [Read more...]
Marriage, God’s Way—Again (Ephesians 5:18–33)
Some years ago, my wife and I went to visit a friend whose husband had left her for another woman. The details were extremely sordid, and as we spoke to her it was clear that she had every biblical ground for divorce. She told us that people kept advising her to divorce him, but she felt no peace about making that decision. Ultimately, she decided against pursuing … [Read more...]
Marriage, God’s Way (Ephesians 5:18–33)
A study of Ephesians 5:18–5:33 might be called “The Gospel of Marriage,” or “The Good News about Marriage.” Biblical marriage is good news because it is grounded in the gospel. Unfortunately, many do not see this. That is why, far too often, emcees and other speech-givers at wedding ceremonies make crass, critical, or demeaning comments about marriage. Shortly after my wife and … [Read more...]
Fearing Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:21)
By the time you read this, you may already have seen “the handshake”—the one between President Donald Trump and the newly elected President of France, Emmanuel Macron. If it was not so pathetic, it would be funny. Two world leaders behaved like big time wrestlers. Knuckles turned white, lips were tightly pursed, and poorly-veiled grimaces were displayed as they tried to … [Read more...]