As a student of history and the Bible, I often find myself telling people to learn the background and context of things before making definitive statements. As of late, however, I am discovering that the only thing more dangerous than ignorance of historical context is the abuse of incomplete knowledge of history. People who develop… Read More »
Writing a Sermon
Every once in awhile, someone will ask me how I prepare for a Sunday message. Over the years, I have used a lot of different approaches; but the one I prefer is to work inductively from the text. I work slowly, and it usually takes me about 25 hours per week to prepare for a… Read More »
End of Sermon
There have been a couple of times over the years that I’ve ended the message on Sunday with “end of sermon.” This is as much a signal to myself as it is to the congregation. It tend to ramble on a bit, and I have to tell myself to stop talking. We all have some… Read More »
The Sad State of Biblical Literacy
I was once told by a fellow pastor, “I don’t teach deep stuff. I just preach Jesus.” That sounds great on a surface level, doesn’t it? Let’s just preach Jesus because He is after all the Savior of mankind, right? If people believe Him, then they can sort everything else out eventually, right? Wrong. Jesus… Read More »
Viciously Contend for the Faith?
My friend and brother in Christ, Eric Davis shares some thoughts on the way extreme fundamentalism often becomes exactly what it was started to oppose. Check it out here.
Check Out the Podcast
If you don’t already to our message podcast from Bedford Road Baptist Church, you should grab it. You can download messages directly from the site or subscribe to them on iTunes.
Technology and Faith: 12 Precautions
Ed Stetzer considers some of the dangers of technology in ministry. What do you think?
A Little Bit About Galilee
Sunday, I taught the latter half of Luke 4. After Jesus leaves his hometown of Nazareth, he travels to the town of Capernaum where he casts out the spirit of a defiling demon, heals a fever and spends an evening healing people before heading south toward Judea. All of these place names can get very… Read More »
Go Deeper!
Ed Stetzer recently wrote in Facts and Trends that the “Elephant in the Church” is the lack of robust disciple-making. He writes: Many churches are now rediscovering ways to push more depth from the Sunday morning stage, better ways to assimilate the crowds into small groups and discipling relationships, more organic ways to nurture spiritual… Read More »
Resources for the Book of Ruth
This Sunday at Grace, we are going to looking at the journey of redemption and rebirth that is the Book of Ruth. Obviously, doing the entire story in one Sunday means that we have to be economical with our exploration of the book’s themes. Ruth is one of my favorite books of the Hebrew Scriptures,… Read More »
