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Posts by Pastor Joe

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Sunday (3/29) Worship Online

Links for Sunday (3/29) worship will be posted on Facebook...

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Meet Pastor Joe (Part 1)

I was apprehended and subjected to an inquisition about my life and ministry. The result is 9 or 10 nine minute videos posted on Sovereign Grace Fellowship youtube channel. Here is the first installment titled "Meet pastor Joe." ...

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Pastor Joe's Conversion Experience (Part 2)

I was apprehended and subjected to an inquisition about my life and ministry. The result is 9 or 10 nine minute videos posted on Sovereign Grace Fellowship youtube channel. Here is the second installment titled "Pastor Joe's Conversion Experience ." ...

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I was apprehended and subjected to an inquisition about my life and ministry. The result is 12 nine minute videos posted on Sovereign Grace Fellowship youtube channel. Here is the third installment titled "Learning Discipline ." ...

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Bible College and Seminary (Part 4)

I was apprehended and subjected to an inquisition about my life and ministry. The result is 12 nine minute videos posted on Sovereign Grace Fellowship youtube channel. Here is the fourth installment titled "Getting Educated ." ...

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College, Seminary and Other Influences (Part 5)

I was apprehended and subjected to an inquisition about my life and ministry. The result is 12 nine minute videos posted on Sovereign Grace Fellowship YouTube channel. Here is the fifth installment titled "College, Seminary and Other Influences ." ...

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Major Influences (Part 6)

I was apprehended and subjected to an inquisition about my life and ministry. The result is 12 nine minute videos posted on Sovereign Grace Fellowship YouTube channel. Here is the sixth installment titled "Major Influences." ...

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Wrestling With A Deeper Question (Part 7)

I was apprehended and subjected to an inquisition about my life and ministry. The result is 12 nine minute videos posted on Sovereign Grace Fellowship YouTube channel. Here is the seventh installment titled "Wrestling With A Deeper Question." ...

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Preachers and Preaching (Part 8)

I was apprehended and subjected to an inquisition about my life and ministry. The result is 12 nine minute videos posted on Sovereign Grace Fellowship YouTube channel. Here is the eighth installment titled "Preaching and Preachers." ...

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What Is The Gospel? (Part 11)

I was apprehended and subjected to an inquisition about my life and ministry. The result is 12 nine minute videos posted on Sovereign Grace Fellowship YouTube channel. Here is the eleventh installment titled "What Is the Gospel." ...

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Christian Hedonism (Part 9)

I was apprehended and subjected to an inquisition about my life and ministry. The result is 12 nine minute videos posted on Sovereign Grace Fellowship YouTube channel. Here is the ninth installment titled "Christian Hedonism." ...

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Reformed Theology (Part 10)

I was apprehended and subjected to an inquisition about my life and ministry. The result is 12 nine minute videos posted on Sovereign Grace Fellowship YouTube channel. Here is the tenth installment titled "Reformed Theology." ...

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Feelings On the New Generation (Part 12)

I was apprehended and subjected to an inquisition about my life and ministry. The result is 12 nine minute videos posted on Sovereign Grace Fellowship YouTube channel. Here is the twelfth installment titled "Feelings On the New Generation." ...

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A Biographical Sketch of My Conversion Experience (Part 6) by Joe Lamay

Over the next week I will be posting my brief account of my conversion to Christ in four or five parts. Here's a taste of part six: "Dick Mills asked me to stand up. In trepidation, I did. He proceeded to quote a few verses having to do with leaving the past behind. And then he, or should I say a loving heavenly Father, stunned me by saying, “No more flashbacks fo...

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The Authority of Preaching for Readers and Non-Readers, by John Piper

John Piper is right on in this post. He says, "The authority of preaching is rooted finally in the absolute authority of God. That root passes through the infallible Word of God, the Bible. This book is the only access we have today to an infallible message from God.Therefore authority is not intrinsic to the preacher. It is intrinsic only to God and his written word. O...

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The Courage to Put Away our Cameras

The Courage to Put Away Our Cameras by Russ Ramsey on July 26, 2012 "One turns at last even from glory itself with a sigh of relief. From the depths of mystery, and even from the heights of splendor, we bounce back and hurry for the latitudes of home." – Annie Dillard, Total Eclipse Oh, to have been present at San Diego's Glorietta Bay on July 4, 2012. If I ...

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How, "Let go and let God" Almost Ruined J.I. Packer's Spiritual Life

J. I. Packer, in his introduction to John Owen's The Mortification of Sin, writes of his conversion and near spiritual destruction: I was converted-that is, I came to the Lord Jesus Christ in a decisive commitment, needing and seeking God's pardon and acceptance, conscious of Christ's redeeming love for me and his personal call to me -in my first university term, a li...

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Steve Saint Accident

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Parenting

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Do You Have an Accountability Partner?

R. C. Sproul Jr. talks about being asked by a deacon at church twenty years ago if he had an "accountability group." When it was explained that this would be " a group of men who are active in your life, that care for you enough to challenge you when you fall into sin. They watch out for you, support you, encourage you to grow in grace and wisdom." He responded that he did...

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This Momentary Marriage: Ian & Larissa's Story

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Charles Colson (1931-2012)

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Real-Life Echoes of the Story of Christ

Here's a model of how to write and deliver a speech...especially for you High School and college kids. ...

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What to Say to Non-Committal Church Attenders

Jonathan Leeman writes, "Joe has attended your church for about a year. He says he's a Christian. But he has not joined. Should you encourage him to join? How?"...

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Martin Luther King - I Have A Dream Speech - August 28, 1963

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Packer on Why We Should Meditate on the Four Gospels More than Any Other Book

I hope we at SFG are finding Packer's words to be true. He writes, [We can] correct woolliness of view as to what Christian commitment involves, by stressing the need for constant meditation on the four gospels, over and above the rest of our Bible reading: for gospel study enables us both to keep our Lord in clear view and to hold before our minds the relation...

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Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011)

Hitchens was one of two people that I made sure to listen to once a week when he was interviewed on the radio for ten minutes. I have always found him intellectually stimulating. I love to listen to thinkers...even when I disagree with them. Justin Taylor writes, "He was a brilliant and entertaining man. He was enormously gifted, and in his final years he took those gifts ...

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Why We Need More 'Chaplains' and Fewer Leaders: What's a pastor for?

Why We Need More 'Chaplains' and Fewer Leaders What's a pastor for? I found this article in "Christianity Today" penetrating....

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What Guys Think About Modesty

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“I Feel Distant from God”

Dr. David Powlison - On feeling "detached from God" from CCEF on Vimeo....

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Confessions of a Former Apollinarian

Trevin Wax writes, ''No, I was never excommunicated. No one ever threatened me with pitchforks and fire. In fact, no one was more surprised to learn about my heresy than I was."...

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The Best Introduction to Homosexuality: Causes, Change, and the Gospel

Sam Williams - A Christian Psychology of and Response to Homosexuality from Southeastern Seminary on Vimeo....

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What is the Mission of the Church?

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"180" Movie

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Thoughts on the freedom of the will

The error starts with the assumption that to be made in the image of God means that one must have the ability to will or choose willy-nilly…based on nothing, based on no motives or inclinations from which to choose. That’s where the issue is. The real mystery is that God did create Adam with the ability to sin...with the inevitability that he would sin. ...

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Coming To Jesus: Joe Lamay's Conversion Experience

Here is my conversion experience in one piece....

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The Size of Our Families and Loving Each Other, by Kevin DeYoung

Kevin DeYoung writes "I want to talk about the size of our families. More importantly, I want to talk about loving as we want to be loved and giving each other the benefit of the doubt."...

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A Biographical Sketch of My Conversion Experience (Part 5) by Joe Lamay

Over the next week I will be posting my brief account of my conversion to Christ in four or five parts. Here's a taste of part five: "On my twentieth birthday, September 5, 1981, after a day of drinking a couple of six packs of Budweiser while listening to rock and roll and painting my parents’ house, the next door neighbor, Ammon Trainer, came over to shoot the bre...

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A Biographical Sketch of My Conversion Experience (Part 4) by Joe Lamay

Over the next week I will be posting my brief account of my conversion to Christ in four or five parts. Here's a taste of part four: "During the late spring and summer of 1981, I was in a constant battle to keep myself busy, so that I would not have idle time to just think and be drawn away by tormenting thoughts from unseen demonic forces. One day I stopped by the baseba...

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A Biographical Sketch of My Conversion Experience (Part 3) by Joe Lamay

Over the next week I will be posting my brief account of my conversion to Christ in four or five parts. Here's a taste of part three: "Up until this time, late winter to early spring of 1981, I had never taken any hallucigenic drugs because they frightened the heck out of me. But one evening, in March, my marijuana supplier was out of my stuff, but he told me he had some ...

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A Biographical Sketch of My Conversion Experience (Part 2) by Joe Lamay

Over the next week I will be posting my brief account of my conversion to Christ in four or five parts. Here's a taste of part two. "Then in January of 1981, at the age of nineteen, I began to develop an insatiable desire to read the bible. Up to this point in my life, I never had anyone share the Gospel with me nor speak about a personal conversion experience. I kno...

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A Biographical Sketch of My Conversion Experience (Part 1) by Joe Lamay

Over the next week I will be posting my brief account of my conversion to Christ in four or five parts. Here's a taste of part one. "I was not a Christian. Of course, I didn’t know I was unsaved. Most of us don’t know we are unsaved until our eyes are opened by the miracle of new birth and we awaken as believers who have a personal, intimate faith in Jes...

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The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 4) by Kevin DeYoung

Question Three: Are You a Faithful Friend Yesterday, I gave three characteristics of a foul friend. Today I conclude the four part series with three characteristics of faithful friend. First, a faithful friend is there in times of trouble. “Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of a c...

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The Keith Green Story

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The Need for Friends

Noel Piper writes, "I was sixty years old when this story began — when I was forced to have friends. I am ashamed that, until then, I could have remained so ignorant of what God intended friendship to be. At the same time, I am filled with gratitude that God didn’t leave me alone. Good things can happen in solitude. Quietness can be a sweet place to meet G...

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The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 3) by Kevin DeYoung

Question 2: Are You a Foul Friend? Let me suggest three traits. First, a foul friend is quick to criticize. In my opinion, there are two kinds of people that have the hardest time making friends. One is the person wants to have friends so badly she can’t understand what it means to be a friend. These people are socially unaware. They don’t ask questions...

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The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 2), by Kevin DeYoung

Question 1: Are You a Fake Friend? Fake friends use people. Money is the example in Proverbs, but there are other ways to use people. Some people get close to pastors or politicians or athletes because they want access, power, or popularity. Others may be so accustomed to soliciting favors for business or school or church affairs that they can no longer tell when their pe...

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The Gift of Friendship and the Godliness of Good Friends (Part 1) by Kevin de Young

We talk a lot about relationships in the church. There are scores of marriage seminars, retreats, and conferences. There are video series and books for newlyweds and engaged couples. Most every church offers marital counseling and most every pastor preaches somewhat regularly on marriage. And the same is true for parenting. There are dozens of books on raising children. Th...

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Prayer

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Praying together

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A Parody of Over-Interpreting the Bible

Beware of bad exegesis and sermons based upon it....

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John Piper Interviews Rick Warren on Doctrine

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One of the deepest and most important national Holidays we have. Remember.

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Thinking Theologically About Memorial Day

Kevin DeYoung writes, "With Memorial Day on Monday (in the U.S.) and, no doubt, a number of patriotic services scheduled for this Sunday, I want to offer a few theses on patriotism and the church." ...

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Sex as a Sign and Appetizer of Something More

The young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God....

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How to Read a Book

Mortimer Adler, in his classic How to Read a Book suggests that there are three main stages for analytical reading, which can be seen in these three questions: (1) What is this book about as a whole? (2) What is being said in detail, and how? (3) Is it true? What of it?...

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Forgiveness: What it is and what it Isn't

. Contrary to what many have been led to believe, forgiveness is not forgetting. Continue reading this article by Sam Storms....

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R.C. Sproul Interviews D.A. Carson on Biblical Exegesis

I first came into contact with D.A. Carson's scholarly work twenty-two years ago while I was in Greek exegesis classes as an undergrad. Christians of all ilks should listen and appreciate this discussion as a vital topic for the life of the local church. RC Sproul interviews DA Carson on biblical exegesis from Ligonier on Vimeo....

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The Body Life Of the Local Church

It is an act of love to open yourself to the church members to be known by them. It helps them to hold you accountable. It reminds them that we are connected to each other. Our church covenant is more than words. We actually mean and want to live according to the promise, “We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together” taken from Hebrews 10:25....

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The Temptations of Christ

In light of the recent sermon I preached on the Temptations of Christ from Luke 4 and our subsequent discussion at one of the home groups, this is a very interesting discussion in this 18 minute video....

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The Oldest NT Fragment We Know About

Here's a brief video tutorial on Greek manuscript evidence that scholars deal with ...

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Mark Noll on the Potential Benefits and Dangers of The Gospel Coalition

As a member of TGC, these are insightful warnings to our movement...

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The Legacy of R.C. Sproul and John Piper

Justin Taylor writes, "The differences between R. C. Sproul and John Piper are easily discerned, even for the casual observer. I’m tempted to enumerate some of them, but it will be more fruitful to focus on the common threads that tie together their remarkable ministries."...

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Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son’s Journey to God. A Broken Mother’s Search for Hope.

“Out of a Far Country is a true-life parable of saving grace for a prodigal mother and a wayward son who needed God’s forgiveness. Their story will warm the heart and lift the spirit of every parent who prays for a wandering child and every believer who needs to be reminded why the gospel is good news.” —Philip G. Ryken, president of Wheaton Coll...

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The Ultimate Purpose for Your Salvation: A meditation on 1 Peter 2:9-10

Why did you come to Jesus? Why are you a Christian? Why did God give you the identity of being “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession who have received mercy?” The answer is crystal clear in these verses. He saved you so that you would say how great He is. In short, He saved you for His glory. ...

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Kevin DeYoung's Final Thoughts On the Rob Bell Issue

This is not going to divide evangelicalism, but it may prove that evangelicalism is already divided. What is the biggest problem in the church: people can’t stand us or we can’t stand the gospel? What is the goal of theology: to paint an attractive picture of Jesus or to say what God has already said? What is our biggest failure: we’ve turned people of...

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An Interview with Rob Bell About His False Gospel

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That Blessed Day

True Christians shall alone be found ready at the second advent. Washed in the blood of atonement, clothed in Christ's righteousness, renewed by the Spirit, they shall meet their Lord with boldness, and sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb, to go out no more. They shall be with their Lord--with Him who loved them and gave Himself for them--with Him who bore with the...

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An Open Letter To Seekers

What do you say in evangelizing so called seekers? An Open Letter to Seekers is a really good guide. ...

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Q and A with R.C. Sproul

How does one not enjoy watching R.C. answering questions. Enjoy!...

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Court Rules That Christianity Is Dangerous For Children

A Christian couple facing a foster parenting ban because of their views on homosexuality were told by a British court yesterday that gay rights ‘should take precedence’ over their religious beliefs. Prepare yourselves believers; this is the road our country is on. ...

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Big Influence. False Doctrine

10,000 people attend his church. 50,000 download his sermons weekly. Big influence. Leading many astray from the true Jesus. Here Is Rob Bells promotional video for his book coming out in a few weeks....

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Christian discipleship and growth

Why are relationships vital in the local church? Mark Dever and other pastors discuss the importance Christian discipleship and growth as a mark of a healthy church. A 2 minute video....

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The Yearning For True Revival

Churches that hate revivals, may be said emphatically to “love death.” Every faithful pastor will be concerned to see his ministrations crowned with such special effusions of God’s Spirit....

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How the Gospel helps us overcome the sin of Pornography

Here is a five minute discussion (between Piper, Carson and Keller) on how the Gospel helps us conquer the sin of pornography....

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Rest Your Head On the Solid Rock of God’s Sovereignty: A Meditation on 1 Peter 2:6-8

We should especially pay attention to the seemingly strange statements in the Bible; they may be there for our encouragement. Here is the gist of what Peter is saying, “No matter what you are going through in your life, if you have embraced Jesus the cornerstone, then you will never regret it; you will never be put to shame.” ...

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Elders

Who are the leaders in the local church, and why are they important? Mark Dever and others explain...3 minute video....

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When Is an Issue Important Enough to Correct Someone?

Here is a helpful guide in Sam Crabtree's new book....

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For All of You Who Are Married or May Get Married...Here's the Song.

For All of You Who Are Married or May Get Married...Here's the Song. ...

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Dying Well

An Interview with Nancy Guthrie on Facing Death with Courageous Confidence in God....

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Come To Jesus (The Word)...Daily: A Meditation On 1 Peter 2:4-5

A clear reading of this text confronts us with the question, “How well are you doing in getting away with the Lord over the Bible? Not just because you are supposed to, but in order to be filled with His Spirit and strengthened for each day’s work?” If in our musing over this question we realize that we don’t have enough time in the day to fi...

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False Gospels

In light of what John the Baptist has been teaching us about preaching the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, here is a 15 Minute video of the tragic reality in our day. ...

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Vipers, Wrath, Repent, Bear Fruits, Holy Spirit Baptism by the Savior=The Gospel

We have seen in Luke 3:1-20 that John the Baptist called his fellow religionists "vipers" (children of the devil); he told them to flee from God's anger poured out in the coming judgment (wrath); he told them that God's wrath is coming because of their sins, and, therefore, they need to turn their hearts back to God and show it in a changed life of genuine repentance; he p...

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God’s Moral Will and Sovereign Will

God does all things according to his will (sovereign will). Some things happen that are not God’s will (moral will). Can you handle these biblical truths? Or do you think they are a contradiction? John Piper helps with this dilemma. ...

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Biblical Church Discipline

We as local churches must live the Gospel, not just say it. That's why covenant membership with the practice of church discipline is clear in scripture and must be incorporated in our churches today. Here's a 2 1/2 minute video introducing the theology of Church Discipline....

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Affirming God's Grace in One Another

This sounds like a book that I am in desperate need of. I need God to work deeply in my heart and mouth to affirm his grace working in the lives of others. It's on my list of "Gets." Here is John Piper’s foreword to Sam Crabtree’s new book, Practicing Affirmation: ...

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Is Repentance Necessary In A Christian's Life?

If someone were to ask, “Do I need to have real acts of repentance in my life in order to be saved?” The answer is not a simple “yes” or “no.” The answer is “It depends on what you mean.” ...

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Church Membership

What's the big deal about membership? Mark Dever and others explain why membership is so valuable to us in the church. A 3 minute video....

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Desiring God...1987

Here is a 3 minute video of John Piper reading his journal entry from 1987, right after the first publishing of Desiring God....

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Conversion

How does one become a Christian? 9Marks authors and staff discuss the importance of having a biblical understanding of conversion. ...

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Evangelism

9Marks staff, authors, and partners discuss the meaning of evangelism....

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Counsel for pastors

Jonathan Leeman gives six reasons he wrote his new book for pastors. This is penetrating advice., ...

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Pursue Intimacy with God in the Word (1 Peter 2:1-3)

Verse 2 is stunning. God, through the Apostle Peter, commands us to have desires or yearnings, that at the moment, we may not have.... So here I am, absorbed in the day to day worries and busyness of life. If we had an instrument to measure desires in my heart, we would find very little “desire for the goodness of God in the Word” at a particular given momen...

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An Interview with John Piper

Multnomah recently published a 25th anniversary edition of John Piper’s classic, Desiring God, Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. Here is a portion of the interview he gave to Justin Taylor....

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The Wrath of God

Is there such a thing as "The Gospel of Jesus Christ" apart from the reality of the "Wrath of God" against sinners?...

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Prayer and Fasting

Remember to be praying for your church this Monday and Tuesday....

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What Is The Gospel?

Here is a 2 1/2 minute video on "What Is the Gospel?...

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Biblical Theology

A two minute video on the importance of understanding the unity of the Bible....

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How To Read A Book

I do not know of a more important skill to develop than arcing...for the preacher....

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Be teachable

There is nothing more important that believers being teachable before the Word of God........

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Expository Preaching

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