TwelveTwelve: The Leader Blog of North Wake Church

For Paul Oh, Paul.  Poor, poor Paul.  Apostle most controversial and difficult in so many ways.  The length of your sentences has made many a reader throw up his hands.  Your instructions…well, let’s just say they have caused many a debate.  I’ve heard plenty of people say they just avoid your letters.  And yet, Romans 7 could make a person feel a little tender toward you. “15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I

United to Christ in Death Means Freedom From the Sentence of the Law Read:  Romans 7:1-6 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if

Recently, I have been reading a book by Dr. Ferguson titled Union with Christ: The Blessings of Being in Him. As I listened to Pastor Larry preach this past Sunday, I was reminded of what I had been reading and thinking through as I have slowly gone through this book. This week, a cold has hit our house, so instead of trying to write a Meditation for Preparation, I thought the podcast linked below would be a good follow up to what Larry preached. If you don't normally listen to this podcast, I would highly encourage you to do so; it is a great way to start your morning. I would also encourage you to grab

Come Along and Bring Your Tools Read: Romans 6:1-14 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly

For Those Who Know How To Mess Up Read: Romans 5:12-21 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more

Side by Side in Exodus 35 Whenever you are seeking to have another person see your perspective, it can be helpful to state the facts and the things you can agree about. Think about it this way. I say that Chocolate Cake is a denser cake than Caramel Cake. This isn’t a negative against chocolate cake; it's just my thoughts on the density of these two cakes. To help you see my point of view, I will start with things we can agree on. We agree that cake is delicious, that both chocolate and caramel cakes are delicious, and that both cakes are better than angel food cake. I

Distinct by Design, United by Mission God's story is full of happy groupings of men and women that help and support each other.  The first words of the Bible introduce us to the One God, seen as a Spirit over the world. Later we learn of the person of the Son, and further God reveals himself in the person of the Father. They seem to specialize in their tasks, with God the Father loving and ruling, the Son creating and redeeming, and the Spirit helping people to understand, drawing their eyes back to God. This One true God called

On Translation and the Power of God’s Word We are coming to the close of Entermission, the time of year when we spend a few weeks focusing on how we take the gospel to our neighbors, the unreached areas within our own country (church planting), and the world.  Books and books and sermons and sermons have been written on this topic.  What more can one little blogger think to share about missions?  Especially one little blogger who wasn’t saved through any conversation with a believer? My conversion story is a simple one of a girl who, one weekend in a fit of

Where is Church Planting in the Bible The majority of Christians I meet like the idea of church planting conceptually but would never give serious consideration planting one themselves. One reason many Christians do not more readily consider planting churches is that they are unable to pinpoint a biblical foundation for church planting. They simply do not know the Bible commands Christians to start new churches. Church planting is important because the church is important Farming matters because food matters. Hospitals matter because people matter. Church planting matters because the church matters. Not everyone sees it that way, though.

When Jerry and I first moved to this area, we were about a year into our marriage. Like many young couples, we thought it would be a great idea to get a puppy. Being poor and firm believers in rescue pups, we headed to the Wake County Animal Shelter. We walked the aisles and saw many pups that could have come home to be part of our family, but long story short, instead of leaving with one puppy, we brought home two full-grown collies, whom we promptly named Lady and Bootsie. They were the most amazing dogs, and though