Praying for Unity in Our Church
By Hayden LindseyI’ve found the division and strife in our world these days disheartening. Seeing this discord on social media, even among Christians, left me feeling saddened and a bit helpless this summer. In August, the Lord pressed on my heart the importance of praying for unity in the church. He is our Help and our Hope in these strange times. Blaire Savage and I compiled 30 days’ worth of verses to pray, and our elder wives’ prayer group joined us in praying through the month of August. My dear small group ladies also joined in this effort. Another group
Help with Mark 13!
As I mentioned in my sermon on Mark 13, here are a couple of resources that might be helpful for you in further study: Some definitions of terms from John Piper. Piper is here defending his view of a rapture of the church that happens after a time called the great tribulation (post-tribulation is the label of this view).  Regardless if you agree with him or not, his definitions of terms are quite helpful. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/definitions-and-observations-concerning-the-second-coming-of-christ Two  sermons by Dr. Danny Akin on Mark 13. You can either listen to him preach or read the manuscript.  This teaching is similar to his commentary “Exalting
A Prayer of Praise to the King of Creation
Written by Douglas McKelvey, Every Moment Holy. p. 273-277 Read: Â Mark 13 Join me in this prayer of praise to the King of Creation and Re-creation. Our thoughts of you, O Lord, have been too small, too few - for seldom have we considered how specific is the exercising of your authority, extending as it does into the myriad particulars of creation. There is no quarter over which you are not king. And as creation hurtles toward its liberation and redemption, the full implications of your deep Lordship are yet to be revealed in countless facets unconsidered: Christ, you are
Theology Can Blind You to God
Article by Marshall Segal | The Gospel Coalition Read:  Mark 12:35-44 Jesus had enemies. As soon as he’s declared Son of God in the Gospel of Mark, he’s driven into the wilderness to face Satan, his first and greatest adversary (Mark 1:12). Satan lurks behind all opposition to Jesus, and his demons show up repeatedly to entice and corrupt, but surprisingly, his henchmen are more often theologians than demons. Satan is mentioned only five times in Mark, and demons only thirteen times. But the scribes and Pharisees are mentioned 29 times, and in 27 of those verses, they are wielding their knowledge
Pay Your Taxes But Trust in Christ
Article by Collin Hansen SEPTEMBER 22, 2010  | The Gospel Coalition Read:  Mark 12:13-34 Enjoying a sunny fall day, I walked around the National Mall on Saturday afternoon. Before visiting any other favorite sites, I ascended the temple steps where Father Abraham presides on his throne over American civil religion. Designed to recall the Greek Parthenon, this memorial secures Lincoln’s place in the American pantheon. If you champion a social cause and want to leave your mark on America, you must at some point make the pilgrimage to this hallowed ground. All the better if you can deliver a speech that
The Parable of the Tenants
Article by Charles K. Telfer, Tabletalk Read:  Mark 11:27-12:12 No man was braver than our Lord Jesus. Right to their face and at the risk of His life, He exposed the evil intentions of the self-engrossed leaders of the people of God in His generation. Ironically, our passage ends with these chief priests seeking to arrest Him (Matt. 21:45–46), thereby practicing precisely the kind of hard-hearted grasping that Jesus condemned in the story. Jesus’ strong actions (driving vendors from the temple) and words of coming judgment (the neighboring stories of the cursing of the fig tree and the parables of the two
Some Kindling for Your Embers
Article by John Piper; Founder & Teacher, desiringGod.org Read:  Mark 11:1-25 We all feel small. That’s because we are small. John Piper may seem like a big fish in the little evangelical pond. But in the ocean of the world, I am statistically a nobody. But we are attached to the Creator of the world through his Son Jesus, and we are part of his global purpose for all nations that cannot be stopped. Fire Up Your Hope Take three minutes and let yourself feel the astonishing and invincible plans for all the nations of the world. When Paul had finished
Should Christians Be On Social Media
While many Christians avoid Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, pastor and author Paul Tripp has confessed his love for social media. Social Media, he argues, can be used as a tool for the teaching the gospel, for encouragement, for building up, and teaching. But we've all seen Social Media used hurtfully, and most of us have made mistakes in who we trust, what we view, what we say, and how we spend our time. "Social media is just like a screwdriver -- a screwdriver you can build beautiful things with ... but you could also stab somebody in the face with. It
Delivered to the Gentiles
First published in Tabletalk Magazine, an outreach of Ligonier. Read:  Mark 10:32-52 [The Dwell App has a variety of voices and background music selections to aid you in listening to the scriptures (we have a 60 day free trial for NWers)! Click HERE to sign up.] “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he
All Things Are Possible With God
Read:  Mark 10:13-31 [The Dwell App has a variety of voices and background music selections to aid you in listening to the scriptures (we have a 60 day free trial for NWers)! Click HERE to sign up.] In 2004, I was finishing up seminary and taking a class in preaching. One of our assignments was to write a manuscript and preach a text from one of the gospels. I chose the story of the rich young ruler from Mark 10. It had always troubled me. Perhaps because I identified with the rich young ruler. I saw myself in him. I did my
