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We grow in maturity by knowing Christ. His surpassing worth changes what we value, where we rest our confidence, and how we press on.

Knowing Christ changes what we treasure and what we are willing to lose.

Our acceptance before God rests entirely in the righteousness received through faith in Christ.

Knowing the risen Savior shapes our obedience, our suffering, and our hope of resurrection.

We press on because Christ has laid hold of us, even though our growth is not yet complete.

Christ frees us from resting in yesterday’s record so that we can pursue him today.

Mature believers remain teachable and walk faithfully in the truth Christ has already shown them.

“When we ask to speak with a guest before communion, we are not assuming the worst about that person. We are acknowledging the limits of what we know. We may have every reason to enjoy their company and receive their profession warmly while still knowing very little about their life, baptism, or relationship to a local church.”

You can listen to some of the best preaching in the world and become harder to pastor. More informed. More opinionated. More capable of spotting everyone else’s theological problems. Yet increasingly difficult to correct, unwilling to serve, and detached from the people Christ has placed directly in front of you. I’ve watched it happen. And what concerns me is that the teaching itself is often good. I’m talking about men like Voddie Baucham, Paul Washer, and John MacArthur. M

For many years there has been an ongoing debate among preachers concerning one’s openness as it relates to the Doctrines of Grace, also known as Calvinism. The question as to whether the terminology should be used before our congregations is apparently the most sensitive aspect of that question. The concern centers on the likelihood of congregants being offended by such expressions due primarily to preconceived notions or misunderstandings. It has also been stated incessantly

The writer of Proverbs gives us a list of seven things the Lord hates, seven things he calls an abomination. That word “abomination” ought to cause us pause. We use the word hate casually, but God does not. When Scripture says that God hates something, (he abhors it) means that the thing is fundamentally opposed to his holy character. It is not a small weakness to excuse or a personality flaw to laugh off. It is utterly evil! Two items on that list sit side by side: “a false

The 1689 London Baptist Confession’s chapter “Of Marriage” is short, but it is not thin. It gives the church a biblical framework for thinking about marriage in a time when marriage is increasingly treated as private preference, romantic fulfillment, civil contract, or social experiment. The chapter helps us recover something more stable: marriage is God’s creation ordinance, governed by God’s Word, ordered for human good, and, for Christians, sanctified in Christ. Marriage h

Does the Bible really speak about “joining” a church? Isn’t membership just a modern invention? Why does it matter if I attend one congregation faithfully yet never sign anything? I am sympathetic to these types of questions because of a century of sloppy practice that has bred ambiguity, and many believers now treat membership like belonging to a gym or sports team. We pay dues, show up when it suits us and maintain a private life outside of the facility. When we look at

Introduction: A Story of Broken Plans and Divine Intervention Many years ago my father pastored a church that was under great persecution and turmoil. Protesters gathered outside calling for the “hick” to be sent back to Arkansas. Threats against our family piled up. An offer came from another church, and the opportunity looked like an escape route. He longed to leave the conflict. However, on the very weekend that the pulpit committee (representatives from the other church)

The Subtle Drift Toward Compromise Massive church growth often courts compromise, while true church health is forged in conviction. The Illusion of Fruitfulness The Apostle Paul alluded to this when he wrote in 2 Timothy 4:3, “the time is coming when people will not endure sound doctrine, but having itching ears they will heap up for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” This is not a distant warning reserved for some future apostasy. This is the present reality of

The Formation of the Mind Education is never neutral. Learning information, whether simple or advanced, shapes the way we perceive reality and ultimately how we live. The moment a child learns something about the world, that knowledge is not merely stored in their mind as isolated data. It becomes part of the framework through which they interpret life. A Simple Example: Mathematics and Order Consider something as basic as arithmetic. When you teach a child that 2 + 2 = 4, yo

A charitable, Reformed Baptist case for credobaptism and New Covenant purity Several of my friends have become Presbyterians over the last year. And before I say anything else, I want to put a flag in the ground: I count Presbyterians as dear brothers in Christ—especially confessional Presbyterians. If you’re PCA and you love the Westminster Confession, if you’re the kind of Presbyterian who actually cares about doctrinal clarity, I genuinely respect you. Most Presbyterians e

Here is something most people do not want to hear: Much of what we spend our lives chasing is ultimately meaningless. Not sinful in itself. Not always immoral. Not necessarily foolish by worldly standards. But meaningless. Our culture runs on an unspoken creed: happiness equals comfort, comfort equals security, security equals wealth, and wealth equals blessing. From childhood we are discipled into believing that the good life is the comfortable life. We assume that financial

Much of Western Christianity today struggles with the concept of the kingdom. We have vague ideas floating around: heaven, some future realm, the millennial reign. But if we’re honest, these notions aren’t very defined in our minds. We hear the phrase “the kingdom of God,” generalize it, and move on. But what if we stopped and took a closer look at how Scripture actually defines the kingdom? This is an immensely complex topic that encompasses so many areas of theology: your v

Why Acts 10 Does Not Teach That the Unregenerate Can Please God Acts 10 stands as one of the most frequently misunderstood chapters in the New Testament, not because the narrative is ambiguous, but because it is often approached with theological assumptions already in place. The figure of Cornelius has become a theological Rorschach test. Some readers treat him as evidence that sincere unbelievers are already pleasing to God. Others portray him as a seeker whose moral discipl