Bible, theology, culture, etc.
https://youtu.be/cOwqXuUyL8U What is the difference between “forced” religion, and true faith? I have found no better summary than the writing of Henry Scougal’s The Life of God in the Soul of Man: “Force and artificial religion,” he writes, “is commonly heavy and languid, like the motion of a weight forced upward: it is cold and spiritless, like … Continue reading You Are God’s Temple (1 Cor 3:1-17)
How should a pastor respond to false teaching in his church? With no shortage of heresy, the pages of church history have shown a myriad of examples of how the church has responded to false teachers in the past. From excommunication to execution, Christendom has always, though often imperfectly, fought to defend the faith once … Continue reading “Rebuke Them Sharply”: Critical Rebukes, Gentleness, and Tone in the Pastoral Epistles
https://youtu.be/rFX5nKgPNeQ Have you ever encountered a problem that was so overwhelming, so complicated, so gross, that you felt paralyzed about how to even begin dealing with it? The first car I ever bought was a 1987 Honda Accord with 330,000 miles on it. I spent 700$ at a police auction to buy it. I raised … Continue reading Grace to You (1 Cor 1:1-9)
There are plenty of resources out there that answer other questions about what marriage is and is not. I do not intend to answer those questions in this article, at least not directly. My aim here is to imagine I were sitting down with you in my office to discuss how to respond to a real, flesh and … Continue reading I’ve Been Invited to a Same-Sex Wedding. What Do I Do?
Here is the idea: if you have the ability, you should build/buy/rent a home with a spare bedroom(s) with the explicit purpose of using it for the Kingdom. There are many ways we can use our house for the Kingdom. You can have people over for meals, host a small group, use it to bless your own … Continue reading Use Your Big House to the Glory of God
The following is an unedited sermon manuscript; for an explanation of my sermon manuscripts, click here. *Originally preached in December 2021* Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you … Continue reading Christmas Eve: A Weary World Rejoices (Matt 11:28-30)
Here is an email response given to someone who asked me this question awhile ago - it is a question I am asked fairly frequently, so I figured it would be helpful to just put it into a post. If you are unfamiliar with the "Unforgivable Sin", it is found in Mark 3:22-30, Luke 12:8-10, … Continue reading Have I Committed the Unforgivable Sin?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUHCMYWay-c “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,” The Bible is strange. I think sometimes we forget just how weird it really is. For the past few weeks we have been looking at the beginning of Jesus’ teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, and if we have been … Continue reading The Meek (Matt. 5:5)
In our youth group we have been examining the book of Jonah, and had the opportunity to go through the second chapter recently. For time's sake we simply could not cover every aspect of the passage, but we were unable to run down one trail I was hoping to. So I will share my thoughts here: … Continue reading Sovereign God, Responsible People
500 years ago, the church was very different than it was today. 500 years ago, the church was organized under the pope in the Roman Catholic system, which acted more like a government than a church. The church believed that salvation was only found in the Roman Catholic church, and God’s teaching could only be … Continue reading How to Read the Bible (2 Tim. 3:14-17)
Marc Sims 