• Daniel Baker • Posted in Gospel, Sermons
Last week's sermon looked at Romans 6:1-14 and our union with Christ. We need to grasp this union to find faith for real change in our lives. Reading Sinclair Ferguson's The Whole Christ this week he explored the idea of our union with Christ and unpacked even more blessings that are ours when we are in Christ and thus possess Christ. In doing so he cited a powerful passage from John Calvin:
Our whole salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ [Acts 4:12]. We should therefore take care not to derive the least portion of it from anywhere else.
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• Daniel Baker • Posted in Bible, Gospel, Sanctification
It seems that one of the cultural phenomenon of our day is the "selfie." In fact, it's amazing the internet doesn't simply collapse under the weight of billions of selfies added to it on a daily basis. But what about your "spiritual selfie"?
• Daniel Baker • Posted in Devotions, Gospel
"The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived": That is the sub-title of a book by Andreas J. Kostenberger and Justin Taylor called, The Final Days of Jesus. In the book the authors, both highly regarded evangelical scholars, work through each day from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. The book provides a helpful reflection on the historicity of these events, but it also gives a good set of readings for individuals and families who want a way to reflect deliberately on these teachings and events so central to our faith and life.
• Daniel Baker • Posted in Gospel, Grace
Jerry Bridges went to be with the Lord yesterday (March 16, 2016). Born to cotton farmers six weeks after the Stock Market Crash of 1929, he was saved in college and eventually went into vocational ministry with the Navigators. Most of us who know him, though, know him as an author and teacher who took gospel truth and made it accessible. If the name is new to you, Justin Taylor has written an excellent piece to honor him and survey his life.
• Daniel Baker • Posted in Gospel, Grace, Sanctification, Sermons
Amazing Grace has to be one of the most familiar Christian hymns of all time. I haven't done any studies on it, but it seems to find it's way into all kinds of Christian and secular movies. If you start the song on a Sunday, everyone present will sing along, not just those who grew up in your church. It is a vivid reminder that something is "amazing" and worth singing about, namely, "grace." But what exactly is "grace"? Let's define it and then look to the New Testament to answer six important questions about it.
And by the way,…
• Daniel Baker • Posted in Devotions, Discipleship, Gospel
Easter week is a great time to annually reflect on the last week of Jesus' earthly ministry, all culminating in the cross and his resurrection. Here are a few thoughts to help you do that, along with a free resource by John Piper at the end.
Palm Sunday is the name given to mark the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem, that glorious and yet ironic moment when the praises of men celebrated the King coming in the name of the Lord and fulfilling the Zechariah prophecy about entering the city on a donkey (Zech. 9:9; Matt.…
• Jonathan Reeves • Posted in Discipleship, Evangelism, Gospel, Grace, Life in the Church
My testimony isn't spectacular in that one life altering event happened that altered the course of my life. My testimony hinges on the fact that the God of the universe was faithful throughout my life to put me in just the right place at just the right time that I might be able to encounter him in just the right way.
• Daniel Baker • Posted in Advent, Evangelism, Gospel
Christmas is a great chance to revisit the gospel in our personal Bible study and also with our families. There are a lot of ways to do this, but one way is to look at prophecies in the Old Testament that are fulfilled by Jesus. This helps us to see how God's gospel ("good news") came to us in Jesus Christ.
• Posted in Attributes of God, Gospel, Grace, Theology
To say that God is immutable is to say that he is unchanging. It is to say that he is constant and consistent. It is to say that he is not fickle. The God who reveals himself in his creation and in his Word is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. With this in mind, there are at least four ways in which we can speak of God as being immutable.
• John McLawhorn • Posted in Attributes of God, Bible, Forgiveness, Gospel, Holy Spirit, New Testament, Prayer
Do we worship what we know or what we do not know? This was the distinction made by Christ to the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob concerning the Jews and Samaritans of his day. Jesus pointed out that God, who is spirit, was seeking true worshipers who will worship in spirit and truth.