Archives for October 2017

As we gathered at church this Reformation Sunday, we did so with the fruits of the Reformation still impacting our lives. From the Bibles in our laps (or on our phones) to the message justification by faith alone in Christ alone, we who know the true gospel of grace are, in so many ways indebted to the men and women of the Reformation. Through their suffering, couple with ...

A Conversation with Jeff Dionise ...

Most of the time when we read the Bible we seek to make direct application to ourselves. Because the Bible is for our instruction and sanctification, this is absolutely right. Sometimes in Scripture, however, we find that the first application isnotto ourselves. Ephesians 3:113 is one of those instances, and yet it is also a passage bubbling over with grace for the believe...

"Time is precious and talk is cheap." That old saying rings true to our busy ears. So why would we waste time on books that are full of cheap talk? I would say that because time is precious good words should be treated as treasures. Of course, the greatest treasure is the word of God and since that word points us to Christ and teaches us truth we should spend most of our t...

The church is more than just a collection of individual Christians or a consumer-oriented store for the religious. It is a people created by the cross of Christ, joined together in Christ to display his power and grace to the world. For this reason, the church is called a temple. As we learned last week, temples display the power of the God who dwells therein. And in the c...

There is a way of thinking today that says life and liberty are found by rejecting or rewriting the law. Personal expression is all that matters: "Just be yourself . . . Be authentically you!" And if any rules or lawsbe they religious or otherwiseget in the way, just reject or rewrite those restrictions. Importantly, Scripture is not silent on this matter. And it teaches ...

This Sunday marks our fifth sermon in Ephesians and, with it, the consideration of the fifth sola. As our church remembers the Protestant Reformation this fall, we have sought to highlight the five solas from the text of Ephesians. After considering the material principles of the gospel in Ephesians 12 (e.g., Sola Gratis, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria), we con...

For the last two years, Occoquan Bible Church has supported Loftstofan Baptist Church and the ministry of Gunnar Ingi Gunnarsson. This fall was our first of what we hope is many mission trips to Iceland. In what follows, Gary, with a few editorial remarks from David, reports on the happenings of the week. Hopefully it makes sense who's talking. The Mission. Our primary go...

When it comes to understanding the heart of the gospel, Ephesians 2:810 is an anchor passage. And this week I had the privilege and the challenge of preaching it. The privilege comes in the fact that, this verse encapsulates so much gospel truth. The challenge is unpacking all that is there in those three verses. As with many sermons, preaching this passage makes the prea...