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Last weekend, I was in Iceland teaching a biblical theology of the Old Testament. Drawing on The Drama of ScripturebyCraig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen, I sought to explain how the Old Testament is organized around the twin concepts of Kingdom and Covenant. The following videos are put up by Loftstofan Baptistakirkja (Upper Room Baptist Church) and their pastor Gunnar...

Over the summer, our church considered many of the things Jesus said about money. In a Sunday School series following Randy Alcorn'sThe Treasure Principle,we learned much about how to invest our lives in things eternal. This Sunday, in our Sermon on the Mount series, we will again look at Jesus's words about storing up treasure in heaven and not on earth. Reflecting on th...

As we consider the topic of fasting this week, here are a few articles and books that you may find helpful. At the end of this resource blog is also a website calledThe Common Rule,that offers some common sense practices for creating habits (including fasting) that are aimed to cultivate godliness. Articles Drinking Deeply from Our Father in Heaven: Nine Observations a...

Gospel-Motivated Generosity is a Mark of True Obedience For the last two months, our church has thought about Jesus' words concerning giving. In Sunday School, we have considered Randy Alcorn's helpful little book called The Treasure Principle. You can listen to the series here. This Sunday we will again consider Jesus' words about giving in Matthew 6:14. And as we prepa...

"Be mature as your Heavenly Father is perfectly mature." It doesn't have the same ring as "Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect," but it may be closer to the reality of what Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:48. On Sunday we finished the last of six expositions of the law that Jesus gives in Matthew 5:4348. And as Jesus addresses the topic of love and hate, we learn h...

Imprecatory psalms (e.g., Pss 5, 10, 17, 35, 58, 59, 69, 70, 79, 83, 109, 129, 137, 140) are those psalms which call upon God to destroy the enemies of God. They come from the anguished hearts of persecuted Israelites, and they include some of the most shocking words in the Bible. Take just a few examples. Psalm 35 provides one of the most acceptable imprecatory Psalms. V...

The Extra Mile In a world of retaliation and self-protection, what does it look like to follow Jesus when one's security is threatened? How ought Jesus' disciples to turn the other cheek, and go the extra mile? Listen to this last Sunday's sermon, and go deeper with the discussion questions below: Matthew 5:38-42 38You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an ey...

In Matthew 5:9Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." A few verses later, Jesus instructs worshipers to leave their gifts at the altar in order to make peace with those who have something against them (5:21-26) and just a few verses later he tells us we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, that we might b...

What does it mean to live as people of truth in a culture that's so often less than truthful? As we continue in our series on the Sermon on the Mount, this last Sunday we looked at Matthew 5:33-37, where Jesus teaches about oaths, vows, yeses and nos. As disciples of Jesus, we must understand what it means for us that every word we say is captive to God's truth. Listen ...

Yesterday, I wrote on the importance of feeding on the Word. Today, let me add another reflection on that themenamely, what it looks like to actually feed on the Word of God. Certainly, if God calls us to live upon every Word that proceeds from his mouth (Matthew 4:4), it should not surprise us that he is not silent on what it looks like to feed on his word. Just as the h...