One joy of reading through the whole Bible is that I come across insights that I may otherwise skip. In my current through-the-Bible reading plan, D.A. Carson’s For the Love of God has been my devotional companion last year (Volume One) and this year (Volume Two). I’ve had occasion to share what Carson noted from Song of Solomon chapter 3 in the reading for April 28. Since it proved helpful, I thought I’d share it here as well. It’s about cultivating sexual intimacy in marriage. Want some encouragement? Read on.

What difference does Spirit-baptism make?

Unfortunately, many Christians have a distorted understanding of Spirit-baptism because their understanding of Spirit-baptism has been shaped more by their own experiences and the supposed experiences of others than by the Scriptures. While other Christians don’t have a distorted understanding of Spirit-baptism, they simply don’t have any understanding of Spirit-baptism.

The Apostle Paul - if he were alive today - would be grieved by the misunderstanding and lack of understanding of Spirit-baptism by so many Christians today.

So, what is Spirit-baptism and what difference does it make? Let’s take a look.

In Alexander Strauch’s excellent book “The New Testament Deacon” he takes the position that the women mentioned in 1 Timothy 3:11 are simply the wives of those who serve the church as deacons. Others have concluded that these were just female “deacon assistants.” A third view asserts that there were actually women who were recognized as model servants in the church (i.e., “deaconnesses”). This is admittedly a difficult passage, and each of the views has problems or questions from the text that work against it.

I was forced to think through this sticky issue during an expository series through the book, as well as during a topical study of office of deacon last year. I would like to share the fruit of my study for your edification.

Click here to read my conclusions and explanation .

I just finished reading Dever’s book on personal evangelism. The book was given to all those attending the Together for the Gospel conference. I was happy to receive it…even though I had purchased it the week before and was already half-way through reading it! Ha!

The book is great. With only a little more than 100 pages, it is not exhaustive on the topic. But, it is especially helpful in…click here to read more.

Tiffany (my wife) and I love our children (Silas, Mercy, Justus, and Ruby), and we are constantly looking for opportunities to teach our children (particularly our older children) about Christ.

Last Saturday I took my son, Silas, to a funeral. He recently turned four, and this was the first funeral he’s been to.

Click here to find out what happened.

Jesus made a shocking statement in Matthew 5:29.

Matthew 5:29
29“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

I’ve heard this verse referenced a lot by Christians, but they always seem to leave off the last part - the part about hell. That’s too bad.

The sobering truth is, you and I will be thrown into hell if we don’t tear out our eye when we need to.

Click here to read more.

We are far more influenced by our world and times than we realize or care to see. We look back in history at professing Christians excusing slavery and say, “Didn’t they get it?” Or we see the church’s marriage with the state in Reformation times and wonder, “Couldn’t they see the confusion this caused?” Yet I often wonder what Christians of other times would point out in our lives and say, “Don’t you get it?”

I read an article from Grace to You’s website that gives insight into some answers. Let me give you a taste that may encourage you to read it. Read on…

This is my first blog post ever. I am about as comfortable with this as I am riding a camel. To illustrate, the picture at right is of my wife and I in Israel in 1998 on a camel.

Craig urged me to write about gender roles or parenting, maybe because I had the privilege of performing Craig and Tiffany’s wedding ceremony. (Ask Craig for pictures.) So I’ll begin my posting life with a series of perspectives on parenting.

May I start by asking what the supreme desire of a Christian parent is? When all is said and done, what do you want most for your child? … Click here to read more.

People will tell you about their Spirit baptism experiences. Many of these stories sound impressive, but the problem is they don’t seem to agree with 1 Corinthians 12:12-13.

Understanding Spirit baptism is important for understanding spiritual gifts. So, what is Spirit baptism, and why is it important?

Click here to read on .

In previous posts, we have defined a spiritual gift and listed basic principles from 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 that pertain to spiritual gifts in general. We have been given gifts from God to use in His Church to glorify His name! How can we be a good steward of our spiritual gifting?

1 Peter 4:10 says, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it is serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Click here to read 10 practical suggestions for being a good steward of your spiritual gifting.