Each December 31st I write this post, looking back on the previous year and forward to the new. As you may have noticed, 2025 was quite similar to 2024 here: my writing was fairly sparse.
There were two main reasons. First, instead of using my free time to write, I have been devoting it to studying the classical languages, learning Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. Second, in addition to serving full-time as a pastor, I have also taken on a part-time role teaching Latin at the classical academy that I helped launch last year.
For largely those two reasons, many weeks for the past two years I have only managed to publish my weekly sermon manuscript. But I do think that this next year will be different. My language studies are no longer as consuming as they once were because I largely understand most of the grammatical basics, I am now in the long, slow intermediate march where I simply need to keep spending time using the languages to grow in fluency.
This year I expect to write more. Indeed, I already have several articles drafted for the new year.
If you subscribe to my podcast, Rooted and Unwithered, you know that I have been posting sermons from previous years, especially those that are no longer available on my church’s website. This gives those sermons a new home and keeps my feed active. My wife and I have recorded a few episodes that we expect to publish in the summer.
With that said, here is a roundup of some of my favorite writings from this past year.
FAVORITE SERMONS
1. A Call to Worship | Leviticus 1:1
My favorite sermon of the year was the introductory sermon to Leviticus. Returning to the Pentateuch was deeply meaningful for me. When I first began preaching at Western Meadows in 2014, I started with Genesis 1:1. Since then, I have preached through Genesis and Exodus. Now, finally reaching Leviticus, which is the center of the Pentateuch, felt like such a gift of God’s grace. Giving this overview of the book was a delight. And I am looking forward to beginning Numbers next year!
2. The Kingly Man | Proverbs 31:1-9
I list this sermon first only because I preached it first, but it is really tied with The Excellent Woman. We tend to think of Proverbs 31 as a chapter for women, but it expressly the counsel that King Lemuel’s mother gave to him. Before any man begins looking for an excellent wife, he should meditate on become the kingly man that these verses describe.
3. The Excellent Woman | Proverbs 31:10-31
This is a passage that many are familiar with, but few seem to have deeply considered. Men particularly ought to meditate over them, since they were originally written for a man.
4. Cultus Cultivates Culture | Psalm 15 & 115
This, my second-to-the-last sermon of the year, was a kind of epilogue to Leviticus. In it, I attempt to explore a theme that undergirds all of Leviticus: we become like what we worship.
5. Blessings & Woes | Luke 6:20-26
This sermon was a bit more academic than usual, but I think it was that uniqueness that made it such a pleasant studying and preaching experience. After finishing the Beatitudes in Matthew, I compared them with Luke’s counterpart and used that comparison to explore how we should read parallel passages in the Gospels.
You may notice that no sermon from Ruth is on this list. That omission is painful because Ruth is one of my favorite books of Scripture. It was, however, impossible to single out any one sermon without doing injustice to the whole. Plus, the image is one of my wife’s favorite designs.
FAVORITE ARTICLES
1. The Five Offerings of Leviticus Reflect the Five Books of Moses
One of the most enjoyable aspects of studying Leviticus was discovering its careful structure. Seeing how the five offerings at the beginning of the book parallel with the books of the Pentateuch was a particular delight.
2. A Reflection on Sermon Planning
This was a simple reflection on how I think through my preaching calendar for the year. I hope it serves as an encouragement to both pastors and non-pastors who are curious about the process.
3. Literary Discipleship
Here I made the case that reading good Christian books should be considered an aspect of discipleship.
4. Great Resources for Learning Biblical Greek
This was a roundup of my favorite resources for learning Biblical Greek. I also included some short advice for learning to read the language of the New Testament. You can find a similar list of resources for Biblical Hebrew here.
5. Why the Greeks?
This article is a bit outside my normal theological niche, but I thought the exploration of how Helen and Andromache reflect the unique nature of ancient Greece was worth undertaking.
FAVORITE MEDITATIONS
1. The Fools Mock the Guilt Offering | Proverbs 14:9
This meditation was also a cutting-room floor thought from my sermon on the guilt offering.
2. Question 42: How Is the Word of God to Be Read and Heard?
This is an incredibly practical question, yet it is one that we rarely give enough time considering.
3. Question 40: What Should We Pray?
We know that we should pray, but when we come before the Creator of heaven and earth, what should be the content of our prayers? Few questions are more important than that.
4. Question 45: Is Baptism with Water the Washing Away of Sin Itself?
This remains a point of confusion and contention with many believers. Here is my conclusion: baptism is necessary for the Christian life but not for salvation.
5. No Shadow of Turning | James 1:17
Rereading the Odyssey and getting into stargazing this year made me consider the implications of James’ description of God.
B. C. Newton 