Nearly one week after the 2020 United States election, we still do not know for certain whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden will be President for the next four years. The media, of course, has called Biden the winner, yet with Trump’s assertion of potential voter fraud, an actual end to the contest likely remains …
2020 has been significantly more homebound than previous years due to COVID-19, which included for many churches the cancellation of planned mission work. Our church was among that number, so for November (which we designate as Missions Month), we are focusing on the topic of Missions at Home. To coincide with this theme, I gave …
Continue reading How to Support Missions & Be Missional at Home
The Olivet Discourse (found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21) is Jesus’ apocalyptic teaching to His disciples, and, as with all things pertaining to the end times, it typically draws out of us a strange mixture of curiosity, confusion, and perhaps some fear. Yet of all the questions that could be asked perhaps …
Continue reading Is This the End? (Or, What Is the Olivet Discourse Describing?)
Unlike my previous posts of notebook writings, this is one larger thought rather than smaller bullet-pointed ones. Life is hard. Discipline is harder. While striving to live a life of strength, value, and honor, I can certainly understand the sway of Stoicism and Taoism. They both teach the necessity of a disciplined life. After all, …
Continue reading The Appeal of Stoicism | Notebook Scribbles (iii)
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” I believe this passage of dialogue from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe remains one of the most frequently …
This is part two of sharing some various ponderings that I've scribbled into Evernote. As with part one, I present them in hope of stirring with you further ponderings. If the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, then Heaven shall be the fulfillment of our very being. Hell, however, …
I keep a file in Evernote for writing down various thoughts at whatever time they pop into my brain. Some these scribbles have made their way into sermons or articles that I have written, but most are content with simply being remnants of past ponderings. I share here a handful of these snapshots of thought …
The following is a guest post written by my wife as she reflected upon the 2nd anniversary of her father's passing. I pray that her recollections of that season will encourage you to trust all the more in the goodness of Christ through all things. Last Saturday was the second anniversary of my father's death; …
Author Since first verse identifies the author as Jude, we must ask ourselves who Jude is. The name is a derivative of the Judas, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Judah. Unfortunately, Judas was a tremendously common name during the first century. In fact, two of Jesus’ twelve disciples were named Judas—Judas …
The Epistle of Jude is a rather neglected book. Likely due to an assortment of factors (such as its brevity and citation of apocryphal sources), this poetic letter has often been under-utilized within the church. Though I do not claim this to always have been so throughout church history, personal experience has largely left me …
B. C. Newton 