Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 (ESV) In these verses, Solomon proclaims that all is vanity. Or using other words, everything is meaningless. That statement is true, but there is a problem. …
But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Acts 6:4 ESV In 1 Peter 5:2-3, pastors are given three commands which correspond to their three titles: shepherd the flock (pastor), exercise oversight (overseer), and be an example to the flock (elder). Each command is a different aspect of leading …
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not …
Given that appointing elders in every town was Paul's primary directive to Titus (1:5), it is troublesome that so few of us understand the biblical concept of eldership. In fact, thinking about a church's elders likely conjures up either wizened old men or cultish organizations governed ruthlessly by a handful of men. As you may …
Finally, the notion of sloth does not merely apply to idleness but also to busyness. Before discussing busyness, we should note that idleness is a sinful counterfeit of God-glorifying rest. Rest is worship; idleness is not. Rest is found in coming to Christ; idleness is found in self-gratifying pursuits. The same is also true of …
Slothfulness, though, is not merely physical or intellectual. We can also be lazy and idle spiritually. Spiritual sloth means being slothful to the things of God. Primarily, we see this in our reading of Scripture and prayer, which we tend to devote little (if any) time toward. While we may say that nothing is more …
Our society may still (generally) value physical labor, but it is increasingly leaving behind intellectual labor. Leigh Bortins, in her book The Core, compares us to the early Americans by stating that “overall, the same percentage of Americans read Common Sense in the late 1770s that watch the Super Bowl today” (p. 29)! I am convinced that …
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding …
God: I gave you my very Word. Why did you not meditate on it day and night (Psalm 1:2)? Man: I definitely would have, but you see, I was far too busy. God: Yet you most days watched multiple hours of television. You gave 9 years of your life to it. Man: Perhaps, but that …
The church is terribly important in the Bible. After all, it is called the body and bride of Christ. For most men, their wife and their own body come pretty high up on their list of priorities, and I believe the Bible uses those metaphors for that very reason. Today, even many otherwise theologically sound …
B. C. Newton 