For many Christians, giving tithes and offerings are a normal part of life. Even though I do not think that Christians are necessarily bound by a tithe (or 10%) today, I fervently uphold the principle of giving a portion of our finances back to God since they all came from Him in the first place. With that said, my …
My wife and I recently finished Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, and it’s been great. I’d say we aren’t terrible with our money, but we’ve always desired to be better stewards of the resources God has given to us. And it turns out that we weren’t quite as solid financially as we should be. Budgeting has …
The season of Advent begins December 2 this year, leading up to Christmas. I love Advent because it helps us remember how long humanity waited for a Savior. It emphasizes the glorious miracle of Jesus' coming into the world that He created. This ebook collects together the devotional thoughts that I posted during Advent in …
Giving to the poor is a staple of Christianity and most other religions. Typically, we consider giving alms to be an inherently righteous and holy act, so when Jesus warned that there was a wrong way to give to the needy, most people likely hadn't even considered that was possible. How can giving ever be …
Preaching through the Sermon on the Mount is providing great material for blog posts because Jesus raises far too many topics and issues to cover from the pulpit in the 16 weeks I have planned for the series. Last week, I attempted to expound upon remarriage since questions of remarriage are raised from Jesus' discussion of divorce. …
It's officially October, which means that 2016 is circling the drain. Time to start thinking about 2017. Why plan for the next year in October? Let's be honest. The Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year season is not very conducive for realistically planning the coming year. The holidays are a blur of busyness, and January ends up catching us …
Divorce sucks. And many know it firsthand. Unfortunately, the sting of divorce is rampant. If you haven't felt it personally, chances are you've felt it through friends or family. Since it is, by nature, the destruction of a covenant of the utmost intimacy, divorce is never a light or easy topic. This Sunday, I preached, in part, over …
I've wrestled with this question a lot. Though I was saved at an early age, I didn't fully understand the gospel (especially the eternal security of believers) until I was in college. As a kid, I truly wanted to live a Christ-like life, I knew I was a sinner, and I believed that Christ died …
Continue reading a thought on repentance, obedience, & the Law
In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He boldly proclaims that His followers are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. These are tremendous claims, but I want to focus for the moment upon Jesus’ warning about salt losing its taste. Christ warns that if salt is no longer salty then it …
Continue reading a thought on eternal security & saltless salt
On Sunday, Paul Priest preached a great sermon on following verses from James: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of …
B. C. Newton 