The hope of eternal life is at the very center of the Christian faith. Christ said, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). Indeed, in John 17:3, Jesus says that eternal life is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. That is why Christ …
Continue reading Question 52: What Hope Does Everlasting Life Hold for Us?
In both the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, which are the most widely confessed creeds in Christianity, a large portion focuses upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. And rightly so. We are Christians, after all. When we speak of Christ's work, we marvel at the incarnation, which Packer once claimed is the …
Continue reading Question 51: Of What Advantage to Us Is Christ’s Ascension?
My last sermon of 2025 was titled Why Did God Write Poetry? I attempted answering that question because most of us today treat poetry as unnecessary and purely intellectual, ornamental rather than essential. Yet roughly one-third of Scripture is written in poetry. Thus, if we lack a proper appreciation for poetry, we will also struggle …
Continue reading Soul in Paraphrase: A Treasury of Classic Devotional Poems | Leland Ryken
The New Year is here. Have you already started a new devotional? A devotional is book of sort, often daily, readings. Many have 365 readings for the whole year. They are usually written to be relatable and encouraging. The more theologically robust ones typically reflect on a particular verse or passage of Scripture, sometimes encouraging …
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 ESV What does the final phrase of this verse mean? The ESV footnotes that shadow due to change could also be rendered a shadow of …
The catechism now turns from the disciplines of prayer and Scripture to the sacraments or, as we Baptists most commonly call them, the ordinances. These two practices, baptism and the Lord's Supper, were instituted by Christ Himself and given to His church as what Thomas Watson calls visible sermons that proclaim the gospel. They are …
Continue reading Question 43: What Are the Sacraments or Ordinances?
Now that we have learned how to pray with reverence and confidence. Now comes the question: What should we pray? The answer rightly sets our sights upon the Scriptures: The whole Word of God directs and inspires us in what we should pray. Praying in accordance with God's will ought to be our supreme desire, …
Fools mock at the guilt offering,but the upright enjoy acceptance. Proverbs 14:9 ESV This past Sunday, I preached a sermon over the guilt offering in Leviticus. When preparing to preach, there are always bits left on the cutting room floor that don’t make it into the final cut on Sunday morning. And when I …
Continue reading Fools Mock at the Guilt Offering | Proverbs 14:9
But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” Exodus 6:1 ESV This word of Yahweh to Moses came in response to Moses' lament at …
Continue reading You Shall See What I Do to Pharaoh | Exodus 6:1
At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted …
Continue reading Nebuchadnezzar’s New Humility | Daniel 4:34-37
B. C. Newton 