Preach and Persuade

What are the New Covenant signs? What is a Baptist view of baptism? What does baptism represent? Why do we believe that paedobaptism is unbiblical? We answer all these questions in this episode as we discuss the church ordinance of baptism and give our biblical defense for credobaptism. For more information about my ministry or to donate, visit: afci.us

Does the NT prescribe a specific type of church government structure? Who wields the keys of the kingdom? Do bishops or elders have authority over the church, or does the congregation have authority? In this episode, we will make our defense for the congregational polity in which the members of the church wield the keys of the kingdom. For more information about my ministry or to donate, visit: af...

In this episode, we discuss the regulative principle versus the normative principle. God does regulate how He is to be worshiped when His people gather. We are not free to do whatever we want. Indeed, God created us for the very purpose of worshipping Him. It makes sense that He would tell us how we are to do it. When we gather, we must preach the word, read the word, pray the word, sing the word,...

The relationship between Israel, the church, and the Kingdom is one of the most consequential issues in biblical theology. It has downstream effects on ecclesiology, eschatology, political theology, and even soteriology. Broadly speaking, covenant theology sees far more continuity between these three entities, while dispensational theology sees more discontinuity. In this episode, Cody Weckerly, A...

In this episode, Cody Weckerly, Adam Nesvold, and I discuss the function and mission of the church. What the church does stems from what the church is. According to Greg Allison the church function as a covenantal, confessional, missional, and spatio-temporal/eschatological community. For more information about my ministry visit afci.us For more information about Harvest Plains Church visit harves...

In this episode, I sit down with Cody Weckerly and Adam Nesvold of Harvest Plains Church to discuss the nature and identity of the church. After discussing some misconceptions, we give a biblical definition of what the church is. The church is the New Covenant people of God saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ, regenerated by the Spirit, who assemble regularly to worship God. To learn more about my...

In this episode, I talk with pastors Cody Weckerly and Adam Nesvold of Harvest Plains Church. Cody Weckerly began the process of planting Harvest Plains Church exactly four years ago. When planting a church, all matters of ecclesiology must be thought through. If you are going to plant a church, you have to know what the church is and what the church does. Before getting into theology, we reminisc...

In this episode, we discuss the texts of Scripture that command the Christian to judge his fellow brother in the Lord. The Christian duty of judging really is the church discipline process. We look at Matthew 18:15-20, 1 Corinthians 5, and 1 Timothy 5:17-21. To learn more about our ministry or to donate, visit: afci.us

Every Christian has heard the statement, "Jesus said that we are not supposed to judge." But is this true? Is there a place in the Christian life where we are commanded to exercise judgment of others? There certainly is. In this episode, Dan and I look at the common texts that people use to defend their position that Christians are not supposed to judge others, and we explain why those texts are n...

In this episode, we interview Mack Tomlinson. Mack is one of five pastors at Providence Chapel in Denton, Texas. He also maintains a ministry of itinerate preaching and teaching around the US. Mack served as the editor of HeartCry, a journal on revival and spiritual awakening, which gave him a unique knowledge on revival. In this episode, Mack explains the events in and around the revivals that to...

In this episode, we zoom into the two key figures of the second great awakening, Asahel Nettleton and Charles Finney. Nettleton was of the "old way," much in the grain of Jonathan Edwards, believing that revival and conversion were sovereign works of God. Finney launched the "new way," which believed revival could be manufactured by man. Though Finney was reported to have 250,000 converts, history...

In this episode, we give an overview of the second great awakening and its key figures. The awakening began in the late 18th century after the Revolutionary War quenched Christianity in America. Christianity in America has never been the same since the second great awakening. It completely changed the religious fabric of society and denominational adherence. To learn more about our ministry or to...

Likely the most amazing example of true revival in church history is the first great awakening. Various revivals impacted New England, England, and Europe in a period of about 40-50 years, starting in 1727. In this episode, we walk through the timeline of events beginning with the Moravian Pentocast at Herrhut, moving to the Wesleys and Whitefield in England and Georgia, and finally, ending with t...

In this episode, Dan and I look at two Old Testament passages as examples of revival: 1 Samuel 7 and 2 Kings 22-23. We also discuss the state that God's people are often in when revival is needed. Finally, we talk about the blessings and products of revival. Revival always leads to true repentance of real sin, which manifests in outward living. For the Old Testament saints, this meant a reclamatio...

In this episode, Dan and I begin with a brief Old Testament word study of the Hebrew verb Hāyâ, which is often translated as to revive, live again, or bring back to life. Dan then reads a number of definitions of revival developed over the years by Christian theologians and historians. The working definition that we moved forward with is that revival is God's manifest presence that revives and res...

Certainly, everyone is talking about the Asbury Revival. Our ministry, Ambassadors for Christ International, has a rich history of revival-type ministry to the point where an aspect of our vision is to "seek revival in the church." In this episode, Dan and I give our tempered thoughts on the Asbury Revival to serve as a way to introduce a mini-series on biblical and historical revival. To learn mo...

There is broad confusion among most American evangelicals when it comes to biblical truth and who to trust. Many cultural experts, scientists, politicians, scholars, media outlets, and even Christian leaders are saying things that clearly contradict much of what the Bible has to say. And yet, these are the people with the degrees and the so-called "expertise." Thus, can the average Christian have...

In this discussion, Dan and Sam build upon the previous episode, where they discussed Acts 4:13 and the reality that the religious leaders recognized that the disciples had been with Jesus. Being with Jesus manifests in a bold and courageous life for the sake of the gospel. There are countless examples of courage in the Bible. Yet, keep in mind that courage presupposes fear. Courage is doing what...

In Acts 4, the disciples are brought before the Jewish religious leaders and told not to preach the gospel anymore. However, Luke tells us that the religious leaders recognized these men as having been with Jesus. What about the disciples was so Jesus-like? Well, Dan lists three distinguishing characteristics from the text: knowledge, courage, and horizontal love for neighbor. In this episode, we...

In this episode, Sam and Dan discuss the biblical reality of eternal reward. God promises to reward Christians on the Day of judgment according to how they stewarded their lives. This means that every moment as a Christian counts. God gives us real incentive to take seriously our life in the body. Do not waste your time. Do not waste your faith. For more information about our ministry and to suppo...

In this episode, Sam and Dan discuss the biblical doctrine of stewardship. God has given you all that you have. And God gives gifts to men in order for them to steward those gifts to the glory of God. Stewardship, then, is taking all that God has given you, maximizing the potential of each gift according to biblical priorities, and directing all to the glory of God. Expect to hear a discussion on...

Dan and I discuss our evangelistic efforts this fall at KU in Lawerence, Kansas. There is a logos, ethos, and pathos to evangelism that we are trying hold in tension. The logos never changes. The message of evangelism is always the one-true gospel. But we as evangelists are claiming that we have been changed by this logos. So, there is an ethos and pathos that we should display and model that is i...

This is our final episode on leadership. Dan and I wrap up the definition of leader with Paul's example in Acts 20 as he speaks to the the Ephesian elders. Paul hits on all of the elements of a spiritual leader: capacity, responsibility, influence, a group of God's people, and purpose. We begin the episode discussing Dan's recent leadership role as the national director of Ambassadors for Christ I...

A godly leader is someone who has a God given capacity and a God given responsibility, who is influencing a group of God's people towards God's purpose for those people. In part III, Dan and I discuss what it means for a leader to influence people. First, we discuss what God's ultimate purpose and goal is for His people. And second, we discuss how a leader practically does the work of influence: b...

In this episode, Dan and I discuss the second aspect of the definition of leader that we are working through: divine responsibility. Underneath the umbrella of responsibility, we discuss the burden that leaders feel and the reality of accountability. Every leader will have to give an account to God for how they lead His people. If you are a leader, you are responsible; and if you are responsible,...