The Cross and the Crown

From Hannah's prayer to the death of Saul, the book of 1 Samuel moves us further into the redemptive history of Scripture and propels us into a deeper understanding of the coming work of Jesus Christ. 

The purpose for which we exist is bound up entirely in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is supremely sovereign over all things. How then shall we live? How does understanding the grace of God in truth change how we endure and persevere with joy? 

Who, or what, is at the root of the joy expressed by Paul in his letter to the Philippians? How can a believer find grounds for such joy in our daily lives, especially during our earthly trials? Where ought the believer's allegiances find footing? How does the gospel of God shape our thinking, attitudes, and conduct?

Paul's letter to the Ephesians stands as an opus to the sovereign love, power, and wisdom of God. Ephesians immerses in the depth of God's gospel and bids us fix our eyes upon Jesus as we walk in the love, light, and wisdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. God fits us with His armor to stand firm in the strength of His might, to the praise of His glorious grace. 

Paul's letter to the Galatians heralds and ravenously defends the purity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It also expresses with supreme clarity the power with which Christians now stand before God and live in this world, that by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, the Holy Spirit is at work in us, strengthening us to carry out Christ's commission in love. 

A seemingly small, perhaps even anti-climactic verse in the book of Habakkuk, is fleshed out in the life of Christ, and explained through three essential New Testament scriptures. The theological wealth and worship-inducing truth at stake in this passage leads us into humble confidence before the King of Kings. 

The apostle Paul had a long and complex relationship with the churches of Corinth and across Achaia. In 2 Corinthians, we find some of the deepest and most profound truth delivered to a recovering church still plagued with difficulty. We find a sweet and glorious hope and comfort, coupled with firm truth, for those tempted to think of their own church assemblies as too far gone. 

The apostle Paul had a long and complex relationship with the churches of Corinth and across Achaia. In 2 Corinthians, we find some of the deepest and most profound truth delivered to a recovering church still plagued with difficulty. We find a sweet and glorious hope and comfort, coupled with firm truth, for those tempted to think of their own church assemblies as too far gone. 

With the church immersed in division, idolatry, and looking more like the world than the Savior that redeemed them, Paul reminds the Corinthian believers of who- and whose- they are in Christ. 

Ruth is the glimmer of gospel hope in the period of the Judges. Ruth awakens its readers to hope amidst a hopeless time and faithfulness amidst a faithless era of Israelite history. The foreshadowing of the great gospel of grace is seen clearly in the coming of a kinsman-redeemer. The redemption of Ruth beams all the brighter when seen in the light of her inclusion into the genealogy of Christ. 

What are the consequences of mankind "doing what is right in our own eyes?" Is truth subjective? The book of Judges places front and center the depravity of man and the patience of God with his wayward people. We also see, in seed form, the power of faith in the lives of some of the Bible's most unexpected characters. 

The book of Joshua highlights the triumphs and difficulties of the Israelites entering and subduing the Promised Land. Unbelievers and many believers alike often find it difficult to reconcile the God of the Old Testament with the God of the New Testament. Joshua quickly plunges its readers into deep and difficult theological waters. It is in those precise waters, however difficult to traverse, th...

In the book of Numbers, we see the complaints of the Israelites contrasted with the provision and patience of God. What relevance does the book of Numbers have for us today as believers? Jesus himself uses events found in the book to illustrate his own person and work in perhaps one of the most well-known Christian verses in all of scripture. 

In Paul's letter to the Romans, we see perhaps the most comprehensive layout of the gospel in all of scripture. Theology and practice converge into intimate communion with God when we taste and see that this gospel is the power of salvation for all who believe. Romans leaves the believer with an unshakable faith in God's overwhelming grace and power to save. If He who created worlds has displayed...

The doctrine of adoption adds a warmth to our understanding of the work God has accomplished in our salvation. We not only stand new and justified, we stand as sons and daughters of the King of Kings. God calls us family. What are the implications of God's grace in adopting us? How does this change our understanding of God (and our fellowship with Him) when we realize that He is not simply a divin...

In Exodus, God delivers the Israelites from slavery. As they find themselves as sojourners in the wilderness in route to the Promised Land, we see a clear parallel to our own lives here and now as we grow deeper in our relationship with the God who not only delivers, but leads, provides, and speaks to His people. 

In the beginning... How does the book of Genesis help us understand our origins? How does it plunge us into a deeper understanding of the gospel and point us to the person and work of Jesus?

What does it mean that believers will be glorified? How does this doctrine give the believer an unshakeable hope in facing the trials of life, even death itself? How does this doctrine create both an unwaivering joy and a radical urgency to further the Kingdom of God?

What is sanctification? Who does the work in sanctification? Where do we fit in to the equation? How does a believer grow in holiness? 

How can fallen mankind stand justified before a holy God? What does the Bible mean when it says that we are justified by faith? Does this compromise the character of God, who is a Righteous Judge? Do the writings of Paul conflict with the writings of James?

Jesus, in speaking with Nicodemus, proclaimed that we must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God. In this beginning of a four part series on salvation, we will explore what Jesus meant by the term new birth? What are the implications for those whom God has made new? 

The Kingdom Of God is a prevailing theme throughout the scriptures, seen with increasing clarity with the unfolding of redemptive history. In an upside down, already, and not yet Kingdom, we see plainly the call of Christ to "follow me." 

Who is the Holy Spirit? What are the implications, both individually and collectively, of His indwelling and empowering believers to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth? In the sequel to Luke's gospel, Acts recounts the history of the early church after the ascension of Jesus. 

Who is Jesus? Who did Jesus himself claim to be? For what cause did he bear the cross? In John's gospel, the author puts forward a series of witnesses, including his own eyewitness testimony, with the aim of answering these very questions. 

In a world full of pain and suffering, how can God be both good and involved? Habakkuk wrestles with these deep questions and arrives at a profound truth.