Heading to the Holy City

During Week 8 of the COVID-19 quarantine, Pastor Drew examines Psalm 51:1-19, teaching us that God gives sinners a song for coming back to Him.

During Week 7 of the COVID-19 quarantine, Pastor Drew examines Psalm 51:1-6, teaching us that God gives sinners a song for coming back to Him.

During Week 6 of the COVID-19 quarantine, Pastor Drew examines Psalm 126, teaching us that the gathered saints worship God by remembering and praying with persevering faith.

During Week 5 of the COVID-19 quarantine, Pastor Brian gives a brief teaching on Paul’s command to Christians to stand firm in the Lord and rejoice always because the Lord is at hand.

During Week 4 of the COVID-19 quarantine, and in celebration of Easter, Pastor Drew gives a brief teaching on John 11, teaching us that Jesus is the Lord of life who reigns over death.

During Week 3 of the COVID-19 quarantine, Pastor Brian gives a brief teaching on Paul’s command to Christians to rejoice in the Lord in all things because of the great salvation that we enjoy by faith alone in Christ alone.

During Week 2 of the COVID-19 quarantine, Pastor Brian gives a brief teaching on the gospel being the grounds for our unity and obedience, as well as our need to trust our sovereign and good God.

During Week 1 of the COVID-19 quarantine, Pastor Brian gives a brief teaching on God’s sovereignty and Christian hope in the midst of difficulty.

In week 10, Pastor Brian examines Hebrews 12–13, teaching us that Christians must run the race to the Holy City with endurance because of the unsurpassing glory of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and his new covenant work.

In week 9, Pastor Brian examines Hebrews 11–12, teaching us that Old Testament saints serve as examples of faith to us in the midst of our suffering and waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled, and that God uses our suffering as a means of disciplining us and conforming us into the image of Jesus … Continue reading "Christ’s Cross and Crown: The Supremacy of God’s New Covenant in Hebrews (Week 9)"

In week 8, Pastor Brian examines Hebrews 9–10, teaching us that through the priestly work and perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God’s new covenant people are forgiven and will be sanctified and kept as they endure difficulty and suffering for the Christian faith.

In week 7, Pastor Brian examines Hebrews 8:1–13, teaching us that since Jesus Christ is our faithful High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, the Son brings the new covenant that is much better than ethnic Israel’s old covenant received under the Levitical priesthood.

In week 6, Pastor Brian examines Hebrews 7:1–28, teaching us that our High Priest, Jesus Christ, is better than the Levitical priesthood and the new covenant he mediates is better than the old covenant because God has sworn that the Son is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

In week 5, Pastor Brian examines Hebrews 5:1–6:20, teaching us that Jesus is our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek and God's apostasy warnings are a means by which He keeps Christians enduring in the faith.

In week 4, Pastor Brian examines Hebrews 3:7–5:10, teaching us that Jesus is our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek and we enter God’s rest by following the Son of God through our faith-filled obedience.

In week 3, Pastor Brian examines Hebrews 3:1–4:13, showing that Jesus is greater than Moses and Joshua and Christians must persevere in the faith in order to enter God’s rest.

In week 2, Pastor Brian examines Hebrews 2:5–18, demonstrating that the Son of God is greater than angels and he is the great high priest that his people need.

In week 1, Pastor Brian examines Hebrews 1:1-2:4, demonstrating that the Son of God is the fulfillment of all the OT promises and patterns and is greater than the angels.

How can a good God exist in an evil world? This question addresses the issue of the problem of evil. What's important for every Christian to understand is that the problem of evil is a serious problem for everyone, regardless of your views on God, religion, and the world. Atheists have a problem of evil. … Continue reading "Episode 11: Assessing Atheism and its Problem of Evil"

Deacons are wonderful servants in the local church and give a clear picture of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who came not to be served, but to serve. All Christians in the local church should aspire to the office of deacon because deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great confidence in the faith.

Pastors are a gift to God's church. Pastors are qualified men who serve as under-shepherds, teaching and leading their own congregations for the glory of our Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and the good of his saints.

Christ is the Head of his church and in the local church, we submit ourselves to the teaching and leadership of our pastors, while also rightly recognizing that the buck stops with the local church, the congregation, as a whole, exercising the keys of the kingdom, defending a faithful gospel, and maintaining sound doctrine.

Baptists have, historically, argued for a high view of Scripture, a high view of Christ's redemption, and a high view of the church. Meaningful membership, baptism, and church discipline are all grounded in the Baptist belief that Christ saves His new covenant people completely. And so the local church, as the visible expression of Christ's … Continue reading "Episode 7: What does it mean to be Baptist?"

To answer the question—how is the nature of the Bible relevant today?—let’s first look at the common viewpoint of truth and authority in our culture. The last 100+ years of Western philosophy has shifted how a person sees the world and interprets reality.

What is the nature of the Bible, and is it true? The Bible is self-attesting, it claims to be God’s Word, God’s revelation of Himself and of His work in all of His creation. The Bible claims to be the final authority in understanding ourselves, reality, and our Creator-God.

In recent months, there's been movement towards downplaying the usefulness of reading the Old Testament. Some teachers seem to be parroting the early church heretic, Marcion, who argued the god of the Old Testament was different from the New Testament god. Marcion strove to eject the Old Testament from Christian living and practice by undermining … Continue reading "Episode 4: Is there unity in the Bible?"

When Muslims or atheists argue that the Bible has been corrupted and is full of errors, it might seem troubling, initially, for some Christians that we don't have any of the original manuscripts or writings of the Old Testament and New Testament books. How do we know that the Bibles we have are accurate and … Continue reading "Episode 3: Is the Bible Reliable?"

I've heard many professing Christians say something along the lines of “I have a personal relationship with Jesus, I don't need the local church.” And today, social media, live streaming worship, and “online church services” have created even greater opportunities for Christians to avoid regularly gathering in person with the local church for corporate worship. … Continue reading "Episode 2: Does a Christian need the local church?"

The word “gospel” means “good news,” so the question really is: what is the good news? In Matthew 4:17, Matthew writes that Jesus began to preach saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” But just a chapter later in Matthew 5:17, Jesus teaches in his Sermon on the Mount: “do not think … Continue reading "Episode 1: What is the Gospel?"