Think Theology

“There is a difference between preaching Christ and preaching about Christ. Preaching Christ is presenting him so clearly and directly that the people experience the sermon this way: “It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified” (Galatians 3:1). Preaching about Christ is presenting ideas related to him. It’s a good [...]

“He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” Paul’s summary of God’s plan for redemption, found explicitly in the life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, is beautiful.

Pastoral preaching has been called “therapeutic preaching,” or “life-situation preaching,” or “invitational preaching.” I would suggest that pastoral preaching is concerned with pastoral care and, generally speaking, will address a specific theme that Christians face or have faced that they need care or preparation for. Actually, I think a lot of “pastoral preaching” is concerned [...]

If I had a dollar for every time that someone said they had a “prayer request” or a “concern” about someone, and then they proceeded to gossip and slander another fellow Christian, I really do think I’d be rich beyond belief. It has, quite frankly, occurred around me my entire life. I don’t believe I’ve [...]

Some of the most Christ-exalting and deeply devotional reading that I’ve done has been of the Puritans. I’m blessed to own a great deal of their writings, from John Owen to Robert Traill, Richard Baxter, Thomas Lye, Thomas Brooks, John Bunyan, William Gurthrie, John Whitlock, and more. The Puritans weren’t right on everything, but I [...]

Teaching Your Children Spiritual Truth by Phil Johnson. Good advice.

This Sunday I’m going to continue the second part of a four week series called “Peace in the Valley.” I’m taking texts that address doubt, failure, disappointment, and loneliness in order to provide some “pastoral care” through the messages to people who I may not have a chance to meet with in a more intimate [...]

Michael Patton offered 7 common fallacies that people use when interpreting biblical texts (found here). A fallacy is simply an unsound argument that is based off of erroneous reasoning (i.e., it is illogical). Patton’s seven common fallacies are: Preunderstanding fallacy: Believing you can interpret with complete objectivity, not recognizing that you have preunderstandings that influence [...]

Thabiti Anyabwile has written a brief review of Iain Murray’s new book, Life of Arthur W Pink. I have not had the chance to read Murray’s biography of Pink, but I really appreciated what Anyabwile wrote. Arthur Pink was raised in a Christian home and later rejected the Christian faith to join the occult. Several [...]

Justin Taylor has recently provided David Powlison’s answers to fifteen important questions related to Christian counseling. I’ve found them extremely helpful, wise, and biblically saturated. If you have an interest in providing Godly counsel and understanding the human heart, I’d encourage you to read through the following links. These questions are taken from Powlison’s essay [...]

Brian Croft provides excellent advice for parents who desire to pastor their children – How can I make sure I am individually shepherding my children? Those who know me will sense that my heart is very similar to Croft’s. In fact, he writes, “I fear many pastors are laboring hard to shepherd the church to the neglect of [...]

Last night I taught on the subject of Creation for a class I’m teaching on Systematic Theology. I tried to responsibly introduce the students to the various theories regarding Creation, from the literal 24-hour day theory to the abandoned spontaneous generation theory. We discussed a bit about evolution and immediate and mediate creation and a [...]

Paul gave the Corinthians an imperative when he wrote, “Let a person examine himself.” I continue to consider self-examination (see previous post, How am “I” doing). Karl Graustein, author of Growing Up Christian, provides helpful questions for young believers to consider, based upon 2 Cor. 13. He suggests we ask the following: Do you pray? [...]

Within the spectrum of Old Testament scholarship, the majority of non-evangelical scholars are advocates of the Documentary Hypothesis. This theory states that the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) was not written completely by Moses but by different post-Mosaic authors.  The theory suggests that these authors are determined by the usage of different Hebrew [...]

“Our need for community is more and more obvious today. The breakdown of the traditional family and the desire to be part of something greater than ourselves are motivating many disciples to get reconnected. We’re remembering that God himself is the ultimate three-in-one community: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Many of us have been following [...]

Lexicons are a great tool for studying your bible. A lexicon provides insight on specific words such as the form and meaning of words (or phrases) and will often provide specific details regarding the relationship between other words. A lexicon will provide dictionary definitions for each word and will then relate each word to its [...]

In The Hermeneutical Spiral, Grant Osborne writes of nine semantic fallacies. Semantics, determining specific word meanings, is a large part of exegesis, and for many, the process of doing basic bible study. We often hear of “word studies” that bring light upon passages of Scripture, and many bible students have provided the “background” information on [...]

I’m preaching through the book of Haggai for the next four weeks. Today we started chapter 1 (audio here). We’re going to study each of the four prophetic messages that Haggai gave to Israel, but let’s talk background for a minute – the background for the book of Haggai, the tenth of the Minor Prophets. [...]

One of the students, a Creationist, says, “We didn’t like, evolve from anything. That doesn’t make any sense. I mean, how can, like, an African American person evolve from a white person. We’re different skin.” And Christians wonder why Evolutionists find Creationism to be ridiculous. Hmm. Wow.

Check this out: Elena Kagan and Partial-Birth Abortion. Despite Kagan’s deception, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)  “could identify no circumstances under which this procedure . . . would be the only option to save the life or preserve the health of the woman.” You have to read the the link to find more evidence. Hmmm. She [...]

This fall I plan to begin teaching and preaching through the Gospel of John. I must confess that I’m really excited to get into the fourth gospel in our NT canon. I spent 2009 working through it during my devotionals and found my appreciation for John enriched beyond my wildest dreams. Actually, my love for [...]

The Apostle Peter advised his readers that, in expectation for the eschatological, they should have “lives of holiness and godliness” (2 Pet. 3:11). Throughout the Scriptures, believers are to be marked by holiness (cf. Lev. 19:2; 20:26; 22:32-34; 1 Thess. 4:3-7; 2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 4:20-24; Heb. 12:10, 14). Regardless of what culture has deemed [...]

“He who sincerely prefers God to all other things in his heart will do it in his practice. For when God and all other things come to stand in completion, that is the proper trial what a man chooses; and the manner of acting in such cases must certainly determine what the choice is in [...]

Ask Doug: American Flag and the Pledge of Allegiance in Church? from Canon Wired on Vimeo.