The ramifications of the Christian life stretch to the roots of every connection he has formed with the world around him. Now that Christ is King, everything must yield to His Lordship. There are three connections with the world that are most important to the individual: (1) Who we know; (2) What we own; (3) What we want. Our Lord touches on each of these worldly attachments showing how the believer must yield it all to Him.

The following structure is an overview of the exposition:

Luke 14:26-35

David directs his thoughts entirely to God in this Psalm, making it an excellent model of a powerful prayer. Upon a careful reading of the Psalm, four aspects of prayer are highlighted: Its character, object, certainty and benefit. This study considers the Certainty of prayer by exploring David’s confidence in God’s judgment of the wicked. A vivid description is supplied on the true nature of the ungodly which affirms the justice of God in executing judgment upon the rebels. A frightening challenge lies at the end of the study: sin has no escape.

The following structure is an overview of the exposition:

Psalm 5:5,6

Psalm 5:10

Upon instructing Timothy on how pastors and deacons are to conduct themselves as servants of Christ, the apostle Paul adds, “These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:14,15) Every disciple of Christ should know how to behave himself in the house of God. Maintaining good order in the church of the living God is called discipline.

This study is the seventh of twelve lectures (extended from an initial five studies) on the subject of church discipline. The term church is first used by Jesus Christ and recorded in Matthew 16 and 18. Its reference in 18:15-20 relates to the subject of church discipline. However, the larger context begins with 17:24 and runs through 18:35. Therein we discover six sections, each dealing with the issue of ‘offenses’.

Special attention is given to 17:24-27 as Jesus highlights the importance for Christians to carry themselves without offense towards others. Those who exercise such prudence avoid committing many offenses that otherwise would go unchecked. Indeed, wise is the Christian who, before speaking or acting, considers the vulnerability of others.

The following comparison is an overview of the exposition:

Matthew 17:24-27

Matthew 17:25c-27

Matthew 17:26b-27

The Reformed Baptist Movement has given rise to a new form of church leadership not practiced by Baptist churches prior to the 1950′s. The majority of modern books and articles almost invariably assert that each church should be overseen by a plurality of elders. While many churches have conformed to the new trend, others staunchly cling to their traditional practice of having a single pastor assisted by a group of deacons. It is unwise to follow a trend, or support a tradition, without knowing the Scriptural, historic and practical reasons undergirding the practice.

This fifth study is the second of two parts which offers a third reason why the church is modeled after the family unit: The family unit is the building-block for social government. Compelling parallels exist between the type of government established by God (1) among the luminaries: sun, moon and stars; (2) within the house-hold: husband/father, wife/mother and children; (3) within the church: pastor, deacons and members. At the root level, God’s design of church government is simple and sensible.

David directs his thoughts entirely to God in this Psalm, making it an excellent model of a powerful prayer. Upon a careful reading of the Psalm, four aspects of prayer are highlighted: Its character, object, certainty and benefit. This study considers the object of prayer by examining the nature of David’s friendship with God. On the one hand, David investigates the nature of God by arriving at the conclusion that He is absolutely holy; on the other hand, he studies the nature of man reaching the conclusion that he is totally depraved. If ‘birds of a feather flock together’, then how was it that David (a sinner) forged a friendship with God rather than the ungodly? A three-fold answer to this question is suggested by the text.

The following structure is an overview of the exposition:

Psalm 5:4

Psalm 5:9

Upon instructing Timothy on how pastors and deacons are to conduct themselves as servants of Christ, the apostle Paul adds, “These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:14,15) Every disciple of Christ should know how to behave himself in the house of God. Maintaining good order in the church of the living God is called discipline.

This study is the sixth of twelve lectures (extended from an initial five studies) on the subject of church discipline. The term church is first used by Jesus Christ and recorded in Matthew 16 and 18. Its reference in 18:15-20 relates to the subject of church discipline. However, the larger context begins with 17:24 and runs through 18:35. Therein we discover six sections, each dealing with the issue of ‘offenses’. How these six sections are tied together is the focus of this sixth study. In particular, special attention is given to two of the six sections, dealing with the subject of the Christian’s responsibility towards his brethren.

The following structure is an overview of the exposition:

The following comparison is an overview of the exposition:

David directs his thoughts entirely to God in this Psalm, making it an excellent model of a powerful prayer. Upon a careful reading of the Psalm, four aspects of prayer are highlighted: Its character, object, certainty and benefit. This study considers the character of prayer by examining the nature of David’s request to the Lord as he walked a dark path. He did not ask the Lord to deliver him from the enemy, but rather that the Lord would direct him as he faced the enemy. Three lessons are gathered from David’s petition: (1) we need the Lord to give us light; (2) we need the Lord to make us right; (3) we need the Lord to manage our fight. These lessons may provide a suffering saint not only with the assurance that God is right in directing his path, but also with the knowledge that he too must be right when walking that path.

The following structure is an overview of the exposition:

The Reformed Baptist Movement has given rise to a new form of church leadership not practiced by Baptist churches prior to the 1950′s. The majority of modern books and articles almost invariably assert that each church should be overseen by a plurality of elders. While many churches have conformed to the new trend, others staunchly cling to their traditional practice of having a single pastor assisted by a group of deacons. It is unwise to follow a trend, or support a tradition, without knowing the Scriptural, historic and practical reasons undergirding the practice.

This fourth study is one of two parts which offers two reasons why the church is modeled after the family unit: (1) The family unit is the blueprint for all social institutions, especially the religious societies sanctioned by God; (2) The family unit is the backbone for social planning, as each organization (including the church) exists as an independent, intra-dependent and interdependent entity. Eldership within the early church cannot be rightly apprehended unless it be seen through the framework of eldership within a single house-hold.

Upon instructing Timothy on how pastors and deacons are to conduct themselves as servants of Christ, the apostle Paul adds, “These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:14,15) Every disciple of Christ should know how to behave himself in the house of God. Maintaining good order in the church of the living God is called discipline.

This study is the fifth of twelve lectures (extended from an initial five studies) on the subject of church discipline. The term church is first used by Jesus Christ and recorded in Matthew 16 and 18. Its reference in 18:15-20 relates to the subject of church discipline. However, the larger context begins with 17:24 and runs through 18:35. Therein we discover six sections, each dealing with the issue of ‘offenses’. How these six sections are tied together is the focus of this fifth study. In particular, special attention is given to two of the six sections, dealing with the subject of the Christian’s impartiality towards his brethren.

The following structure is an overview of the exposition:

The following comparison is an overview of the exposition:

David directs his thoughts entirely to God in this Psalm, making it an excellent model of a powerful prayer. Upon a careful reading of the Psalm, four aspects of prayer are highlighted: Its character, object, certainty and benefit. This study examines the process through which David learned how to place his full confidence in the Lord: (1) Learning to live in day-tight compartments; (2) Making a personal commitment; (3) formulating a two-fold plan—first, reordering an undisciplined lifestyle; second, climbing to a higher altitude in order to gain perspective.

The following structure is an overview of the exposition: