If you are a regular reader of The Courier, you may have noticed a significant uptick in our social media presence. At risk of undermining everything you are about to read, I would encourage you to follow us on all our platforms — Facebook, X, and Instagram. Communicating as followers of Christ on the internet […]
New and Noteworthy Books — March 2024
Reactivity: How the Gospel Transforms Our Actions & Reactions (Crossway) by Paul David Tripp Digital media and technology are altering the way people act — and react — toward each other. Criticism, outrage, and controversy dominate social engagement, and unfortunately many Christians have joined in the chaos. It’s a troubling contrast to Jesus’s words in […]
For a Gospel-Centered Walk With God, Soak in Galatians
Galatians is key to our daily Christian walk Many Christians, post-conversion, tend toward legalism or antinomianism in their pursuit of sanctification. I’ve seen this trend both in churches I’ve pastored and in Christian friends. One woman grew up in a strict Reformed Baptist home. She always tended toward legalism and fought it biblically for years. […]
New and Noteworthy Books — February 2024
Given our theme this month of Christ in all of Scripture, these books all relate to helping believers better understand how the Old and New Testaments fit together and how they all culminate in Christ and His gospel. The Christ of Wisdom: Redemptive Historical Exploration of the Wisdom Books of the Old Testament (P&R) by […]
Want a Miserable Life? Confuse Law and Gospel
What if your church’s elders passed down a fiat that members couldn’t take more than 1,999 steps on the Lord’s Day without facing church discipline? Just one more step would represent a long trip — a no-no on the day God set aside for worship. What if they said you could not carry your Bible […]
Grace and Truth: The Life-Changing Centrality of Christ in All of Scripture
I didn’t realize it at the time, but two days in seminary way back in January of 2001 changed my life forever. No, I didn’t get saved on one of those days — that happened in 1977 — but on those two days, one of my professors, Steve Wellum (who today I count as a […]
Christ in All of Scripture: How Do We Understand the OT? Jesus Tells Us on the Road to Emmaus
Jesus gave us an understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures Back in 2018, popular preacher Andy Stanley suggested we need to “unhitch from the Old Testament.” Stanley told his congregation: “Jesus’ new covenant, His covenant with the nations, His covenant with you, His covenant with us, can stand on its own two nail-scarred resurrection feet. It […]
New and Noteworthy Books — January 2024
America’s Book: The Rise and Decline of a Bible Civilization, 1794-1911 (Oxford University) by Mark A. Noll Noll’s exploration of the Bible in American history explains why Tom Paine’s anti-biblical tract “The Age of Reason” (1794) precipitated such dramatic effects, how innovations in printing by the American Bible Society created the nation’s publishing industry, why […]
I’m Crazy Busy, So When Should I Read the Bible?
What is the best time to spend time in prayer and meditation on the Word of God? For me, the early morning works best, generally around 5 a.m. This time also has the advantage of beginning your day by lashing your heart to the mast that is Christ. This was the practice of many of […]
Five Reasons You Should Read Through the Bible This Year
I vividly recall two pivotal conversations with pastors shortly after I surrendered to gospel ministry in the late-1990s. The conversations were pivotal because in them I was exposed to two divergent approaches to ministry, and the Lord used them to convince me that I must saturate my mind with Scripture. In one conversation, I asked […]