Mailbag #24: What Happens to Infants Who Die; Thinking through Civil Disobedience; Calling Out False Teachers by Name

By Jonathan Leeman | 12.14.2015

— What happens to infants who die? Do they go to heaven? — How should Christians think through the category of “civil disobedience”? — Should pastors call out false teachers by name?

Three Ways to Tie Global Missions into the Regular Diet of Your Preaching

By Matt Mason | 9Marks Journal: Missions: Adding Wisdom to Zeal | 12.10.2015

We have a Great Commission Bible and serve a Great Commission Savior, who came into the world to seek and save the lost.

Mailbag #23: Giving Feedback on Bad Sermons; Ratio among Staff and Non-Staff Pastors; Church Covenants and the Regulative Principle; Difference between “Pastors” & “Elders”?

By Jonathan Leeman | 12.07.2015

— How do you give your pastor feedback for his sermons, particularly when they are bad? — Jonathan, why did you recommend that your church eliminate the requirement that there must be more lay elders than staff elders? — Wait a second! You’re saying you won’t do baby dedications because of the regulative principle. And then right after that, you talk about reading the church covenant together as a church. Isn’t that a violation of the regulative principle, too? — Does it create two tiers of leadership to always call staff pastors “pastors” and lay elders “elders”?

Mailbag #20: Preaching Suspect Texts; Preaching to Non-Believers; Difficulties with Staff & Lay Elders; Anonymous or Public Voting

By Jonathan Leeman | 11.16.2015

— In the course of preaching through a book, what should I do when I come across a suspect text like John 8? — Should we preach repentance and faith differently to non-Christians than we do to Christians? — How can I tell the difference between what belongs in an elders meeting and what belongs in a staff meeting? — Should votes for church discipline be cast publicly or privately?

Debunking Stupid Statements about the Bible: An Exercise in Biblical Transmission

By Greg Gilbert | 11.09.2015

We can be sure that the Bible we have is comprised of what the New Testament authors actually wrote. And because of this, we are compelled to trust it.

Re-Thinking Homogeneity: The Biblical Case for Multi-Ethnic Churches

By Aubrey Sequeira | 9Marks Journal: Multi-Ethnic Churches | 09.25.2015

Does the Bible support homogeneity? Or does Scripture set forth a different vision for the local church?

Book Review: Bloodlines, by John Piper

Review by H. B. Charles | 9Marks Journal: Multi-Ethnic Churches | 09.25.2015

This is a wise, clear, and faithful treatment of racial ethnicity and biblical Christianity that should be read widely.

Book Review: The Juvenilization of American Christianity and From Here to Maturity, by Thomas E. Bergler

Review by Guy Prentiss Waters | 09.16.2015

Christianity—and, in particular, Christian churches—have been unduly influenced by the youth culture. Is there a cure for this problem?

Book Review: Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism, by Tim Keller

Review by Robert Kinney | 08.28.2015

This volume is worth reading for its clear and convincing exhortations to be more culturally literate in our preaching and teaching ministries

Mailbag #12: Training Bible Teachers; Attending a Wedding Between Professing Christian and a Muslim; Thoughts on “Re-Baptisms”; My Pastor Never Reads his Sermon Text

By Jonathan Leeman | 08.17.2015

—How can our church train Bible teachers? —My friend says she’s a Christian, yet is marrying a Muslim. Should I attend the wedding? —What do you think about “re-baptisms”? —My pastor never reads his sermon text. Is that problematic?

Adopting and Choosing a Statement of Faith

By Will McCartney | 07.15.2015

Not having a statement of faith exposes a church to every individual’s own interpretations of various doctrines, and opens the door for denials of biblical authority.

Getting into the Weeds of Church Membership and Baptism with Bobby Jamieson and Jonathan Leeman

By B. Jamieson, J. Leeman | 07.08.2015

What is baptism? What does baptism mean? Is it simply an individual’s declaration that they now belong to Jesus? Is it a sign and seal of the new covenant, just as God intended circumcision to be a sign and seal of the old? And what does all of this have to do with church membership? Is church membership for everyone? Only baptized believers? Baptized believers and their children?

50 Quotes from Bobby Jamieson’s New Book “Going Public: Why Baptism Is Required for Church Membership”

By Matt Smethurst | 07.07.2015

“After trusting Christ, baptism is the first thing faith does. It’s how faith shows itself before God, the church, and the world. Baptism is where faith goes public.”

The Body of Christ as a Self-Fulfilling Metaphor

By Patrick Schreiner | 07.02.2015

When the Scriptures speak in metaphors they are both describing and creating in the people of God how to think and act.

Is Your Preaching Tone Deaf?

By Mark Vroegop | 9Marks Journal: Expositional Preaching | 06.18.2015

Faithfulness is not just saying the right words. It’s saying them like Scripture says them.