so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. – Romans 8:4   “Look, if the preacher says God wants you to be happy, then multitudes of the people who want to be happy will flock to Jesus. “Jesus, make me happy.” If the preacher says, “If you’re sick, you’ve got a marriage problem, financial frustration,...

from Kevin DeYoung’s “Glory of God” series: Ephesians 3:14-21 …to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus… (v. 21) As a pastor I hear the question fairly often: “Why do Christians need to go church?” Sometimes the questioner is a young child wanting to get out of his boredom on Sunday morning. Other times the questioner sincerely wonders why we must be a part of a church if we can have a relationship with God...

[Continued from "A Theology of the Body - Part VIII"] Your Ultimate Body “Death is swallowed up in victory!” (1 Cor. 15:54) This cry of exultation will accompany the return of Jesus Christ, which will result in major changes for those who have already died and for those who are alive at his second coming. Paul describes this event and its mysterious corollaries: I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,...

[Continued from "A Theology of the Body - Part VII"] Your Body Will Die Though the focus of my theology of human embodiment has thus far been on life in the body, one of the great inevitabilities of life is death. Ecclesiastes describes the inescapable finality of death (Eccl. 9:2-3), speaking of it in terms of an appointment that all people have (Eccl. 3:1-2). Specifically, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes...

[Continued from "A Theology of the Body - Part VI"] Human embodiment is a relatively short-lived existence, as the curse of death due to sin is meted out on all human beings (Rom. 5:12; 3:23). Even before this end point is reached, as the human body ages, it wears down, provoking physical suffering. Oftentimes, service for the Lord entails great physical suffering as well (2 Cor. 4:7-18). Scripture presents suffering both as necessary, because...

In the book “Pursuit of Holiness” (which we’ve gone through in a previous men’s study), author Jerry Bridges address some of the issues that were mentioned in Pastor Jay’s previous blog about indicatives and imperatives: Evangelicals commonly think today that the gospel is only for unbelievers. Once we’re inside the kingdom’s door, we need the gospel only in order to share it with those who are still outside....

[Continued from "A Theology of the Body - Part V"] When most Christians think of worshiping God, they imagine such activities as singing songs of praise and thanksgiving, listening to the Word of God read and preached, corporate prayer, and the like. Few would consider the role of their body in worship. Indeed, in a popular definition, worship is described as involving a person’s conscience, mind, imagination, heart, and will—with no...

[Continued from "A Theology of the Body - Part IV"] Clothing Matters One concrete expression of dedicating one’s body for divine purposes is the clothing one wears. This seemingly mundane matter actually receives more attention in Scripture than one might expect; indeed, it is an important aspect of human embodiment. When God created Adam and Eve, they were “naked and unashamed” (Gen. 2:25). Their fall into sin, however, introduced a...

[Continued from "A Theology of the Body - Part III"] Paul’s reminder “that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19), while specifically directed at the problem of sexual immorality, has a broader application: human beings are to respect and care for their body. Such attention requires physical discipline. Indeed, the apostle urges: “train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of...

[continued from "A Theology of the Body - Part II"] As embodied creatures, human beings are either male or female (Gen. 1:26-27); indeed, gender is a fundamental reality of human existence. God does not create a generic human being and then add on gender; rather, he creates a human being either as a male person or as a female person. Human genderedness means that a man is conscious of and knows himself as a man, he relates to other human beings...

[continued from "A Theology of the Body - Part I"]  Let me begin with a definition of embodiment. The human body is an essential aspect of human beings during their earthly existence and, following Christ’s return and the resurrection of their body, in the age to come. Specifically, the body is the material component of human nature distinct from—but intimately linked with—the immaterial component, commonly called the soul (or spirit)....

Given that we have seen alot of emphasis on our bodies (and them being resurrected in the future like Christ’s body) from our study in 1 Corinthians 15, we thought this article from, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor, Dr. Gregg Allison on “Toward a Theology of Human Embodiment” (first published in The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology) would be helpful. We will post portions of the article in a blog series: WHY...

In going through Philippians, we’ve been encouraged to serve. Being a small church without our own building, it may look like there are not many places to serve. If you feel this way then we hope this 9Mark Q&A will help: I don’t feel like there are opportunities for me to get involved in my church. What should I do? Sometimes we get so fixated on programs and official positions in the church that it’s easy to miss opportunities...

During Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Emilio mentioned a Christian pastor in Iran that only had a few days to live, because he is being persecuted for his faith. Here are the details on that: TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian pastor, convicted of apostasy and sentenced to death, may have only hours or days to live, according to a US-based Christian ministry acquainted with the facts of his case. Jason DeMars, of Present Truth Ministries, told ANS:...

As we’ve been going through Philippians we’ve been learning how to live a gospel-centered life. Justin Taylor sums it up with verses from Philippians: You can partner with others in the gospel (Phil. 1:5). You can defend the gospel (Phil. 1:7, 16). You can confirm the gospel (Phil. 1:7). You can help to advance the gospel (Phil. 1:12). You can live a life worthy of the gospel (Phil. 1:27). You can strive side by side with others...