We observed the Lord’s Supper last Sunday as a part of our worship that included a sermon on apostasy from Jeremiah 18:13-23. In verse 15 the Lord summarizes Judah’s apostate condition with this simple charge, “My people have forgotten Me.” That succinct assessment is repeatedly made in the first 18 chapters of the book (2:32,…

Every year we get assaulted with complaints about how the world is “taking Christ out of Christmas.” The AFA letter I posted last week is a case in point. We should be far more concerned to see Christ kept in the Church and in professing Christians than we are to see what unbelieving institutions do…

I got an email from the American Family Association asking me to sign a petition threatening companies that do not use “Christmas” in their advertizing at this time of the year. Here is the complete text of the email: Companies Ban ‘Christmas,’ Not Worried About Backlash Dear Thomas, Several retailers have joined in the push…

I was out of the country when I learned about the death of Adrian Rogers, longtime pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. I was saddened by the news and those I was with on the Founders Cruise prayed more than once for his family. We prayed with thanksgiving for his life and ministry….

The following excerpt comes from a well-known Southern Baptist pastor: “In the forty-sixth chapter of Isaiah and beginning at the ninth verse, listen to the Word of the Lord: For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient…

My comments on this important book continues. Chapter 7 calls for the “Recovery of a Grace-Centered Theology” in order for significant reform to come to Southern Baptist churches. Nettles acknowledges that all Christians, of whatever stripe, believe that sinners are saved by grace. However, Roman Catholicism, as well as some Protestants, understand that grace to…

The First Founders Cruise is underway and the Holland of America ship, Veendam, is sailing through the Gulf of Mexico as I write. Together with the pre-cruise conference held in Tampa, the sessions have combined to provide wonderful instruction on the Gospel of God’s grace and its implications for all of life. The Tampa Conference…

Brian Hamrick is pastor of Fairfields Baptist Church in Burgess, Virginia, where he has served since 2002. He and his wife Katherine have a 15-month old son, Nathan. He is a guest blogger for me today, reporting on a conference held yesterday in Alexandria, VA. Good News Baptist Church of Alexandria hosted the Evangelical Forum…

In chapter 6 Nettles argues for the recovery of a proper understanding of law and gospel. He underscores the importance of this issue by stating that, “Misperceptions and misapplications of this issue within the pale of the conservative movement of Southern Baptists could eventually be more crippling to the recovery of biblical Christianity than the…

Several have pointed out the Baptist Press story on the celebration of the famous Sandy Creek Baptist Church. The so-called “Sandy Creek tradition” has been less than accurately represented by some who would like to suggest that the Separate Baptists who came from that church and association were opposed to Calvinism. Often this is done…