Various life, faith, and church resources. Includes book reviews, sermon audio, articles, and links to other good Christian web sites.
The church must be leading the way in adopting children! God tells us that pure and undefiled religion is to visit orphans in their distress (James 1:27). For this reason, the church must not relegate adopting children to state agencies or hope that “others” will do it, but must practice this very tangible expression of the Gospel. At MBC, we want to…
Dear Brothers and Sisters at Maranatha Bible Church, A number of you have asked me for my thoughts on Rob Bell’s latest book Love Wins. Since the book came out this week, the blogosphere has been buzzing with posts and comments about it. Many reviews have been written in the last few days and I would encourage you to read them to…
Have you ever wondered how the cross of Christ and the Gospel relates to you now that you are a Christian? While it is easy to put the Gospel on the shelf after coming to Christ, it is imperative that we keep it central in our lives since it is the very lifeblood of our relationship with God. All of God’s grace…
Do you or someone you know struggle with caring more about what people think of you than what God does? Do you battle being self-consciousness and controlled by the opinions of others? There is hope for you! The Bible addresses this as the “fear of man” and Ed Welch has written a wonderful, practical book on how to replace your “fear of…
The Epic of Eden. By Sandra L. Richter Have you ever found the Old Testament confusing? Or leaned more toward reading the New Testament because you thought it was more relevant to you as a Christian? Have you ever wished you could understand the Old Testament better, but didn’t know where to begin? The Epic of Eden is written just for that purpose:…
Parenting is hard work! Raising children in the fear and admonition of the Lord requires consistency, strength, and much wisdom. Equally important to effective parenting is keeping the Gospel at the center of all child-rearing attitudes and activities. In short, it is the Gospel that shapes and transforms parenting by keeping the focus on Christ’s work on the cross not only as…
In our series on biblical counseling, questions have come up about what issues are medical and whether or not medicine helps with these issues of the heart. Will Medicine Stop the Pain? is a book written to bring clarity to this confusing issue and bring hope from the Word of God to those struggling with these issues. This book will describe how…
I highly recommend this book. I could hardly put it down. It is a book filled with moments of sheer joy as Mary Beth shares about the wonder of adoption. It is also filled with sharing of times of deep sadness and grief as they mourn the loss of one of their adopted children. If you are like me you will not…
The following are presuppositions that drive us to be purposeful and intentional in counseling that is thoroughly biblical in both doctrine and practice at Maranatha Bible Church. It is these assumptions that compel us to action in our counseling efforts.
This is Book four in The Swans are not Silent series. This book contains mini-biographies of 3 of our early church fathers. These 3 are Athanasius, John Owen, and J. Gresham Machen. All of these defended Truth and treasured Christ in their lives. Athanasius devoted his life to defending the deity of Christ. The great enemy was the Arian heresy. Arianism stated…
Recently the elders of MBC have been wrestling with the issue of whether or not members of Maranatha should be baptized by immersion in order to be received as members. Prior to this, baptism has not been a requirement for church membership at Maranatha. However, as the elders wrestled with this issue, we came to the conclusion that this should be necessary for becoming a member at MBC. As we have discussed this issue, we have concluded that believer’s baptism and church membership should not be separated as if they were two unrelated events, rather, they are intimately connected with believer’s baptism serving as a necessary prerequisite for church membership. The following is a defense of this position.
C.H. Spurgeon once said, “The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father…It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so…
It’s summer. Time for blue jeans, winter coats, and sweaters to go away and shorts, t-shirts, and skirts to come out. Unfortunately, often little thought goes into what we wear except what “looks good” or is “the latest style.” In today’s culture, there are virtually no secrets when it comes to modesty and keeping hidden what should be hidden. Almost anything goes.…
Contentment is an elusive virtue, even for the believer. So many situations arise in life that threaten to rob us of our contentment in Christ. Yet, as the apostle Paul noted, “godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment” (1 Tim 6:6). It is necessary, therefore, that we fight for contentment and learn to be content in whatever…
Yesterday, many of us were at the airport to see the Thiry’s off to Tenerife. After helping them process 12 checked bags, car seats, a stroller, and 5 carry-ons, we gathered together for a short time of prayer and then said our good-bye’s. It was in all senses of the word “bittersweet.” It was sweet in that we had the great privilege…
Have you ever wondered what words like propitiation, justification, and other words concerning salvation mean? Have you wondered why Christ had to suffer and die for your sins? John Piper has taken the time to answer these questions and a few more in this wonderful book. Not only does he take these long theological words and put a meaning to them, he…
To help us appreciate the gravity of what Christ did on the cross and His resurrection from the dead, we have put together a Devotional with seven sections to inform your mind, enflame your heart, and to help you prepare for our services this weekend. It is our prayer that these devotionals will fuel your hunger for the Word of God, increase…
Resurrection Study Study the following passages and consider what they teach concerning Christ’s resurrection from the dead and what that means for our resurrection: Matthew 28:1-7 Romans 6:4-10 1 Corinthians 15:1-19 1 Peter 1:3-4 Read The glory of the Gospel is that, while Christ died for sinners and was buried to demonstrate the certainty of His death, the grave could not hold…
Justification Study Examine the following passages and note what they teach about God justifying the sinner and declaring them to be righteous on the basis of Christ’s atoning work: Romans 3:19-28 Romans 4:1-12 2 Corinthians 5:21 Galatians 2:16 Philippians 3:9 Read The Protestant Reformation that occurred under Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others was waged on the grounds of the doctrine of…
Substitution Study Study the following passages for what they teach about Jesus becoming our substitute and bearing our sin: Isaiah 53:4-12 2 Corinthians 5:21 1 Peter 2:24 Read Substitution means to take the place of another and act in their stead. As Jesus died on the cross, He became our substitute in that He took the place we deserved and acted in…