This is our sixth installment in this series on the “one another” statements in Scripture.  Thus far, our focus has been on how we are to treat one another, particularly in times of conflict or controversy that could harm the church.  This week, I’d like for us to look at how we are called to intentionally and proactively build one another up in Jesus Christ.  I have been a believer for 24 years, ...  Read More

Why do you and I not live with such a constant and overwhelming sense of the lavishness of God’s grace towards us daily? It is not because He has been stingy, but because we, like the prodigal, seek blessedness outside of our Father’s house. To attempt to satisfy our hearts with earthly things is like eating from the bottom of the pigsty when a twelve course meal awaits us in our Father’s house.  Read More

This Lord’s Day, we will have the great privilege of receiving a precious covenant child into the body of Christ through the sign of baptism. There are some in our congregation who have not been exposed to infant baptism in the past and may have questions about what we mean when we baptize a baby. My hope is that this letter will help clarify what we believe infant baptism to be in contrast with w...  Read More

This week, I received a very sweet email from a young lady in our congregation who said something that absolutely overwhelmed me with joy. Speaking of the family at First Scots, she said, “the way y’all treat the people in that building is probably one of the most heaven-like things I’ve ever seen.” She’s right: in the divisive, selfish world in which we live, a church that treats one another well...  Read More

The phrase “one another” is frequently used in the New Testament to govern how we as believers are to treat one another within the context of the church. God emphasizes this because, after loving God with our whole hearts, love for one another is the most important evidence of true spiritual vitality (Matthew 22:38-39).In the following, I have categorized 52 “one another” passages from the New Tes...  Read More

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been using these pastoral letters to look at the various “one another” statements in the New Testament. While we will only be looking at these for a few more weeks, there are actually enough that we could look at one every week for the whole year!Now, one thing we need to remember about these “one another” statements is that they are imperatives, not suggestions. The...  Read More

Dear Saints, Many of you know that I’m a book junkie.  My office is full of books, and I’m always working through seven or eight books at a time.  I’m a firm believer that the books we have read are vital to our personal and spiritual growth.  And at the same time, if it is true that the books we read shape us into who we are, then the books on our reading list help shape us into who we want to be...  Read More

Our Pastoral Letters are presently looking at the various “one-another” passages in Scripture. This week, we’re going to look at perhaps the most difficult of the one another passages so far: forgiving one another.  Read More

For a few weeks in these pastoral letters, we’re looking at the topic of life together in the church, and we’re focusing on some of the “one another” passages in Scripture.  Last week, I introduced this series by saying that it’s only when the church learns to put these “one anothers” into practice that the church acts like the church.   This week, I would like to think about how we handle conflic...  Read More

Some days, I can feel quite holy.  I have my devotional time, time in prayer, and I feel ready for my day.  I love that time early in the morning, just me and my Bible. But then, people happen.  Time to stretch those spiritual muscles: bearing one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2), encouraging one another (1 Thes 5:11), stirring one another up to love and good works (Heb 10:24-25), being patient with on...  Read More

Dear Saints, One of my goals for 2024 is to write more pastoral letters to our flock.  In this letter, I’d like to briefly share some thoughts about something on many of our minds at the start of a new year: Bible reading.  I know many of us intend to read through the Bible this year, as Pastor Walton has wonderfully exhorted us to do.   I also know the Bible, at times, can be an intimidating book...  Read More