JesusSaidFollowMe Blog

Bible Commentary Ratings

Before you buy Bible commentaries, find out which ones reviewers rate highest. The top commentaries are ranked with reviews by Don Carson, Tremper Longman, John Glynn, John Piper, Denver Seminary, and readers like you. BestCommentaries.com

Free, Online Encylopedia of Christianity and Theology

Find answers to theology questions from 1615+ articles. Theopedia.com

Free, Bible Atlas Online

Select a Bible book and chapter (like Eph. 1), then see the location on Google map or satellite. BibleMap.org

“Predestined to What?” by Russell Moore

“Why do so many people who say they believe in the doctrine of election spend their lives with such anxiety?..If you are not more evangelistic now than you were when you came to understand the doctrine of election, you never understood the doctrine of election.” An edifying, big picture view of election in the context of God’s eternal plan. Predestined to What? (Rom. 8:26-9:6) by Russell Moore

“Power in Preaching” by Ray Ortlund, Jr.

“A crucified Savior can be preached in Divine power only by crucified preachers…Have you decided yet to be uncool?…Have you decided who all this about? Have you decided who all this is for?” “Power in Preaching: Decide” (1 Cor. 2:1-5) “Our greatest breakthrough to spiritual power will come through the worst experience of our lives…when Paul broke through to new power in his ministry. That happened, the real breakthrough when God took him to another level, that happened in the worst experience of his life, getting that thorn in the flesh, and then learning to live with it.”“Power in Preaching: Delight” (2 Cor. 12:1-10)

John MacArthur’s Sermons, Free

Bold, faithful preaching. Just the Word, nothing fancy. John MacArthur sermons

John Stott’s Sermons, Free

Very edifying preaching, clear and easy to understand. John Stott sermons

God’s Law Defined and Defended in Redemptive History

“Thesis: The purpose of this paper is to determine the present relevance of the law of God. In brief, it is designed to show that the law of God is presently (and in every age) binding upon the believer and that while this law formed the basis of the Mosaic
legislation, the two are not to be confused. Moreover, in the outworking of His plan God may choose to give His law under various codifications, but God’s law reflects eternal principles of righteousness which always constitute a rule of life…It would seem evident that the only laws relevant to the believer’s standard of conduct today are those of the New Testament. If the Old Covenant is abolished it would be wrong to impose it as the rule for life today. If today’s believer is now under the terms of the New Covenant, he must look to see what the terms of this New Covenant are; indeed, it would be illegitimate to look elsewhere.The Continuing Relevance of Divine Law by Fred Zaspel

One-Page Overview of the Bible

God’s People, God’s Place, and God’s Rule by Chad Knudson

Why Some Reformed Preachers YELL!

“If I am preaching to New Covenant converted believers as though they were Old Covenant unconverted Jews, then I am not being faithful.” Perhaps this problem grows out of Covenant Theology’s one Covenant of Grace doctrine, where the New Covenant is merely a newer administration of the Old Covenant. Old Testament Prophets in New Covenant Pulpits by James Sevastio

Seeker Sensitive Pastor Repents

A seeker-sensitive church member complained to his pastor, “I’m not being fed.” And, instead of shifting the blame to the member, this pastor repented. Confessions of a “Not Being Fed” Pastor

An Example of a Godly Wife

Rejoice in the Wife of Your Youth by Ray Ortlund

What’s Your Excuse for Not Serving the Lord More?

“Spurgeon, so it happens, was a lot sicker than me for most of his life. He was seriously and often crippingly and painfully ill, both mentally (with depression) and physically, from his mid-30s until his death from illnesses at age 57…Most weeks, and as just a sample of some of his regular duties, Spurgeon wrote, delivered and published a weekly sermon; looked after an orphanage, a pastor’s college and an almshouse; read and responded personally to 500 letters; and preached up to 10 times in churches that he had started.” And, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. See his additional work for the Lord here: Spurgeon for the Sick and Afflicted

Tour the Land of Israel From Your Computer

“BiblePlaces.com features photographs and descriptions of sites in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Greece with an emphasis on biblical archaeology, geography and history.” See BiblePlaces.com, and especially this Slide Show.

Here’s a digest of some favorite resources I’ve discovered recently around the Web…

Does Your Calvinism Build Relationships With Arminians?

“…Theologically, I am Reformed. Sociologically, I am simply a Christian…when our theological distinctives make us aloof from other Christians…Even if a biblical argument can be made for a certain position…the proof of what’s really happening is not in the theological argumentation but in the sociological integration…(Paul) was a free man setting others free…What unifies the church is the gospel…My reformed friend, can you move among other Christian groups and really enjoy them?…Relationships reveal what we really believe, as opposed to what we think we believe.” Truly Reformed by Ray Ortlund at Christ Is Deeper Still

Several, Helpful Articles on God’s Law

God’s Law by Doug Moo

Starved for Mature Meat

“A prominent radio preacher frequently makes the statement that 85% of the people never darken a church door. Just could be that they’ve been starved out.

Tell me now, how long is it since you preached a sermon on the Sovereignty of God, the Majesty of God, the Holiness of God, the Justice of God, the Immutability of God, and the eternal, electing Love of God? Most of the preaching of our day in evangelical, as well as in liberal churches, is man-centered, not God-centered. Christian people have been entertained and whipped and broken and crucified and psychoanalyzed and sensitivity-trainingized, etc., etc., until they hardly know who God is or who they are…” Hey Preacher by G.E. MacLean at Banner of Truth

Joel Osteen’s Negative Message

“…The ‘positive’ message he proclaims is this: Do better. Try harder. Believe you can succeed. In other words, you can change! Just do it! God will help you, of course, but you have to make it happen.

Though Osteen claims he has positive sermons, I believe he is proclaiming the most negative, unmerciful message possible! Like telling a clinically depressed person to “just snap out of it!,” Osteen is giving people burdened by sin, guilt and despair more reason to despair.

Do we really think that more willpower will solve our problems? What is this message but the Law on steroids? There is no gospel in Osteen’s message, regardless of his rare references to Jesus Christ. Osteen’s idea of “good news” is telling self-centered people to look for salvation in more narcissism!…” Joel Osteen’s Negative Message by Trevin Wax at Kingdom People

Follow Me

“…Yet, Jesus didn’t say, “Follow them”; he said quite clearly, “Follow me.” The true disciple puts his loyalty, not with a group or another human or a new idea, however good those things may be, but only with his master who has called him by name…” Following Christ by Trevin Wax at Kingdom People

Inventing Mental Illness

Interviews with several psychiatrists where they concede too much. Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM): Inventing Mental Illness by the Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights (A Scientology group, beware!)

One Man Committed to Christ

“…(William) Borden’s small morning prayer group gave birth to a movement that spread across the campus. By the end of his first year, 150 freshman were meeting for weekly Bible study and prayer. By the time Bill Borden was a senior, one thousand of Yale’s 1,300 students were meeting in such groups. Borden made it his habit to seek out the most “incorrigible” students and try to bring them to salvation…” No Reserves. No Retreats. No Regrets by Brian Hedges at Light and Heat

8 Dangers of Exclusive, Redemptive-Historical Preaching

I lo-o-ove redemptive-historical preaching. But, like all styles of preaching, it has its strengths and weaknesses. Ethics, Preaching, and Biblical Theology by John Frame

Minimizing the Bible?

Have seeker-sensitive preachers and over-contextualizing missionaries lost faith in the power of God’s Word to change people? Preach the whole counsel of God!

“…It seems to me that a growing number of pastors and missionaries have lost confidence in this truth. They have concluded that the gap between the glory of Christ and the felt needs of their neighbors, or between the glory of Christ and the religion of the nationals, is simply too great for the fullness of God’s word to overcome. The upshot seems to be the minimization of the Word of God in its robust and glorious fullness.

This is on my front burner just now because in recent weeks I have received a steady stream of testimonies from aching saints who say in so many words, “Our pastor doesn’t proclaim to us what the Bible says and means. The messages are not revelations of the glory of Christ. They are advice-talks with a religious twist…” Minimizing the Bible by John Piper

The Guilt of Giving Part of God’s Counsel

Preach the whole Bible, nothing less! The Guilt of Giving Part of God’s Counsel by John Piper

Seminary Training vs. Church Training?

Who can better train future church pastors than current church pastors? Where better to learn to pastor a church than in a church? Long before pastors’ training became academicized and institutionalized, local churches trained pastors. Proposal for a New Seminary by John Frame