#9marks

by Mike Christ | The exact moment when I sensed the inadequacy of my understanding of sanctification is engraved in my mind. It occurred in a small-group meeting, while discussing the dynamic between our actions and the work of the Spirit in the process of becoming holy. As these conversations often go, people were sharing what helped them grow—or at least what they learned in church about what ought to help them grow—you know, reading the Bible, praying, etc. At the same time, everyone steadfastly maintained that the Holy Spirit actually did the work of sanctification. Finally an honest woman blurted out...

by Dan Darling | Well, that’s what they want you to think,” a friend insisted, with particular emphasis on the they and want, after the end of a long and fruitless argument about whether or not a group of secretive bankers was plotting in smoke-filled rooms to destroy the world. I tried, in vain, to convince him that Donald Trump’s election, a natural disaster in Indonesia, and the rise of the price of plastics were not, in fact, tied to a central, evil, dark conspiracy...

by Chris Hutchinson | What is a church? How might we answer that question? Where should we start? We could start with the word itself. In the New Testament, the word “church” is translated from the Greek word ekklēsia. An old idea which still gets passed around today is that ekklēsia means “called out ones,” given that ek means...

by Matthew Tuininga | Soon after John Calvin was appointed as a pastor of the Genevan church, having only recently arrived as a refugee fleeing persecution in his native France, one of his first actions was to petition the city government for the establishment of church discipline. It was a hard sell. In no other Reformed city had the civil magistrates given clergy such authority. The reformers Zwingli and Bullinger maintained...

by Anand Samuel | By regularly sitting under expository preaching, our members learn important interpretive skills. They hear the pastor say things like this: “Beloved, look at the text. What does this word mean?” “Does the context help us?” “What is the...

by Jonathan Leeman | How well do you treat other Christians with whom you disagree theologically? Here’s an example of how J. L. Reynolds, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, and stalwart defender of Baptist convictions, treated his disagreements with Presbyterians on a secondary matter...

Should the preaching calendar make room for holidays? If so, for which? If not, how should the preacher interact with the holiday in the normal course of preaching?

by Brad Thayer | Pastoral ministry comes with many hardships, including administrative challenges. It’s part of the calling to be “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor. 4:1; cf. 2 Cor. 11:23–33)...