Imagine this situation. It’s Sunday morning, and you really don’t want to go to church. It’s been a long week. You’re tired, stressed, and your back even hurts. “Man!” you think to yourself, “It sure would be nice to stay home this morning.” A brother in Christ recently found himself in that exact spot. Yet he still came to church. What persuaded him to get up & gather with the saints? He told me he used the “Fishing Test.” This is how it goes. He asked himself, “Do I feel go

I went to a pastor’s conference recently. It was great. Many godly pastors shared and spoke. One lesson that stood out to me was this: every senior pastor needs to prepare their church for the next senior pastor. That thought struck me and has stayed with me ever since. Here me out: I’m not planning on leaving. Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me right now. Haha. However, sooner or later, CBC will have another Senior Pastor. He won’t be me. You will have another

Many of you reading this may not be familiar with Lewis Sperry Chafer. Yet, he has had a profound influence at CBC. You won’t find him in CBC history in the old directories, but what you do see are references to Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS), of which he was the founder and first president from 1924-1952. Through Dr. Chafer, God was preparing the pastors and teachers that would influence other pastors and teachers, just as Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:2, “and what you have he

The English Bible we hold in our hands today came at the cost of those who risked and even gave their lives so God’s Word could be read in our own language. Before 1300 A.D., church services in Western Europe were conducted primarily in Latin. Portions of Scripture had been translated into Old English—usually from the Latin Vulgate—but were used mainly for study or devotion by clergy rather than distributed among common people. The only English Bible before William Tyndale wa

Our nation is uniquely Christian in ways that other countries are not. Think about countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Australia. Bible-believing Christianity is far more popular in the USA than in these other countries. Why? With our beloved nation’s 250th birthday coming up, I thought it would be good to reflect upon a specific evangelist who shaped the religious identity of the US: George Whitefield (1714–1770). Born and raised Anglican, White

I’ve been asked, “Do you think God changes His mind?” Maybe you have been asked this or something similar. This is a loaded question. Answering it takes careful discernment of the reason for the question. This question can have more emotional context than intellectual. A Christian or someone seeking God may ask this question when living in the setting of a certain sin. They may say something like, “The Bible was written thousands of years ago and the times have changed so muc

I’ve heard several stories of evangelical Christians—especially young men—converting to Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy. Many shrug and say, “Hey, we’re all Christians. Calm down!” I reject that perspective. When an evangelical (i.e., Bible-believing Christian) leaves for a non-evangelical church, it is grievous. Why? Paul is crystal clear: we cannot distort the gospel. If we do, we stand under God’s curse (Gal 1:6–7). In our “easy come, easy go” age, this warning soun

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of discipleship is Jesus calling his disciples to follow Him. This well-known encounter is when Jesus first told them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19, Mark 1:17). Yet, discipleship is not something only found in the New Testament. Our understanding of discipleship is incomplete if we do not understand its early seed form in the Old Testament. You see, the New Testament is a continuation of the Ol

The God who created the universe also sustains the universe. By extension, the God who created you also sustains you. Moment by moment, day after day, season after season, whether you know it or not, God guides and directs your every step. This is true for both Christians and non-Christians. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you believe—your life is not some random compilation of events. On the contrary, your life is a story written by God Himself. The chapters of your li

Last weekend I was at my parents’ place building a stall for our foals we need to start working with. As I was putting it together and thinking through what would make halter-breaking them easier, I remembered an old technique—tying a young horse to a donkey. It actually works well, though I feel bad for the poor donkey, being tied to another animal that pulls and fights for hours. As I was reflecting on how donkeys are often used for such difficult tasks, my mind went to a c

God says in Heb 13:4–5, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Marriage is a covenant created by God reflecting His covenant to us. God created the marriage bed to be holy, sanctified. He has set boundaries for our protection, joy, and most import

A new young politician has been making waves in the Democratic Party. His name is James Talarico. He just won the Texas Senate Democratic primary near Austin. His appeal to many comes from his “Christian” values. He’s a current seminary student, talks about learning Hebrew and Greek, and uses biblical language in his speeches. For example, in his victory speech this last week, he said, “My grandad was a Baptist preacher in South Texas, and he told me at an early age that we f