Pastor Helps

Responding to God from the Pit of Despair

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD The Apostle Peter informs Christians they would be “distressed by various trials” and their faith would be “tested by fire” (1 Pet 1:6-7).[i] James connects these trials directly with “testing of [a believer’s] faith” and notes that by them a believer will develop endurance (perseverance) and perfection (1:2-4). Paul attributes this testing to the work of the devil who tries to lure believers with temptations even while God ensures the believer is not tempted beyond h...
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The Offense of John the Baptist and His Modern-Day Counterparts

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD Whether it be on Facebook, television, or almost any other media source, Americans are inundated by a constant stream of material that is at best frivolous and at worst utterly sin-ridden. When God is mentioned in the positive, He is typically rendered as a loving God who loves all people regardless of their intentions and responses toward Him. Unfortunately, many churches have been caught up in this societal purge of God as He is depicted in His fulness in Scripture....
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The Pathology of a False Teacher (1 Timothy 6:3-5)

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By Mark W. Christy, PhD Paul, in 1 Timothy 6:3-5, offers his readers a profile of a heretic: “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction between men of depraved m...
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The Biblical Way to Confront Your Pastor If You Believe Him to be Teaching God’s Word Incorrectly

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD Recently, the charge of being a heretic was placed upon me by what I hope to be a well-meaning brother in Christ. Unfortunately, he openly charged me on the internet, labelled me a heretic, and called upon my church to fire me immediately. Not once did he ever contact me to make sure that he perfectly understood my theology regarding his areas of concern. Instead of questioning his knowledge of what he thought to be my position and questioning his own position as true...
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Preaching: The Call to Excellence Rather Than Success

Posted on by markwchristy
2 Timothy, written around A.D. 66, was Paul’s last epistle (cf. 4:6). At that time, Paul was imprisoned and treated like a criminal (2 Tim 1:16; 2:9). He was abandoned by all except one of the Christian brothers, Onesiphorus.[1] In this letter, he addresses Timothy who was serving in Ephesus. From both epistles to Timothy, it is clear that the Ephesians were still struggling with doctrinal issues which is somewhat surprising since Paul had ministered there for three years in the past. Sadly,...
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Best Commentaries for a Pastor’s Library

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THE OLD TESTAMENTNote: You can find the following commentaries listed by Tremper Longman III’s Old Testament Commentary Survey and D. A. Carson’s New Testament Commentary Survey. Those listed here are the ones which they list as most desirable for the pastor seeking to build a commentary library. It is recommended that pastors buy these commentaries instead of simply buying a commentary set since some volumes in a given set will not be as good as others.GENESISHamilton, Victor P....
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