A Site for the Teaching Ministry of Nick Batzig
It is the common lot of those God has called into gospel ministry to become discouraged on account of the challenges and trials that come from serving as a pastor. I can almost always sense when a brother is weighed down by the pressures, demands, and discouragements that come with serving as a pastor of a congregation, because I have known them throughout my own pastoral service. The apostle Paul intimated the challenges that pastors face in the church when he added to the external opposition he experienced from the unbelieving world the care that he had for the church. He wrote, "apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches" (2 Cor. 11:28). So what are ministers to do when they feel overwhelmed by the discouragements of ministry?...
We are meant to know that Jesus had to remain silent when he was judged so that we might have our mouths shut before the just tribunal of God. Then, having heard the sentence exacted against the spotless lamb of God, believers might open their mouths in praise to God for all the ways that He has removed their transgressions and the righteous condemnation that stood against us for Christ's sake. The silence of condemnation belonged to Jesus that praise for justification might be ours. ...
Sadly, many professing believers approach the gifts of the Spirit by overvaluing the idea of the miraculous spiritual gifts (e.g., tongues, prophecy, healing) and undervalue the common spiritual gifts (e.g., salvation and sanctifying fruit). Holding faulty views of the miraculous spiritual gifts is usually due to a failure to grasp the redemptive-historical purpose of the gifts. When we come to understand the biblical teaching about the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit and the ordinary gifts of the Spirit, we will better value the greater and continuing gifts in the life of the church today....
When each of the Old Covenant signs (i.e., the rainbow, Sabbath, circumcision, and the Passover) are viewed in light of the fulfillment of all that they typified, we come to understand a great deal about the work of Christ...
As we enter a new year with new personal goals and desires, the Lord wants His people to commit to Christian living among the members of the body. We must resist the urge to look to practices and programs in the local church to live out the Christian life or do the work of ministry for us. Our God has given us the enormous privilege and responsibility of diligently living out, daily, our Christian lives in Christ. Let’s commit ourselves to the practice of seeking to live the organic Christian life in the context of the local church to which we belong. ...
The reason why Mary sang a song of humility is because she was focusing on what God was doing to provide the Savior she needed. Mary had been waiting on God to fulfill the promises that He had made throughout the Old Testament era. Mary doesn't speak of herself or her privileges because Mary was focused on her need for redemption. ...
We rightly wonder of the coming of the eternal Son of God into the world in true human form while wrongly neglecting to wonder at the accompanying role of the Spirit of God in the ministry of the Redeemer....
In many of life’s circumstances, we struggle to understand how we will come to attain the promises of God, forgetting that their fulfillment is entirely based on the person and work of Christ. Jesus has secured an everlasting joy, an inheritance of hope for His people through His death and resurrection. Though we do not now see all that he has for us, we wait for him with patience. We are to be a people who trust in and wait for Christ in faith....
While recent developments concerning the state of Israel have given us reason to revisit this subject--it would do us good to be settled in our minds about the fact that all who are united to Jesus by faith have been made children of Abraham and heirs of God (Gal. 3:29). Believers are the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem (Phil. 3:20). This is the only Jerusalem that ultimately matters. As John Newton put it, "Solid joys and lasting treasures, none but Zion's children know."...
Dennis Johnson, Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Seminary California, has an article over at Third Millennium Ministries on how he came to change his mind about infant baptism. You can read the article here....
Keep ReadingMany people have incorrect thoughts about the purpose of Pentecost. You will sometimes hear Christians praying that the Spirit will come in the same way as He came at Pentecost. It is certainly a good and right thing to desire a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church. But Pentecost held a very special place in redemptive history. It is as special and unique ...
Keep ReadingBelow is the audio and video from the Sunday morning worship service at New Covenant Presbyterian Church of Richmond Hill, GA. The text was Acts 1:12-26 and the title, "Better By the Dozen." Audio
There is an interesting theological purpose in the historical account in Acts 1:12-26. At first glance it doesn't seem to be anything more than an historical recollection of the apostasy, suicide and replacement of Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed our Lord. But the place of this record in the book of Acts, the nature of the apostles' prayer, and the Scripture that Pete...
Keep ReadingOver at the Riddleblog there is a post by Richard Muller, in which he considers what it means to say you believe in the five points of Calvinism. Muller suggests that there is much more to the historical Reformed faith than a bare confession of adherence to the so-called "five points of Calvinism"--which, incidentally, did not originate with John Calvin. At a time when man...
Keep ReadingDavid Murray has a post over at Head, Heart, Hand in which he draws a valuable pastoral lesson from the skill with which Larry King carries out his interviews. You can read it here....
Keep ReadingIf you have never heard sermons by Ian Hamilton you are missing out on a great spiritual blessing. Iain is the minister of Cambridge Presbyterian Church in Cambridge, England. I find his sermons to be an outstanding example of substantive, passionate, Christ-centered, applicatory, textual, expositional preaching. He really is one of the best preachers in the church today. ...
Keep ReadingPresbyterian Mission in Haiti has posted a list of relief efforts they are helping accomplish. If you are interested in helping provide relief, but are concerned about know where funds will go, the following is a breakdown of the needs that PMH is seeking to meet according to order of priority. PMH is a trustworthy organization, supporting Gospel-centered missions: "A" Li...
Keep ReadingDarryl Hart and Camden Bucey have a discussion on Christian Epistemology and Two Kingdoms Theology here....
Keep ReadingJohn 10:25-30 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has g...
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