A Site for the Teaching Ministry of Nick Batzig
A significant downside to living in an affluent country with endless organizations, service opportunities, and events is that professing believers can begin to grow discontent with the ministry of the ordinary means of grace in the context of Lord's Day worship in a local church. They then begin to grow discontent with serving those in the same body of believers as needs arise. When this begins to happen, individuals start to look for programatic ministries that makes them feel useful in their Christian lives....
The high priestly benediction in Numbers typified the divine blessing being pronounced by the great High Priest, Jesus Christ, as He lifted up His hands when He ascended to heaven (Luke 24:50). How fitting that this was Christ’s last act on earth. Jesus ascended to heaven as our great High Priest, in order to continue the work of redemption on our behalf in the presence of God. The efficacy of the priestly blessing pronounced on God’s people is utterly dependent on His nail-priced hands. Jesus’ hands had to be pierced on the cross in order for Him to lift them over us in triumphant pronouncement and assurance....
Instead of rushing to the worst possible conclusions about others, we ought to consider our own failings and sinfulness. This is such a challenging yet richly rewarding goal for us to pursue. The more we focus on our own hearts and motives, the less we will sinfully judge others in the body of Christ. The more we see our own sinfulness and need for the Savior, the more we will extend the same grace to others we profess a need of for ourselves. The more readily we extend love to others and are committed to thinking the best of them, the more our words and actions toward them will reflect the deep, deep love of Jesus. ...
In recent weeks we have seen the unmasking of vindictive and underhanded attempts of pastors seeking to destroy the reputations and ministries of fellow pastors. In short, each occasion has reminded us that it is altogether possible for ministers of the gospel to harbor bitterness toward those with whom they have had disagreements, seek the destruction of their colleagues' reputations, and desire to supplant their usefulness in the kingdom of God. Sadly, this is more common than most would like to acknowledge. It happens in the SBC, the PCA, and every other ecclesiastical body. It happens on social media and in private conversations. It happens with the weaponization of church discipline in church courts. Worst of all, it happens in the human heart––from which this form of evil stems. Men set their hearts on advancement, influence, and power at the expense of the reputations of those whom they envy or those they have come to disdain for having challenged them on the floor of an ecclesiastical court....
My dad wasn't just physically strong. Dad had the strongest intellect, will, emotions, wisdom, and intuition. I have been meditating on why it’s so hard for a son to lose a father. Chief among the reasons is the fact that I have lost the first and foremost influential spiritual leader in my life. Dad placed his greatest energy into being a strong spiritual leader for our family. He instructed us from our earliest days and lent us spiritual support through years of blessing and burdens. This has made his death the hardest loss for me as a son....
We all have expectations about how others should act––some of them are biblically justified and some are merely the product of our own sinful hearts. Even when our expectations of others find biblical support, we sometimes (probably more often than not) hold them with unrealistic rigor. Those who respond in anger or frustration, when their expectations have not been met, are often the catalyst for deep discontentment and discord in the church....
Scripture everywhere commends the grace of a humble heart and sets out the many benefits that flow from it (e.g., Psalm 18:27; 25:9; 147:6; 149:4; Proverbs 3:34; 11:2; 16:19; 29:23; Matthew 23:12; Luke 1:52; 14:11; 18:14; 1 Peter 3:8; 5:5–6; James 4:6–7, 10). When we consider all that we are by nature and all that we have in Christ by grace, we find that we have every reason to be humble before God and men. As we recognize our exceedingly great sinfulness, the insurpassable glory of God, and the unsearchable riches of Christ, our hearts must necessarily be bowed low. May we make it our daily ambition to acquire and foster a humble heart before God and men....
The Scriptures encourage us to give serious consideration to the inevitability of trials, the divinely appointed remedies of overcoming them, and the outcome of God’s blessing His church after the trials....
The revelation of the glory of God, reflecting off the face of Moses, was an accompanying sign of the divine source of the message that God gave him on the mountain. The emanating glory from the face of the Lord Jesus Christ was not a reflected glory. Jesus is the very revelation of the glory of God in the flesh. The glory reflecting off the face of Moses served as a marker of the authority of God, but the glory shining from the face of Jesus served as a verifying sign of his own divine glory....
Presbyterian 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...
Keep ReadingIt's been more than 2 months since we ended our year long series in Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics. We covered two of the volumes and some material from 'Philosophy of Revelation' and 'The Certainty of Faith.' As the new year takes shape it feels like the work is only half done. Personally I can't read Bavinck without some sense of guilt for not sharing it. So if we ...
Keep ReadingTexts, Contexts, Cultures is a new departure in graduate research and training in Ireland. It offers candidates a multi-disciplinary PhD programme delivered in co-operation between Arts and Humanities research institutes at Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork and NUI Galway. The programme investigates the most basic component of Arts and Humanities research ââ...
Keep ReadingHanding out resumes and shuffling investments have two things in common: uncertainty and Ecclesiastes 11:6. John Trapp (1601 – 1669) noted that the only works guaranteed to succeed in this life are pure acts of mercy and kindness. He’s right. But it can be such a frustrating answer to those who have lost 1/3 of retirement or can’t get even one intervie...
Keep ReadingNew Covenant Presbyterian Church had its first morning worship service yesterday. We began a series on the book of Acts. The first sermon was titled "The Acts of the Ascended Christ."The text was Acts 1:1-11. You can watch the video below.
If you have never read T. D. Bernard's The Progress of Doctrine you really must do so as soon as possible. It is a treasure chest of rich theological exposition with regard to the development of doctrine in the New Testament. It is a New Testament introduction of sorts. This work was highly commended by Reformed Presbyterian ministers at the time of its release, though Ber...
Keep ReadingIn his Apocalyptic Writings (WJE Online Vol. 5) Jonathan Edwards explained that the Holy Spirit is the principle blessing purchased by Christ in the work of redemption. He wrote: The sum of the blessings Christ sought, by what he did and suffered in the work of redemption, was the Holy Spirit. So is the affair of our redemption constituted; the Father provides and gives t...
Keep ReadingI had the privilege of preaching a New Year's sermon for 2010 at Kirk of the Isles (PCA) in Savannah, GA. The text I preached was Exodus 12:1-30. the institution of the Passover. The title of the message was New Year's Redemption. You can listen to it here....
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