A Site for the Teaching Ministry of Nick Batzig
When I sit back and read the deluge of thoughts and opinions online about what the church ought to be doing, I sense a noticeable lack of focus on the Gospel. In the many twitter rants that recur on a daily basis, there is a discernible deficiency with regard to Scripture and the Gospel. ...
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....
Luke and Acts are two of the most magnificent theological compositions in the canon of Holy Scripture. Every book of the Bible is theologically rich, but these two books (which are meant to be read together) yield some of the richest theological treasures. Viewing these books together enables the reader to better understand the purpose of the individual accounts recorded i...
Keep ReadingThe Expositor's Conference is being broadcast live today. Dr. Steve Lawson and Dr. R.C. Sproul are lecturing on the holiness, grace. wrath and immutability of God. You can tune it here....
Keep ReadingThe panel of Christ the Center recently interviewed Dr. Barry Horner with regard to the history and theology of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. As a lover of Bunyan's works, I have to admit that this was one of my favorite interviews. I learned quite a bit about the interpretation of Pilgrim's Progress from Dr. Horner (Horner did a doctorate on the theology of Pilgrim's ...
Keep ReadingCircumcision is not something you'll find most Christians talking about around the dinner table--and that's understandable. In addition to the societal awkwardness involved with speaking about cutting away the flesh from the male reproductive organ, there are several reasons why circumcision does not enter into many of our theological conversations. The first is the fact t...
Keep ReadingThe audio from New Covenant's first three studies in the Book of Exodus are now online. ...
Keep ReadingReformed Forum is pleased to be livestreaming Westminster Theological Seminary’s Full Confidence Conference Friday and Saturday from Church of the Saviour in Wayne, PA. The conference is focused on the doctrine of Scripture, and speakers include Carl Trueman, Lane Tipton, and Dave Garner. Details for tuning in to the stream are available at http://reformedforum.tv...
Keep ReadingThis Wednesday (9/22) wtsbooks.com will be launching a 48-hour sale on an important booklet. Christopher Ash, the Director of the Cornhill Training Course in London, England, has written Listen Up!--a short (only 31 pages), accessible, pamphlet that addresses the way in which the people of God can gain the maximum benefit from listening to sermons. Mark Dever gives Listen...
Keep ReadingThe audio and video from New Covenant's Sunday school series on the Book of Revelation is now online. The text was Revelation 1:9-20, and the title, "The Son of Man in the Midst of the Lampstands." You can listen here. You can watch below: http://vimeo.com/15129820...
Keep ReadingWhile I wish that he had explained the distinction between the tithe and the offering (one obligatory, one voluntary), nevertheless, in the video below Mark Driscoll gives one of the most helpful presentations on biblical giving: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4oOkezxKuIfeature=player_embedded#!...
Keep ReadingWhen I first came to Savannah, Ga to plant New Covenant, I was introduced to the theological writings of Dr. David Gooding. A local pastor here mentioned that he had learned of Gooding from a reference made in Alec Motyer's commentary on Isaiah. Goodings' books are available for free in PDF format online. His True to the Faith is one of the best theological works I have co...
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