In my last Pastoral Word, I brought up the subject of raising Pharisees and what that can look like. In this follow-up article, I’d like to include an extended quote from Kurt Gebhards that considers how to fight the dangers of hypocrisy: One of the dangers is that these outwardly compliant children receive much approval from parents and teachers. So they are ...

Let me end by passing along a bit of advice for gospel-centered living. It’s not original to me. And it’s pretty simple, even if it’s not followed often enough. If the engine of the Christian experience is the good news that God has given you new life in Christ, then you need to preach this good news to yourself every day. Remind yourself about what Go...

We must not believe the Devil’s big lie that says Christianity, with its virtue formation, is full of discouragement, too hard or impossible, and not for the “ordinary” Christian. One of our biggest problems as Christians is our failure to believe the true gospel and our tendency to believe a smaller, domesticated counterfeit....

If you think the Christian experience is supposed to be characterized by constant discouragement and infrequent victory over sin, your gospel is too small. It’s got a giant hole in it. Right in the middle. It’s a gospel that probably talks a long time about getting into heaven and out of hell or about something you share—or should share—with unb...

From Pastor Adam: Below is an extended portion of a pastoral letter sent from my historical hero, Robert M’Cheyne, to his church family in Scotland on February 13, 1839. In this letter he gave encouragement from Job 23:10 to those within his flock who were suffering. And so, in my absence, I encourage you with his words from the Word....

Note from Pastor Adam: With the birth of another year to serve Christ within the GCV family, it seems wise to use my opportunities with the pastoral word to provide some articles that I have found helpful in the pursuit of gospel relationships here in the church, especially in the Grace Group setting. This first one is a practical encouragement to be listeners and thoughtf...

The following is a transcript of a helpful question and answer session with Pastor John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. For more questions and answers, visit www.desiringgod.org. Question: Is gratitude a bad motivation for obeying God?...

An article excerpt from Pastor John MacArthur dealing with the issue of truth and intolerance toward error....

We consider small groups to be an essential part of our ministry, and this article helps explain why....

The following is a transcript of a helpful question and answer session with Pastor John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. For more questions and answers, visit www.desiringgod.org. Question: Is gratitude a bad motivation for obeying God? ...