Below are outlines, background studies, articles, sermon videos, and other resources related to Bible study and church ministry.

ARTICLES

Introductions, Background Studies, and Outlines of Books of the Bible

• Romans
• 1 John

Bible Study Resources

• Inductive Bible Study Questions
• Setting the Record Straight on Old Testament Dates
• Five Views on Genesis 1
• Timing of Events Related to the Book of Ezra
• Historical Evidence for the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
• Comparing Genesis 1 with Ancient Near Eastern Creation Myths
• The Book of Psalms and an Overview of Hebrew Poetry
• Suffering in 1 Peter and the Cultural Background of Early Christianity
• An Exposition of the Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:1-10)
• Who are the two witnesses of Revelation 11?
• Is Revelation 3:20 a Gospel invitation to a lost person or an invitation to a believer?
• The Identity of Babylon in Revelation 17-18
• Three Distinctions in the Dispensational View of Sanctification
• A Character Study of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke
• Three Views on Hebrews 6:1-8 and Which I Prefer
• Salvation in the Book of Luke
• A Few Thoughts on Spiritual Formation
• Wine in the Bible and Alcohol Today
• Three Views on How Paul Applies the Promises Given to Israel to the Gentiles
• The Role of the Local Church
• Who Was Jesus?

Articles from Books of the Bible

Articles from Habakkuk

1. Meet Habakkuk
2. What do we know about Habakkuk? (Hab 1:1)
3. Habakkuk’s Cry (Hab 1:2-3)
4. What We Do When We See Suffering (Hab 1:4)
5. Our Limited View of God (Hab 1:1-4)
6. Our Reminder That God Is God (Hab 1:5-11)
7. He Who Is Sovereign (Hab 1:5)
8. How America Is Different Than Israel (Hab 1:6-10)
9. Grace Time (Hab 1:11)
10. Gospel News (Hab 1:5-11)
11. God Questions (Hab 1:12-2:1)
12. Confidence in God (Hab 1:12-13)
13. Nothing Without God (Hab 1:14-17)
14. Waiting for God (Hab 2:1)
15. Waiting on God (Hab 1:12-2:1)
16. Living by Faith (Hab 2:2-20)
17. While We Wait for God (Hab 2:2-3)
18. God’s Plans for the Righteous (Hab 2:4-5)
19. God’s Plans for the Wicked (Hab 2:6-20)
20. Just Live by Faith (Hab 2:2-20)
21. How Revelation Leads to Trust (Hab 3:1-2)
22. God Knows Your Name (Hab 3:1)
23. A Healthy Fear of God (Hab 3:2a)
24. Peace in God’s Plans (Hab 3:2b)
25. When Faith Matures (Hab 3:1-2)
26. An Answer to Prayer (Hab 3:3-15)
27. An Awesome Appearance of God (Hab 3:3-7)
28. The Amazing Acts of God (Hab 3:8-15)
29. What a Big God (Hab 3:3-15)
30. Direction in the Midst of Disaster (Hab 3:16-19)
31. Embracing the Wait (Hab 3:16)
32. Consequences of Disobedience (Hab 3:17)
33. Rejoicing While God Works (Hab 3:18)
34. Raising Above Life’s Troubles (Hab 3:19)
35. Looking Up When We Are Down (Hab 3:16-19)

Articles from Malachi

• 1. The Love We Know (Mal 1:2)
• 2. Godly Praise (Mal 1:5)
• 3. Giving God the Best (Mal 1:6)
• 4. The Way We Are Right with God (Mal 1:6-11)
• 5. Temple Priests in Today’s Church (Mal 2:5-7)
• 6. Spouse Selection (Mal 2:6-10)
• 7. Marriage Dedication (Mal 2:13-16)
• 8. God’s Messengers (Mal 3:1)
• 9. Godly Gift Giving (Mal 3:6-12)
• 10. The Size of the Tithe (Mal 3:10)
• 11. The Blessing of a Tithe (Mal 3:10-12)
• 12. Why Do Evil People Prosper? (Mal 3:13-15)
• 13. What Do Evil People Have Prepared for Them in the Future? (Mal 4:1)
• 14. How Do We Overcome Evil in This World? (Mal 3:16-18; 4:2-6)
• 15. Vacation in Heaven (Mal 4:2)

Articles from the Gospel of John

• 1. Pointing to the Light (John 1:4–5, 6–9)
• 2. Meeting a Need (John 2:3–8)
• 3. Time To Be Born Again (John 3:5–8)
• 4. The Exclamation Point of John’s Gospel (John 3:15-21)
• 5. A Savior for Everyone (John 4:13–14)
• 6. The Harvest from the Gospel (John 4:35–38)
• 7. God’s Creative Solutions (John 5:8, 9)
• 8. A Defining Miracle (John 6:2–11)
• 9. The Strong Grip of Jesus (John 6:35–40)
• 10. Stone Throwing Lessons (John 8:6–11)
• 11. How Behavior Validates Belief (John 8:31, 51, 55)
• 12. Consequences for Christians (John 9:6–7, 11)

Articles from Romans

1. God’s Picture (Rom 5:1-2)
2. God’s Justice (Rom 6:22–23)
3. God’s Fruit (Rom 7:4–5)
4. God’s Provision (Rom 8:1–4)
5. God’s Help (Rom 8:26–27)
6. God Works for Good (Rom 8:28)
7. God’s Security (Rom 8:35, 38–39)
8. God’s Transformation (Rom 12:2)
9. We Need to Weep (Rom 12:15b)

Articles from 1 Corinthians

• 1. Free and Guaranteed (1 Cor 4:1-9)
• 2. Imperfect People Following a Perfect God (1 Cor 2:1-5)
• 3. Keeping God’s Temple Clean (1 Cor 3:16-17)
• 4. Change Shows Change (1 Cor 6:9-11)
• 5. Love for Others Guides Our Actions (1 Cor 8:8-13)
• 6. Stretching and Connecting with Others (1 Cor 9:19-22)
• 7. Enduring Temptation (1 Cor 10:13)
• 8. Accommodating Others Shows Love (1 Cor 10:31-11:1)
• 9. Learning and Using Your Spiritual Gift (1 Cor 12:7, 11, 25-26)
• 10. The Christian’s Secret Sauce (1 Cor 13:4-7)
• 11. The Resurrection Remodel (1 Cor 15:51-52)
• 12. Striving in Ministry (1 Cor 15:58)

Articles from 2 Corinthians

1. Suffering for Others (2 Cor 1:3-4)
2. The Buck Stops with God (2 Cor 1:21, 22)
3. The Necessity of Forgiveness (2 Cor 2:10-11)
4. The Smell of a Christian (2 Cor 2:14-16)
5. Ministry In and Through Affliction (2 Cor 4:8-12) [this article will appear in War Cry magazine at a later date]
6. Gospel Change (2 Cor 5:17, 21)
7. An Ambassador for Christ (2 Cor 5:20)
8. Partner Prerequisites (2 Cor 6:14-18)
9. Growth through Sorrow (2 Cor 7:10)
10. The Trust of Giving (2 Cor 9:6-8)
11. The Battle Within (2 Cor 10:3-5)
12. The Test (2 Cor 13:5)

Articles from Galatians

• 1. The Source of Paul’s Story (Gal 1:11-12)
• 2. Showing the Source of Your Story (Gal 1:13-24)
• 3. Eager to Help the Poor (Gal 2:1-2, 7-10)
• 4. Treating Everyone the Same (Gal 2:11-13)
• 5. Faithful Faith (Gal 3:6, 9)
• 6. God Keeps His Promises (Gal 3:23-25; cf. Gen 3:15; 12:1-3)
• 7. Refusing to Drift (Gal 4:16-20)
• 8. God Keeps His Promises (Gal 4:24-31)
• 9. Freedom Through Service (Gal 5:13-15)
• 10. We That Are Spiritual (Gal 6:1-2, 10)
• 11. Love for the Liberated Life (Gal 6:15-17)

Articles from Philippians

1. A Blessed Assurance (Phil 1:6)
2. The Christian Call to Suffer (Phil 1:29-30)
3. Humility in Action (Phil 2:3-4)
4. Working Out Salvation (Phil 2:12)
5. Ministry When the Minister Is Absent (Phil 2:12)
6. The Job of a Christian (Phil 2:14-16)
7. The Joy of a Christian (Phil 2:17-18)
8. Divine Motivation (Phil 3:13)
9. Family Feud in Philippi (Phil 4:2-3)
10. Our Anxiety Prescription (Phil 4:8-9)
11. Concentration Determination (Phil 4:8-9)
12. Learning To Be Content (Phil 4:11-12)
13. Learning to Rely on Christ (Phil 4:13)
14. Learning to Trust God’s Promise (Phil 4:19)

Articles from Hebrews

1. There’s No One Better (Heb 1:1–4)
2. Jesus Helps Us (Heb 2:14–18)
3. No To-Do List (Heb 4:9–10)
4. God’s Word Always Knows (Heb 4:12–13)
5. He Accepts Us Because He Knows Us (Heb 4:14–16)
6. The Forever Intercessor (Heb 7:22–25)
7. Why the New Covenant Is Better than the Old Covenant (Heb 8:6, 13)
8. Why We Need Each Other (Heb 10:23–25)
9. The Linchpin of Christianity (Heb 11:1, 6)
10. How to Focus on Jesus (Heb 12:1–2)
11. Strength for Contentment (Heb 13:6–8)
12. Ready for Anything (Heb 13:20–21)

Portraits of an Authentic Disciple Articles

1. The Most Quoted Yet Least Obeyed Bible Verses (Matt 28:19-20)
2. Just the Essentials (2 Tim 3:16-17; Phil 3:17-20; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 3:15-16)
3. How Belief Affects Behavior (2 Tim 3:16-17)
4. Scripture in Action (2 Tim 3:16b)

Easter Articles

• Overcoming Betrayal (John 18-19) [this article is scheduled for publication in War Cry magazine]
• No Surprised at the Cross (Pss 22)
• A God that Serves His People? (Isa 53:5, 9-12)

Thanksgiving Articles

• The Abundant Gratitude of Grateful Christians

Advent Articles

• Giving Forgiveness at Christmas (Acts 20:34; Phlm 17; Col 1:20)
• Joy Not Fear (Luke 1:11-13a, 30, 65; 2:9-10)
• Room for the Redeemer (Luke 2:1-7)
• The Miracle of Christmas (Luke 1:26-35; Phil 2:6-7)

Outlines of Books of the Bible

• Ezra
• Obadiah
• Habakkuk
• John
• Galatians
• Philippians
• 1 Thessalonians
• 1 Peter
• 1 John
• 2 John
• 3 John
• Jude
• Revelation

Church Pastor and Leader Advice

• Basic Dos and Don’ts to Be a More Welcoming Church
• The Passion Pastors Must Have for Purity
• The Manners in Ministry that Matter
• Gospel First and Politics Second
• A Fresh Start for an Old Friend
• Confronting a Lost Leader
• 25 Tips for Facilitating a Small Group
• Essential Tools for Weekly Sermon Preparation
• Connecting with the Three Unchurched Groups in Our Culture
• Discipleship Basics
• Seven Basic (but often neglected) Steps for Effectively Communicating with Volunteers
• Four Keys that Unlock an Effective Staff During a Crisis
• Two Ways to Keep Volunteers Serving at Your Church
• Six Benefits of a Unified Budget
• Character Is Our Marketing
• Four Leadership Lessons from Abraham Lincoln
• Two Often Forgotten Essentials for Mission Statements
• Three Simple Ways to Maintain an Online Ministry
• Three Ways to Graciously Welcome Guests Before Even Talking to Them
• Giving God’s Money to God’s Work
• Several Free but Often Forgotten Marketing Tools for Churches
• Ministering to New Members: An Example from 1 Thessalonians 3:1-8
• The Primary Message of the Book of Nehemiah and an Evaluation of Five Leadership Principles
• A Biblical Philosophy of Leadership
• How Time-crunched Leaders Develop Potential Leaders
• Using Influence for the Benefit of Others – An Example from Paul’s Letter to Philemon
• How to Engage in Conflict with Upper Management
• The Impact of Coaching
• When a Pastor Is a Servant
• What Makes Christian Leadership Distinctly “Christian” and Distinctly “Leadership”
• A Theology of Pastoral Ministry
• Marketing Basics for Busy Church Staff

Articles on Giving

• How Church People Are Smart with Money
• How Grace Is Sufficient for Giving
• Giving Even When We Think We Don’t Have Much
• How Churches Should Ask for Money
• Why We Give God Everything
• How Giving Can Touch Others

SERMONS

Verse-by-verse Sermon Sermon Series

• Reverent Wrestlings (Habakkuk)
• A U-Turn Toward God (Malachi) [forthcoming]
• Restoring Hope by Returning Home (Ezra)
• Signs of Life (John)
• Gospel Groundwork (Galatians)
• Comfort About the Coming (1 Thessalonians)
• Sustenance for Saints (1 Peter)
• Postcards from God (2 John, Philemon, Jude, Obadiah, 3 John)

Theology Sermon Series

• In the Beginning We Believe (Anthropology)
• Those Among Us (Angelology)
• Trespasses of Humanity (Hamartiology)

Topical Sermon Series

• Directions to the Cross
• Straight Truth for Wayward Issues
• The Characters of Christmas
• Portraits of an Authentic Disciple
• Good Friday Sermons
• Christmas Eve Devotions
• Directions to the Cradle
• Atrocious Men of the Old Testament [forthcoming]

BOOK REVIEWS

• Surprised by the Voice of God, Jack Deere
• Three Views of the Millennium and Beyond
• Spirit of the Rainforest, Mark Andrew Ritchie