Darryl Dash's Blog, page 24
March 9, 2024
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
Rejoicing over Judgment: Why God’s Wrath Is Good News
The surprise is not just that the Bible speaks about God one day judging the world, but that his doing so is something to celebrate.
Laments Regulate Grief
Laments Reorientate Saints…
How to Pursue Pastoral Ministry
Consider a two-part plan: Train privately. Practice publicly.
Find the Edge in Your Preaching
How does this biblical text — its world of assumptions, attitudes, and appli...
March 5, 2024
The Triune God Helps Us With Sexual Temptation
The Thessalonians lived in a city full of sexual temptation. Visitors arrived by land and sea, and sex and other pleasures were readily available. Greek culture allowed young men to enjoy a variety of sexual pleasures. “We keep mistresses for pleasure, concubines for our day-to-day bodily needs, but we have wives to produce legitimate children and serve as trustworthy guardians of our homes,” wrote Demosthenes, a Greek statesman and orator in nearby Athens.
It’s hard to live faithfully as a Chris...
March 3, 2024
The Purpose of Trials (Hebrews 12:3-17)
Big Idea: Our trials are a tool that our loving Father uses to help us grow.
A few years ago, our family entered one of the most severe trials in our lives. It’s not the first time we suffered, but it was the most intense time of suffering we’ve experienced. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
We would get the kids ready for school. When they were gone, we would sit on the couch, not knowing how we were going to get through another day. Sometimes we’d sit in silence. Sometimes we’d cry. We’d often pray,...
March 2, 2024
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
Thomas Was Not Judas: Counsel for Those Who Doubt
What do you do when you are genuinely uncertain about your faith?
One of the chief reasons for learning about heresies is that many of them persist, albeit in subtle ways.
7 Blessings Older Saints Offer the Church
Older Christians have some of the most important lessons to teach the local church today.
Four Benefits of Inviting Evaluation of Your Preaching
Inviting critique and feedback from...
February 27, 2024
Big Dreams Impress. Ordinary Faithfulness Delivers.
Show me a big dream if you’d like, but what really impresses me is the ordinary faithfulness of hidden saints.
I’d rather be in the company of a faithful pastor who’s served in a hidden church for decades than listen to the dreams of someone who’s never learned to serve faithfully in an obscure place.
The world’s not changed by grandiose ambition as much as it’s changed by the ordinary, plodding faithfulness of people who will never be famous.
I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t aim to do big th...
February 25, 2024
Run With Endurance (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Big Idea: Endure by laying aside encumbrances and focusing your eyes on Jesus.
I’ve never run a full marathon, but know that something happens at about the two-hour mark of running.
Your body has enough glycogen stores to run for about 18 to 20 miles. But at that point, your body simply runs out of ready energy. It can convert energy from other sources — fats and proteins — but it’s not as easy. This is what runners call hitting the wall. Your legs will feel heavy. Your vision may go blurry. You m...
February 24, 2024
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
Undying Worm, Undying Men: The Eternal Horrors of Hell
Today, some Christians seem embarrassed by the doctrine of hell. As such, they either omit discussing it, or they reinvent the doctrine and rob it of any real horror. Our Lord, however, was not afraid to talk about hell.
How can pastors shepherd their ever-changing flocks to devote themselves to fellowship?
What did Jesus mean and what do His words tell us...
February 20, 2024
Reprise: Why We’re Not Emergent
Remember 2008?
George W. Bush was finishing his term as president, and Barack Obama was battling John McCain to take over. We were in the middle of the Great Recession. Apple launched its App Store. And we were dealing with something called the emerging church.
The emerging church is a distant memory now, but back then, leaders like Brian McLaren were trying to rethink not only the church but key doctrines of the faith.
In early 2008, Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck released a book called Why We're Not...
February 18, 2024
Hold Fast When You're Tempted to Fall Away (Hebrews 11)
Big Idea: Trust what God says is true, even when it doesn’t look like it.
Jennifer has a good job in finance. She is responsible for picking investments for clients. She’s on a team that has identified a good investment opportunity. The only problem is that this company, in Jennifer’s mind, doesn’t make a positive contribution to society but damages it. It conflicts with her convictions as a Christian. She could have gone ahead with the investment, but it would have violated her convictions. She ...
February 17, 2024
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
Dear friends, in the dry and weary wilderness that is life in a fallen world, the Lord has hewn out for you a Sabbath oasis, where you can drink form the streams of living water flowing cool and clear; where you can rest your souls beneath the shade of his mercy; where God himself will meet you to bless you and dress your wounds with the balm of his grace. Don’t run past the oasis. Run to it. Run to it and rest.
