Darryl Dash's Blog, page 27

A Better Sacrifice (Hebrews 9:1-10:18)

Big Idea: Jesus’ sacrifice deals decisively with the enormous offense of our sins.

At the heart of the Jewish and Christian faiths is something that is troubling to the human mind.

At the heart of the Jewish faith is the temple with all of its sacrifices. If you read the book of Leviticus, you discover all kinds of sacrifices of all kinds of animals for all kinds of occasions. You have five different kinds of sacrifices, a parade of bellowing animals being butchered on the altar.

Imagine the sensor...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Is Your Worship Service Otherworldly Enough?

We won’t reach more people by eliminating the awe-inspiring elements that follow from an encounter with the living God. We’ll reach fewer, and the ones we do reach will experience less.

In Praise of Rote Learning: Why We Need Catechisms

Let’s reconsider the beauty of rote learning.

The Power of Praying Together

What might God do in your church if you committed to praying more together?

Pre-Evangelism: Building Relation...

The Beauty of Small Churches

I pastored two small churches for a combined total of 17 years.

In the first small church, I didn’t realize how good I had it. The people were loving and patient. They gave me a chance to grow and learn the role of pastor. They let me make mistakes. They loved us in significant ways.

But I felt bad about the smallness of the church. The church grew a little and then shrank a little. No matter how much we tried, it never became a medium-sized church, and I felt bad about it.

Some years later, I had ...

Don’t Lose Your Wonder (Hebrews 8)

Big Idea: Wonder again at Jesus, because the more we wonder at Jesus and his salvation, the less we’ll be tempted to wander from him.

John Piper has said that books don’t change your life; paragraphs do. I agree, but I’ll go farther and say that even sentences can change your life. One such sentence is this one by Trevin Wax: “The church faces her biggest challenge not when new errors start to win but when old truths no longer wow.”

There is so much wisdom in that one sentence. Our greatest challe...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

8 Encouraging Trends in Global Christianity for 2024

The 2024 Status of Global Christianity report provides at least eight positive trends that paint a picture of a healthy, growing global church.

Dear Pastor … Your Leadership Is Needed in the Pulpit

Here are just a few of the reasons we’re thankful to God for your leadership of his people through consistent and diligent Bible exposition.

Alistair Begg, Weddings, Wise Application and Adding Mandates to Scriptur...

But Her Too

One of the hardest books I read last year is But He Said He Is a Christian: Journal Entries of a Young Christian Woman in an Abusive Relationship, written by Rebecca K. Tan. It’s a heartbreaking look at what it’s like for a Christian young woman to experience abuse by a professing believer. Because many of us have not experienced sexual abuse, we benefit from learning from the experience and reflections of someone who has.

Tan is back with a second book, just released this week: But Her Too: Rede...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Reflections on the Evangelical Fracturing, Ten Years In

The story of Acts 29's trajectory will feel familiar to many of us outside of the network as well. Indeed it may serve as a small-scale model for much of the evangelical fracturing that began around 2015 and has continued through to the present. So it is worth considering why all this took place.

We're All Muzzled Oxen Now

My concern, really, is not with pastoral wages at all, but with evangelical awarene...

Two Things I'd Change If I Wrote How to Grow Today

In 2018, my book How to Grow came out. I’m still happy with it, but there are two big changes I’d make if I wrote this book today.

First, I’d write about the role of suffering in growth.

I talk a lot about habits in the book, which is good. Habits — or spiritual disciplines, if you prefer — play a big role in our growth. In fact, I’ve become even more convinced of their importance in our sanctification.

But I wish I’d written more about the role that suffering plays in our growth. Looking back, the...

Hold Fast (Hebrews 6:13-20)

Big Idea: Cling to Jesus under pressure because you can count on his promises, and he will give you the stability you need.

The year was A.D. 155, and the persecution against Christians swept across the Roman Empire. Finally, it came to Smyrna, an Ancient Greek city located in modern-day Turkey.

The proconsul of Smyrna ordered that the elderly Bishop of Symrna, a man named Polycarp, be found, arrested, and brought to the public arena for execution.

So they found him. They brought him before thousan...

Saturday Links

Curated links for your weekend reading:

Gospel Hope for North America’s Largest Unreached People Group

“The gospel is the power of God,” Ethier said, “and we are amazed daily at what God is doing.”

Five Fears of Old Age

Dear older saint, I need to join you in the fight against the fears of aging, and to do so by faith in future grace.

Dear Retired Pastor: Off with the Slippers, On with the Boots

Here are four lessons I’ve learned as a retired pastor.

Pastor, It's Time to Reevaluate Your Schedule

With a ...