Posts by Joshua Mack

Favoritism is a serious sin. Why? One reason according to James is because when you show favoritism, 'you become judges with evil motives.' In other words, when you show favoritism you are setting yourself up in God's place as a judge. The Bible says there is only one Lawgiver and judge, but when you make decisions about people based on external factors alone, you are ...

We've seen James condemns favoritism in James 2. But what does favoritism look like? He illustrates. Picture this scene in your minds. The church has gathered together. They've come to worship. In enters a man who is obviously very wealthy. You know he's wealthy because he is wearing gold rings. Literally James calls him a gold-fingered man. So don't think wedding ri...

Ever had a rude awakening? I have nine children, so I have had plenty. Honestly, probably more of them, have been cute awakenings, actually. Like the time, I awoke to my two year old daughter singing, I may never march in the infantry, ride in the Calvary, shoot the artillery, but I am in the Lord's army. A rude, cute, awakenening. And, you know, even though I wasn't i...

Is your religion real? In James 1:26 and 27, we are given three tests. 1.) The way we speak. 2.) The way we relate to the vulnerable. And, 3.) The way we relate to the world. Are we worldly? Over the past couple of posts we have been defining worldliness and thinking a little about why it is dangerous. Now, let's try to get specific. What are some specific ways we ...

Worldliness is dangerous because it stains us. James says true religion is to 'keep oneself unstained by the world.' In other words, if you are not actively keeping yourself, you are going to be stained by the world. The reason you have to actively keep yourself unstained by the world is because the world is constantly seeking to press us into its mold.You hear a lot t...

Are you worldly? That's an important question. After all, listen to James 1:27. "This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Fatherto keep oneself unstained by the world." Worldliness is a problem because the world wants to stain you and it's a problem you should be concerned about because as James explains worship that God accepts comes from people...

It's hard to think of many men I have personally known who have had as much worldwide impact as John MacArthur. So it was a tremendous privilege at the Legacy Conference to have him visit with us and share some of the lessons he has learned over the years about leadership. Here are a few of things I scribbled down as I was listening. Leadership involves being able to a...

Truth is an essential difference between the new way we look at the world as believers and the old way we used to look at the world as unbelievers...

It seems so ordinary. Get in your car. Gather with a big group. Sing some songs. Listen to someone talk. Spend time with other people. Week after week after week. Why is gathering as a church so important? The reason it is important is because we all are sinners who deserve God's punishment but in His grace this God sent His own Son into the world to die in our place t...

The first part in a series by Pastor Josh answering the question: What is the Church to do? ...

Christians get together. Over and over and over and over again. Week after week we meet as a church. Why? We are looking at Hebrews 10 and we've seen that one reason has to do withGod. A second reason for our gathering together is found in verse 23, and it has to do withyou. The writer of Hebrews says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for ...

We are to get together as a church on a regular basis. But what for? After reminding us why we gather in chapter 10, verses 19 through 21, the writer of Hebrews, draws out three implications for our life together as a church in verses 22 through 25. And I think those three implications give us a good grid for what's supposed to be happening when we gather as a church. T...

The church gathers. We get together week after week. That seems obvious. But, why? Why is gathering as a church so important? It's a command. We see that in Hebrews 10:19-25. But, it's not just a command. There are reasons. In fact, if you look at Hebrews 10:19-25 you will notice the writer is making an argument. We know that because he begins with the word theref...

Trying to think what God thinks isn't popular. Pretty much the opposite. You can say the craziest, wildest, and most foolish idea and people will be slow to disagree or careful when they do. But, name the biblical truth, you say it, and people will attack it, and they will attack you. For some of us, that's difficult. It is easy to start to worry about what people thin...

The world is packed with so many different and false teachings. This is why it is important to know how to identify them....

We are supposed to make disciples. But it is easier to make disciples when you know how. ...

I want to talk with you about being a parent. Parenting is complicated and I would never want to write anything that might make it sound to anyone as if it weren’t....