Posts by Spencer DeBurgh

Posts by Spencer DeBurgh

Four Books for Your Christmas List

Here are four recommendations for your Christmas list – One collection of beautiful poetry, one collection of letters full of wisdom, one daily devotional book, and one biography filled with courageous adventure.   The Soul in Paraphrase, Leland Ryken What could be better than a collection of the best Christian poetry with each poem introduced and helpfully explained…

Resources on End Times

The RBC Pulpit will focus in on the subject of the end times for the next two Sundays. Living Hope — God’s Glorious Plan’s for the Future So here are a couple of recommended readings if you want to go further. It’s important to get good recommendations here, because there may not be an area of Christian learning more filled with kooky teaching than end times…

the washer women

This beautiful story has been used by preachers to illustrate evangelism for 300 years now. It is from John Bunyan’s Autobiography, “Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.” It shows us – all of us – that we can live and speak in such a way as to leave an ember, an impression, a lingering sense of possible joy, in the memories of people we…

How to Study the Bible

How to Study the Bible OBSERVATION Extensive reading Read the whole book (if it is small) Read various translations Read the first and last verses of each chapter, subdivision titles Read an introduction to the book What are some themes in the book? What is the tone/mood? What is the author’s purpose in writing? Intensive reading Narrow to a unit of text (paragraph,…

Bible Study Resources

Bible Study Resources   Bibles English Standard Version.  Crossway, 2001. New American Standard Bible (updated).  Lockman, 1995. New King James Version.  Nelson, 1982. Christian Standard Bible. Holman Bible Publishers, 2017.   Study Bibles ESV Study Bible The MacArthur Study Bible  New Inductive Study Bible  Reformation Study Bible   Reference Materials Vine, W. E.,…

you can do this

Don’t  you want to reach people with the love of God in Jesus? Don’t you want to share the gospel more? And more effectively? Though we probably all want this … we all talk ourselves out of it in big and small ways. We might be too intimidated or too fearful. We may be simply uncaring and self-centered. We may regularly convince ourselves that we don’t know enough or are…

Christ on the Cross

  One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”  But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our…

John Newton’s Poem, These Inward Trials

I asked the Lord that I might grow In faith, and love, and every grace; Might more of His salvation know, And seek, more earnestly, His face. ‘Twas He who taught me thus to pray, And He, I trust, has answered prayer! But it has been in such a way, As almost drove me to despair. I hoped that in some favored hour, At once He’d answer my request; And by His love’s…

Prayers for Leaders and Teachers

These are a few of the prayers I keep on my study desk. Let’s pray like this for each other and our spiritual leaders…   John Wesley’s prayer   I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for…

Five Prayers for RBC in 2019

As we have entered a new year of ministry let’s pray fervently …   Personal holiness in the lives of each elder, pastor, ABF leader, deacon, and ministry worker   For faithful daily times of prayer and Scripture meditation Grant us quick repentance from sin so that no sin becomes a pattern that festers               God protect our leaders from moral failures…