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In first century letter writing, the author always included near the beginning of the letter what is called the thanksgiving or the prayer section.  It is in this section of the letter that the purpose of the letter was found.  This is important to know when we read the epistles in the New Testament, for the authors of the New Testament were, in some ways, a product of their culture. When Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, he discussed much in this introduction portion of the letter.  This has caused scholars to debate what motivation was behind Paul’s letter to this church that he loved dearly.  The following are themes found in the thanksgiving/prayer section, as well as in the body of the letter: Christ and the gospel, the language of servanthood and ‘fellowship,’ the relational basis of this ‘fellowship’ (this section shows Paul’s deep love and affection for the Philippian Christians), Paul’s ‘chains’ (thus the motif of ‘suffering’), the future orientat...

Below is an adapted version of what I sent to my parents upon recently being diagnosed with a retina disease. We would appreciate your prayers! -Pastor Ben Good news and hard news... The good news is I have an opportunity to draw near to God in a new way. I have a chance to bring honor to God in my response. And I will have more eagerness than ever for heaven and the promise of a new body! The hard news is I was diagnosed with an "inherited disease of the retina" by Dr. Pete Lagouros at Illinois Eye Center (IEC). I have not done well on the field of vision test for the last 6 years when I've gone to Bard Optical in Washington. Bottom line, I don't have as much peripheral vision as most people. Not a big deal, but the eye doctor at Bard (my friend Mark Hahn who attends church at BCC) has sent me to Illinois Eye Center a few times for further tests and nothing really came of it. I was referred by Dr. Hahn to IEC again this month too as I failed the ...

I was recently reading through Romans chapter 1 and came across verses 28-32 and realized the profound impact they have on parents and children in discussing obedience. In these verses, God gives a list consisting of, "not see fit to acknowledge God, … [given] over to a depraved mind, [doing]things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil,… without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful, [and] give hearty approval to those who practice them. " Right in the middle of the list of all these "very bad things" He also states, " disobedient to parents" (v.30). Often times we take disobedience lightly. With smaller kids we make it more of a joke to laugh about. With older kids we say, "What did you expect, they're a teen." These verses, however...

Diane, our office manager (and great friend!), sent me a link to a blog this week. There were some great things to ponder in regards to a church’s outreach. Our purpose statement at BCC is to glorify God by proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord and prepare His people to worship Him forever. Let me ask you: As you think over how you have spent your time since the new year, how much of that time has been spent in proclaiming versus preparing?  Consider this: Add up how much time have gone to worship service, Sunday School, care group, a BCC training class, a Bible study, giving counsel/getting counsel, making a meal for a fellow church family, etc. Now compare that to how much time you have spent serving the lost, communicating gospel truths to someone who doesn’t know Christ, being intentional to have the unsaved into your home, etc. My guess is that our time in “preparing” far outdistances our time in “proclaiming”. That is not always a bad thing, but if this distance...

The following is an edited email conversation with a college student asking for help in sharing biblical truth with a friend who has embraced our culture’s view on the LBGT lifestyle. My hope in sharing this is to give you some logical principles and arguments against popular culture’s false assumptions. My hope is that this will prompt more thought and dialog in your sphere of influence about how you might be more winsome yet courageous to speak the truth into the darkness of this enslaving philosophy.   ---- Hi Mr. Kloter, quick question. I’m talking with someone about God. They are a massive supporter of LGBT.  How can a perfect God can call the LGBT lifestyle sinful when it’s something they can’t change about themselves? I know we’re supposed to love them and point them to Christ and all, but how can they be Christians while ignoring/participating in sin they can’t really change? Can an LGBT person be a Christian since repentance means the need to turn f...

I’m not a tremendous fan of New Year’s Resolutions. In the last week or so, Casey and I have seen the population surge and dwindle at our favorite fitness center.  I am a bigger fan of Ephesians 5:15–16 which says,  [15] Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, [16] making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (ESV) I like to use my time wisely, and I have tried so many methods, it could make your head spin. I think I have finally found one that works, is easy to follow, and is easy to replicate. I have tried explaining it to a handful of folks, and no one has fallen asleep yet, so stay with me. Here are my five steps to making the most of your time: 1) Start from the Bottom Up.  See the diagram in this post. Resolve that your purpose in life is to glorify God—nothing else. Consider passages of Scripture like 1 Corinthians 10:31, 2 Corinthians 5:9, Psalm 1:1-2, and Ephesians 2:8-9 as passages that ca...