in 1 Peter
1 Peter 1:17-21: Conduct Yourselves With Fear
Thomas works through Peter’s call to conduct ourselves with reverent fear during our time as exiles here, grounded not in terror but in the reality of what it cost to ransom us.
in 1 Peter
1 Peter 1:10-12: The Prophets Searched Carefully
Thomas works through Peter’s account of the Old Testament prophets who searched carefully into the salvation they themselves prophesied but wouldn’t live to see, serving not themselves but us.
in Apologetics
James 4:1-10: Suffering Reveals the Real You (Apologetics: 5 Sessions for Jump Start, Session 3)
Do you think Christians are strange? Thomas asks, granting that plenty about the faith looks absurd if Jesus didn’t actually rise from the dead. He works through James 4 as part of a short apologetics...
in 1 Timothy
1 Timothy 1:18-20: Shipwrecked of the Faith
Picking up right where last time left off, Thomas continues in 1 Timothy, working through Paul’s warning about Hymenaeus and Alexander, who made shipwreck of their own faith.
in 1 Peter
1 Peter 1:1-2: Introduction to 1 Peter
A truth lands differently depending on who says it, Thomas says: a wealthy man telling you to trust God for your needs carries little weight, but someone who has actually suffered saying the same thing...
Anxiety: The Gospel is the Only Solution to Anxiety
Do you actually know peace, Thomas asks, real peace in your soul, the kind that lets you sleep without worry and wake up excited rather than dreading the day? He works through why the gospel,...
in Easter
Luke 24:1-12: The Resurrection: No Idle Tale
No event in history rivals the resurrection’s significance, Thomas says, pointing to two thousand years of societies and nations shaped by it. He works through Luke’s account of the empty tomb on this Easter Sunday,...
1689 BCF, Chapter 17: Perseverance
Long-distance runners live by a mindset, Thomas says: if you’re not running, you’re walking, if you’re not walking, you’re crawling, but you get to the finish line no matter what. He works through the confession’s...
1689 BCF, Chapter 15: Repentance
Say you’re sorry, parents tell their kids, and we all remember mumbling the words without meaning a bit of it, Thomas says. He works through the confession’s chapter on repentance, and what it looks like...
1689 BCF, Chapter 14: Saving Faith (The Rationality of Faith)
Faith gets associated with irrationality, Thomas says, a leap off a ledge despite what sound reason tells you. He works through the confession’s teaching on saving faith as something profoundly reasonable, grounded in real evidence...
1689 BCF, Chapter 13: Sanctification (positive explanation)
Think of how strange it is to give your all to something while knowing the actual results don’t come from your effort, Thomas says, comparing it to gardening. He works through Philippians 2 and the...
1689 BCF, Chapter 11: Continue How You Started: Ongoing Faith and Repentance
How do you begin a five-day hike? Thomas asks, quoting the old proverb that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and continues the same way. He works through the confession’s...
2 Corinthians 5:15: The Evil of Pride and the Good of Humility
If you had to pick one character trait to excel in this year in order to please God, what would it be? Thomas asks, opening a new year with that question. He works through 2...
in Christmas
Rejoicing for the Coming of the Saviour (Carol Service)
Christmas is an occasion of great joy, Thomas says, opening this carol service straight from the angel’s announcement in Luke 2. He works through why the birth of the Saviour is genuinely good news of...
1689 BCF, Chapter 10, Paragraph 4: The Exclusivity of the Gospel
Have you ever wondered about all the other religions in the world, and whether the good they do counts for something? Thomas asks. He works through the confession’s hard teaching on the exclusivity of the...
1689 BCF, Chapter 10: Infant Salvation
This is a personal one for many, Thomas says, opening the confession’s weighty question of infant salvation. Do babies who die go to heaven? He works through what the confession, and Scripture, actually say.