But preachers beware, you can easily get addicted to positive comments to the point that seeking good feedback becomes the goal of preaching rather than fidelity to the text and to Christ. In this respect you must pray that Christ would keep your pride at bay and enable you to preach with and for all the right motives and reasons.

You never want to be the reason for a church split or the reason why a church must close its doors. For the sake of the church and Christ’s gospel, you pursue the way of the cross and walk away.

Study English grammar, the alphabets, and vocabulary, and you will pave the way for success in learning Greek and Hebrew

There are a lot of potential pit falls in picking your successor. Sometimes churches go through stages where they need a certain type of minister given their circumstances.

As Christians, we’re a people committed to the book of books, the Bible. Ensure that you don’t unintentionally endanger your ability to soak in God’s word. Use the world around you critically. Ask questions. And don’t ever assume that technology only has benefits—there are always pros and cons. Be aware of both.

Sometimes you stand between two difficult options, like Solomon before the two women who claimed to the mother of the same child, and there is no playbook. This doesn’t mean that God has left you helpless. Rather, he has given you the wisdom of Christ.

Rejoice that you can go to the creator of the heavens and earth and bring your every need and concern to him. Bring your needs great and small but also have the mind of Christ and intercede for others as you pray to our triune God.

As vital and important as disciplining our children is, we must never forget that only Spirit-empowered use of the means of grace bring about godly character and holy conduct.

To preach imperatives, commands, apart from Christ or the gospel, tears down the very foundation of the Christian life. It’s like pulling the rug out from under a person. Apart from Christ, we have no ability to live the Christian life—to love others. We must constantly hear the indicatives—who we are in Christ and what he has done on our behalf.

All of this to say, we will never find paradise on earth. We will never legislate our way to peace. We may experience respites from evil and see certain social ills dissipate, but I suspect they only get replaced by other forms of evil. The only thing that will deliver us is the gospel of Christ and his return.