Posts by Brendon Johnson
The Faithful Heart of Mary
The Evangelist Luke tells us that after the visit of the shepherds to the infant Jesus and their report of the angelic messengers, Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. We may take the comment as a historian’s citation of his source. It is possible that the Evangelist met Mary and…
Read MoreMarriage to Please the Lord
One day in Bob Jones University’s Dining Common (where all profound conversations occur!), I heard a lesson on Christian marriage. Five of us were at lunch: a married couple maybe in their early 50s, a much younger couple, married no more than a year or two; and myself. The older man was away from the…
Read MoreMind the Story: A Bible Reading Lesson from Ron Horton
Review: Alive to the Purpose: The Readerly Reading of Scripture (Greenville, SC: JourneyForth, 2020) Reviewed by Brendon Johnson If the Bible is the rule of the Christian faith, every Christian should know what it says. Furthermore, listening to preaching is not enough; your pastor is not going to tell you everything in the Bible. You…
Read MoreThe Pastor’s Confidence
You are a Christian pastor. You have dedicated your life to preaching the gospel, giving men and women answers for their questions, comfort for their sorrows, hope for their fears, and wisdom for their doubts. You spend your days and years strengthening the faithful, restoring the fallen, and warning the foolish. You love the people…
Read MoreThe Christian’s Dual Allegiance
This is a sermon with two texts. One text is from the Old Testament, the other from the New. One comes from the prophet Jeremiah, the other from the apostle Paul. Our two texts might seem contradictory, but taken together, they summarize the whole of the Christian’s life in the world. The first is this:…
Read MoreThe Body Is One
“The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you” (1 Cor. 12:21). Of course they cannot! Either would be absurd: the eye alone cannot handle what it sees, nor can the head go without the feet. Yet Paul…
Read MoreWhere Balaam Went Wrong
To many Bible readers Balaam the son of Beor is an enigma. Nothing is known of him except for a brief though highly significant encounter with Israel, but that encounter reveals a disturbing and seemingly contradictory character. Is Balaam a fearless servant of the Lord, defying Balak to bless Israel? Or is he a conniving…
Read MoreLife for Evermore
Brendon Johnson When John addressed to the churches the record of his prophecy, he was very careful to emphasize that the words he wrote were not his own. Apostle though he was, his message could not depend on his authority alone; it had to be sent under the name of him from whom it came.…
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