I’m the pastor of FBC Jackson in Jackson, Alabama. Each week, I post “Article Roundup: Helpful Reads,” sharing articles that I believe will benefit the saints who make up FBC Jackson and followers of Christ everywhere. Happy reading!

What Does ‘Love. Your Enemies’ Not Mean? by Patrick Schreiner

Patrick Schreiner uses the entire Bible to properly understand what Jesus meant—and did not mean—when he said, “Love your enemies.” “I recently preached on Jesus’s most revolutionary ethical teaching–love your enemies (Matt. 5:44). It stands as a Mount Everest among ethical instructions that both Christians and non-Christians respect. Yet, because we have a certain modern definition of love, it is easy to misunderstand Jesus’s teaching. What did Jesus actually mean by enemy love and how do we integrate it with Old Testament texts that seem to contradict it?”

Let Me Get Home Before Dark: Wisdom to Help Pastors Finish Well by Steve Bateman

Praise God for articles like this. We need more older pastors who can exhort, warn, and encourage young pastors on how to finish well. “The day I heard Havner’s sermon, I began to pray God would take me home before I brought disgrace on the gospel. Looking back on how God used those warnings in my life, I sense a responsibility to share with a new generation some practical wisdom on finishing well. Here are five warnings and encouragements.”

All My Sins Are Washed Away: The Glory of Expiation by Davy Ellison

What is the doctrine of expiation, and how important is it? How comforting is it? Davy Ellison seeks to answer these questions in this article. “But we don’t have to choose between expiation and propitiation. Both are true. Christ’s death is multifaceted. Here are three biblical images that show us the glory of expiation—the goat, the globe, and the grave.”

What Happens at the Prayer Meeting? by Jacob Crouch

May God bless us with more pastors and churches that recognize all that is happening at our weekly prayer meetings. “What happens at the prayer meeting? A thousand secret things that only the Lord knows. What a blessing to be able to gather and seek His face together. May He continue to be honored by the gathering of the saints, and may our churches grow as He pours out His grace.”

Against Executive Pastors by Aaron Stead

This is a thought-provoking article. I’m not against executive pastors, but I am certainly against hiring prayerless and doctrinally ignorant pastors to carry out administrative and organizational duties. “What people crave is theological vision, not organisational excellence. Do not misunderstand me, people will abhor a disorganised mess of a church; and in all likelihood leave disgruntled eventually. So, by all means hire someone who can keep things ticking over. But if the choice was left to me, then give me an additional pastor on the church payroll over an EP any day of the week. One who prays for me, one who prays with me, one who cares for me, and one who preaches the deep things of God to me.”

It’s Donald Trump’s World Now by Albert Mohler

I always appreciate Albert Mohler’s insights on political issues. “My hope is that President Trump redefines the Republican Party as a movement away from progressivism and toward a principled conservatism—but it will be a populist conservatism about real people and objective truth, smaller government, and freedom from leftist ideologies. We need more about the sanctity of human life, but we also need candid in-your-face truths such as President Trump’s declaration in his inaugural address that there are two and only two sexes.”