Author: Doug Drake
The End-of-days doctrines of the early Church fathers
End-of-days: The early church and the last days. The early church believed they were living in the last times or the end-of-days. We find clear evidence of that in the writings of the disciples. And that literary evidence continued for the next two hundred years after the death and resurrection of Christ. (Then an allegorical…
Strong faith of Habakkuk’s is a model for Christians today
Strong Faith: What does it look like? The prophet Habakkuk had strong faith. At least I should say, eventually, he did. And a portion of his journey of faith was modeled for us in three impactful chapters in the Bible. But his strong faith didn’t come easy. In fact, he undoubtedly spent many hours that…
The Book of Joel: A video summary of the Day of the Lord
Book of Joel: a video review and related articles. This post highlights the Book of Joel and features a short video created and presented by The Bible Project. The book is one of the minor prophets. Altogether, the minor prophets consist of twelve books. And because of that, they were once known as “The Book…
Apostasy: Did Paul mean Rapture or a departure of faith?
In 2 Thessalonians, Paul said the church will experience apostasy. Apostasy. What did Paul mean when he told the church to expect an apostasy before the return of Christ? For many scholars, the meaning is clear. They see it as a departure or a denial of faith in Christ. But in recent years there is…
Daily sacrifices in Jerusalem: When will they start again?
Will the ritual of daily animal sacrifices begin once more in Israel? Yes, the practice of daily sacrifices will once again be seen in modern-day Israel. I’ll lightly brush over the gruesome nature of the ritual. I am an animal lover and don’t like the idea of killing innocent animals. But the sacrificing of animals…
Romans Overview Part 2: Church Building & Restoring Israel
Romans Overview: Christ will build his church and restore Israel. In this second Romans Overview, we focus on the second half of the Apostle Paul’s “profound masterpiece.” Every word and chapter in Paul’s letter to the Romans is worthy of careful study. Once you have taken the time to study the entire book, (several times…
Righteousness by grace: An Overview of Romans Part 1
Righteousness does not come through the deeds of the law. Righteousness is a gift from God to those who trust and believe. It comes through faith. One cannot earn it through hard work and obedience to the Old Testament Law. Israel learned this lesson the hard way. First, they experienced seventy years of captivity. And…
Psalms: The Book of praise, worship & prayer. An overview
An overview of the Book of Psalms In this summary view of Psalms, we feature a video from “The Bible Project.” I strongly recommend this website. The authors and artists have done a fabulous job with the videos they have created. But, they’re just an overview, which is a skill in itself. And a valuable…
Mark: Sermon Notes for the Book of Mark
Mark: Behold My Servant The Gospel of Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels. Read below to find the notes Pastor Doug used in a series of lessons in the New Testament. Pastor Doug prepared the following notes for use during his Sunday morning youth services. He used the notes and outline in…
Matthew: an overview. Sermon Notes and Pastoral preparations
Matthew: The kingdom of Heaven is at hand Opening readings: Matthew 5:1-12 (the beatitudes); 6:9-13 (Lord’s Prayer); 11:28-30 (the call to rest and learn from Christ) This is a compilation of notes by Pastor Doug as he prepared to teach a systematic study through the New Testament to a group of middle and high…
