Resources by Jared C. Wilson

Jared C. Wilson is Author in Residence at Midwestern Seminary, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry at Spurgeon College, Director of the Pastoral Training Center at Liberty Baptist Church, host of the For The Church Podcast, and author of numerous books, including Gospel Wakefulness, The Pastor’s Justification, The Prodigal Church, The Imperfect Disciple, Supernatural Power for Everyday People, and The Gospel-Driven Church. A frequent preacher and speaker at churches and conferences, you can visit him online at jaredcwilson.com or follow him on Twitter.

Your Sin Will Find You Out (But So Will His Righteousness) by Jared C. Wilson
I suppose this is essentially a modern fulfillment of the biblical principle “your sins will find you out . . ."

Your Money is No Good Here by Jared C. Wilson
The deal is all of Christ for all your nothing.

Young(ish), Settled, and Reformed by Jared C. Wilson
… for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God… —from Acts 5:38-39
It has been asked in a variety of ways from the outside and the inside since the so-called "young, restless, and Reformed" tribe hit the threshold of unignorable visibility: Can this movement be sustained? Is it just a fad? What are your concerns, fears, and…

You Believe the Prosperity Gospel by Jared C. Wilson
Here are 4 ways ordinary evangelicals like you and me sometimes fall prey to a kind of prosperity gospel in our thinking.

Worshiping a Golden Calf on Sunday Morning is Deceptively Easy by Jared C. Wilson
The move is subtle. The switch from ordinary human achievement to blasphemy requires no explanation. It just flatout happens.

Why You Should Have That Difficult Conversation by Jared C. Wilson
We think the problem might just "go away" on its own. But if it doesn't, we have the biblical obligation to "take it to our brother."

Why Knowing Your Flock is Critical to Meaningful Preaching by Jared C. Wilson
The ministry of preaching cannot be divorced from the ministry of soul care; in fact, preaching is actually an extension of soul care. There are a host of reasons why it is important for pastors who want to preach meaningfully to know their flocks as well as they can, but here are three of the most important.

Why I Wasn't Overjoyed When Our Town's Porno Shop Closed by Jared C. Wilson
Of course we should be glad when any purveyor of smut shuts down or suffers a setback. But we should not delude ourselves. The culture of porn is financially rich and dangerously addictive.

Why Every Christian Must be a Theologian by Jared C. Wilson
Laypeople have no biblical warrant to leave the duty of doctrine up to pastors and professors alone.

Why Discipleship Matters by Jared C. Wilson
Jared C. Wilson, director of Content Strategy and managing editor of For The Church.

Why did you author “The Prodigal Church: A Gentle Manifesto Against the Status Quo”? by Jared C. Wilson
Jared Wilson, director of content strategy at Midwestern Seminary and Managing Editor of For The Church, shares why he authored “The Prodigal Church: A Gentle Manifesto Against the Status Quo” at the For The Church Conference in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, June 16.

Why Christian Movies Are So Terrible by Jared C. Wilson
Every now and again some well-meaning brother or sister will say to me, "This one's different. You gotta see it. It's not like the others." And then it is. It painfully, painfully is.

Why Christianity is Different by Jared C. Wilson
Series: 2017 Ready Conference
Jared C. Wilson preaches on the uniqueness of Christianity at the 2017 Ready Conference at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and College.

Where is The Gospel in the Mutilation of the Concubine? by Jared C. Wilson
There is a gospel spring beneath the deathly depravity of Judges 19.

When You've Got a Bramble for a King by Jared C. Wilson
“Come, get under my shade,” the bramble calls. “I will take care of you.”

When You Invite the Holy Spirit to Thanksgiving Dinner by Jared C. Wilson
Christians have the power to “do relationships” in an entirely unworldly way.

When You Feel Forgotten, Abandoned, and Unloved by Jared C. Wilson
This does not make pain painless, of course, but it doesn’t make it purposeless either.

When We're Shocked to Find Sinners at Church by Jared C. Wilson
I know the reasons we don’t live transparently with each other.
When We Get Small and God Gets Big by Jared C. Wilson
The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms… —Deuteronomy 33:27
Natalie was one of my deaconesses. I say "was" because she passed away in January. One of my first memories of Natalie was at a funeral, actually, one of the first of the many I have officiated in my five years in Middletown. I don't even remember who it was for—it was not…

When the Real You Suddenly Shows Up
Biblical Thoughts on Moral Failure
The problem and the promise for those who fail morally is that Jesus will only deal with us on the playing field of reality.
When Our Sons Ask For Stones, Let's Give them Bread by Jared C. Wilson
In the religion news headlines this week is the story of a pastor who has decided the Bible condones homosexuality. His church, it seems, has determined to see how they might live in a tension between those who agree and disagree. Dr. Mohler has a reflective piece on the situation. It is likely not a coincidence that the pastor in question has a son who has recently come out…

When Our Children Ask for Stones, Let's Give Them Bread by Jared C. Wilson
We familyolaters take what most of us consider the most important thing in our lives and give it the weight of our worship in a way that is both dishonorable and unsustainable. And we end up living "Thus saith the family" rather than "Thus saith the Lord."

When God Lays Down His Bow by Jared C. Wilson
The rainbow symbolizes the gospel, for God has "laid down his bow." To turn it into a symbol of pride, then, is sadly and truly to test God into taking it up again, to invite his wrath.
Whenever God Does a Mighty Work, It Has Been By Some Very Insignifcant Instrument by Jared C. Wilson
What kind of "stuff" does God use for his extraordinary work?
I relished this bit from Charles Spurgeon's revival sermon, "The Story of God's Mighty Acts":
A friend who called to see me yesterday, tells me that the lowest and vilest men, the most depraved females in Belfast, have been visited with this extraordinary epilepsy, as the world calls it; but with this strange…

When Confession Goes Wrong
5 Ways We Confess Without Confessing
5 errors that masquerade as biblical confession of sin.

When A Pastor Has a Bad Case of 'The Mondays' by Jared C. Wilson
Monday. What to do with these Mondays of ours?

What We Talk Like When We Talk About God by Jared C. Wilson
"The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth blog about how cool he is with, you know, whatever your deal is, man."

What We Need is a Reclamation of Biblical Supernaturality by Jared C. Wilson
Too often our creativity and intelligence don’t adorn the gospel, but obscure it.

What to Do With 'Some People Are Saying . . .' by Jared C. Wilson
The pastor should give no harbor to about-talk that avoids to-talk.

What to Do When You Meet a Beggar by Jared C. Wilson
When the way of Jesus clashes with "street smarts."

What To Do (and What Not To Do) When Your Pastor Resigns by Jared C. Wilson
We sometimes expect pastors leaving under bad terms to leave a bad taste in the church’s mouth, but we don’t really think about what can go wrong when an otherwise good pastor leaves under otherwise good circumstances.

What They Need on Sundays by Jared C. Wilson
A word to my brother-pastors, who every week labor in preparing to teach the Bible in the weekend gathering while the dark cloud of the new cultural downgrade hangs over them:
Brothers, let's not go about our weekly sermon preparation and personal discipleship in sackcloth and ashes. Let's get into the vineyard of God's word, get some holy sweat worked up, whistling while we work, lifting our hearts…

What the Word of God Says About the Word of God, Book by Book by Jared C. Wilson
Take a look, book by book, at the many things God's word says about God's words.

What the Popularity of 'NCIS' and 'Blue Bloods' Tells Us About Ministering to Senior Adults by Jared C. Wilson
Why are older folks drawn to these kinds of shows? And what do those connections mean for ministry to older folks?

What the People of God Will Be (and Are!)
Reflections on Psalm 48
Psalm 48 as a portrait of a gospel-centered church is an incredible song for reflection!

What's Your Church Sign For?
3 Things to Do -- and Not to Do -- with Your Roadside Message
Here are three all-too-common approaches to sign messages I think churches ought to avoid . . .

What's Wrong With Producing a "Worship Experience"? by Jared C. Wilson
"The only thing of value the church has to offer is the gospel."

What's Wrong With Buying Your Way Onto the Bestseller List? by Jared C. Wilson
… or buying Twitter followers or gaming the analytics to inflate website stats, etc.
At least 5 things:
1. It's dishonest.
No, it's not illegal. But neither are lots of unethical, dishonest things. The asumption that people make when they see "Bestseller" labeled on a book or 600,000 followers on your Twitter page is that you came by those accomplishments the straightforward way: attracting…

What is Preaching, Anyway? by Jared C. Wilson
We are aiming for awe of God.

What is Baptism in the Holy Spirit? by Jared C. Wilson
Jesus promised that we would be baptized by the Holy Spirit. What on earth can that mean?

What I Miss Most (and Least) About Being a Pastor by Jared C. Wilson
I've been out of pastoral ministry now for 5 years, and while I am not asked as often I was in those first few years, I still get the question a fair amount: "Do you miss it?"

What if You Aborted a Future Janitor?
Why We Should Reject Utilitarian Arguments Against Abortion
Christians should have nothing to do with utilitarian arguments against abortion.
What Evangelism Isn't by Jared C. Wilson
From Reaching the Lost: Evangelism, the Bible study guide from 9Marks.
Evangelism is not:
Personal testimony. Talking about what God has done in your life may encourage Christians and intrigue non-Christians. And there's certainly a place for this in evangelism. But simply sharing about what God has done in your life isn't necessarily evangelism. Evangelism is telling others about what Jesus Christ has done to…

What Do Pharisees Do? by Jared C. Wilson
Biblically speaking, what can we learn about pharisaical behavior?

What Does Job 31:13-15 Tell Us About the Unborn? by Jared C. Wilson
No law can be just if its justice for one is predicated on injustice to another.

What Does It Mean to be "For The Church?" by Jared C. Wilson
There are lots of websites that exist for the church. This is what it means for us to be For The Church . . .
What a Boundless, Fathomless Ocean! by Jared C. Wilson
Eternal love moved the heart of Jesus to relinquish… heaven for earth;
a diadem for a cross;
the robe of divine majesty for the garment of our nature;
by taking upon Himself the leprosy of our sin.
Oh, the infinite love of Christ!
What a boundless, fathomless ocean!Ask the ransomed of the Lord, whose chains He has dissolved, whose dungeon He…

We Will Out-Sing the Enemy by Jared C. Wilson
Our song is truer and better.

We Have Nothing to Offer the One Who Offers Us Everything by Jared C. Wilson
There is one great sign that you are loved more than you thought.

Was George Whitefield a Christian?
Dealing with the Tainted Legacy of American History's Greatest Preacher
What do we make of the fact that the man who was perhaps the greatest preacher in American history and is still one of evangelicalism's favorite heroes owned slaves and propagated slavery?