Resources by Jared C. Wilson

Jared C. Wilson is the Director of Content Strategy for Midwestern Seminary, managing editor of For The Church, and author of more than ten books, including Gospel Wakefulness, The Pastor’s Justification, and The Prodigal Church. You can 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…

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 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 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 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 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 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 Met with a Beggar by Jared C. Wilson
Is Jesus smart? Does Jesus know the way the world actually is? Can he be trusted in this moment to give us sound counsel?

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'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 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 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 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.
Walk With God For Joy by Jared C. Wilson
No, Victoria Osteen is not exactly right when she says we ought to do good for ourselves instead of for God, but neither is she totally wrong. She's derailed and in the ditch, but the right track is in eyesight.
Osteen is not totally wrong, because walking with God is a—let the reader understand—happy thing. It's a different kind of happy, to be sure. But it's…

Walk in the Light by Jared C. Wilson
Whole relationships carry on in the dark sometimes, especially in churches, where everyone is in relationship with everybody's projected version of themselves, with facades.

Utterly Saved by Jared C. Wilson
Salvation by Christ's work is a gift of grace received through faith. This salvation is total (Romans 8:30) and we see its totality in John 6.

Truth and Shepherding
Session 5
Series: 2015 For The Church Conference
Jared Wilson leads session five at the For The Church Conference on the Truth and Shepherding.

Traditionalism is Winning by Jared C. Wilson
As changing views on gay marriage, among others, go to show, secularization marches on. Traditionalists may be on the losing end of historic real estate, at least for now, as well as booed out of the public square for their views on sex. Down the road, though, they still look to possess something else critical.

Too Big Not To Fail by Jared C. Wilson
We think bigness is the way. We think bigness solves lots of problems. We think bigness is safety. We think we can get too big to fail. But it's the other way around.

To All Who Despair: Jesus is Making All Things New by Jared C. Wilson
Someday, Jesus the Redeemer will return to redeem everything. Fully. Completely. Eternally.

Thoughts on Note-Taking During Sermons by Jared C. Wilson
If you are only taking notes during the sermon because you feel you must, because you treat the sermon like a lecture or "lesson," I would encourage you to reconsider.
Things Jesus Will Never Say to You by Jared C. Wilson
To those who trust in him for salvation, Jesus will never say:
"Go play somewhere; I'm busy."
"Fake it til you make it."
"I just don't think it's gonna work out between us."
"I knew you were a screw-up, but this one really surprised me."
"It's too late."
"I don't care."
"My assistant will get back…

The Three Generosities of a Local Church by Jared C. Wilson
A gospel-centered church will grow into a kingdom-mindedness that is a constant reminder that no local church owns anybody and that what is best for every local church is whatever is best for the expansion of the gospel and worship of Christ.

The Sweetness of Jesus by Jared C. Wilson
I love my friend Jesus, because he's sweet in all the ways I deeply need and greatly want.

The Shape of Gospel Astonishment in Psalm 24 by Jared C. Wilson
Who is this King of glory?

The Shape of Complementarian Husbanding by Jared C. Wilson
Complementarianism is not generally about authority/submission, as if they exist in a moral vacuum. It is about what biblical authority/submission look like. Any man who treats his wife in a neglectful or abusive way is no complementarian; he is a walking perversion of manhood in need of repentance.

The Sermon is a Worship Song of Its Own by Jared C. Wilson
The art of preaching the gospel falls not only within the category of Instruction but also Exultation.

The Revisionist History of the Gospel by Jared C. Wilson
Calling Peter a "rock" is like when we nickname a fat guy "Slim."