Thoughts of Josh Dryer

Hello everyone. I hope that this summer is going well for all of you who are reading this blog. I am just posting to let you know that I was given the honor of preaching this past Sunday at the church where I am on staff (Ancient City Baptist Church). I have uploaded the message to this blog site under "Audio Sermons" as well as to my podcast on itunes. Please give it a listen and let me know what you think. Over this past 2 weeks I have been really gripped by the power that God granted to Jesus Christ following His victory over sin and death for us. The passage that I discuss is found in Philippians 2:1-11 and supported by Hebrews 1. In these passages the authors help the reader to begin to comprehend the majesty and magnificant power that lies within the being of Christ. Specifically, in this message, I focus on what will one day happen in the lives of every living or dead being on this earth. The fact that all will bow down to Him and confess His Lordship is an enc...

I have recently met with a group of men to discuss a concept in systematic theology called "general revelation." We use Erickson's Systematic Theology book titled, "Christian Theology" as our discussion guide for this group and the discussion was excellent. Anyway, I wanted to post some of my thoughts on the subject and would welcome any comments. Erickson defines general revelation as: "God's communication of himself to all persons at all times and in all places." He goes on to discuss the three loci of general revelation which are nature, history, and the constitution of the human being. So God reveals Himself to mankind through created nature, the historical events of the past, and through our moral character that exists inside of every person. There are basically two important passages in the Scriptures that discuss the general revelation of God towards His creation. I would like to discuss and briefly comment on these. The first ...

Hello to everyone out there in the virtual blog world. I must say that I have not been keeping up with my "thoughts" very well lately. Darlene and I have just moved into our new place in St. Augustine and praise the Lord, we have sold our house. In the mean time I haven't been able to put much up on the blog. I did want to write and tell everyone that I have created a new podcast titled: "Thoughts of Josh Dryer" in which I will upload all of my sermons. So if you like go check it out and give them a listen. I would love to hear what you have to say. If you open your itunes program and click "itunes store" on the left then you type "thoughts of josh dryer" in the search box in the upper right hand corner you will be taken to the podcast page. I will also include a link to download the MP3's if you would like to do that instead. Give it a try and let me know what you think! I am currently working on an article about "Special Rev...

What the heck does that phrase mean? I have recently uploaded 2 new sermons that I delivered at the church's program called "Soup, Salad, and Scripture." This is a weekly event that everyone is welcome to attend which includes a lunch costing $4.00 and a message from our pastor, Dr. David Rice. Dr. Rice was unable to deliver the messages over the past 2 weeks so I was happy to step in and teach for him. The two messages were based on Genesis 15 and Hebrews 11. Both of these passages are about Abraham and his faith in God. The key passages in Genesis 15 states that Abraham believed God and so God granted his faith in Him as righteousness. So God imputed or counted righteousness towards Abraham because of his faith in God's word. The imputation of righteousness from God upon the believer is a direct application of these passages. What an impossible process that only God could complete...To offer grace through His Son and to accept such a feeble faith as ours in...

While dissecting some very popular text in John 1 this past week the Lord revealed something to me through my study. The text that I began to translate was not an unfamiliar one and I know that I had translated it before. This time, however, the Lord showed me something so amazing that I had to write and share it with all of you. This understanding is one that sort of shapes and defines one's theology and understanding of one's faith. It has transformed my faith and strengthened me in our Lord. Check out John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was  with God, and  the Word was God. " Here in this passage, John writes about the eternality of the pre-incarnate Christ. Most believers have read and know the principles uncovered in this passage. We learn from this passage that Jesus has lived forever in a very special relationship with and as God. Dr. David Rice stated to me the other day that Jesus is the same nature as God but a different functio...

I am so pleased with the discussion that has begun so far here in Matthew. Manny has made a insightful comment about Matthew 5:1-12 in the previous post. Go check it out. The important question posed here by Manny's statement is whether Christ is talking about the lives of believers living here and now or is He referring to the future kingdom at the end of time? There is convincing evidence for both theories. Read Matthew 5:1-12 and let us know what you think...

Check out the Exegesis of Matthew 5:13-20 located to the right. This passage really helps to encourage us to fulfill our role as believers here on the earth. It reminds us that God doesn't need us to complete any part of His will for the future but that He has invited us into His story and thus we get to be a part of it. What do you think of the passages out lined in this exegesis? Do you have any questions? Is there any part of the passage that really makes you think? What about? Let's get this thing rolling!!