Resources by Baker, Al

Get up. Let us go from here. (John 14:31) After the Passover meal with his disciples, after washing their feet, after comforting them with the promise that he was going to his Father in order to prepare a mansion for them in glory, after promising the Helper, the Holy Spirit who would bring to their […]

So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. (Acts 17:17) My wife and I were in Athens, Greece a year or so ago while I was teaching at the Greek Bible Institute and preaching at […]

. . . but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you, whenever I go to Spain – for I hope to see you in passing. (Romans 15:23-24) We know that Saul of Tarsus was a ‘can do’ man […]

The cleverness of the clever I will set aside. (1 Corinthians 1:19) In a church world enamoured with technology, strategy, personality, and hyper-contextualization we would do well to take seriously Paul’s marvellous declaration in 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16. Paul, without question, was a massive intellect, one of the brightest men to ever live, yet he tells […]

And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number. (Acts 5:14) Roland Allen, in his book, The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church 2, puts forth a clear distinction between the way the apostolic church grew and how our churches in the west grow. The church […]

. . . trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:10) Every Christian is called to heed and obey the myriad of commands for holiness, for keeping God’s law.2 And we all acknowledge that we fall short of that standard. In a desire to address legalism in the evangelical church the contemporary […]

So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. (Daniel 9:3) After reading the prophet Jeremiah and having known of the promised return from the exile, Daniel seeks Yahweh with diligence and zeal – fasting, putting on sackcloth and ashes, and making supplication. […]

Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory, honour, and power, for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created. (Revelation 4:11.) We are to rejoice in the Lord always. We are to consider everything joy when we encounter various trials. We are to have […]

This book of the law . . . you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it . . . then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. (Joshua 1:8) Do you drink in the […]

Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee. (Psalm 119:11) If we wish to be blameless (Psa. 119:1), if we hope to be blessed (Psa. 119:2), if we desire to live righteously (Psa. 119:3), if we want a shame free life (Psa. 119:6), if we long for lives […]

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations. (Matthew 24:14a) Jesus preached the gospel (Mark 1:15), and he told us to preach the gospel (Matt. 24:14a). Paul knew that he was under obligation to preach the gospel (Rom. 1:15-16) and he also knew he […]

. . . if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9) Mainline Methodist minister Martin Thielen recently made this the title of a book he wrote in hopes of winning to the Christian faith sceptics, atheists, […]

Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me? (1 Samuel 2:29, NASB) Hophni and Phinehas were worthless men who did not know the Lord and who regularly abused the sacrificial system in Israel. They commissioned their workers to go […]

I do not ask thee to take them out of the world but to keep them from the evil one. (John 17:15) You daily face untold danger, opposition, and sorrow. The danger takes many forms. You could be killed on the way to work this morning by a third shift worker on his way home […]

How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? (Hebrews 2:3) Are you straying from the strong, church-going lifestyle instilled in you by your parents? Perhaps you slowly drifted away from Christianity as you married, had children, and got into the fast-paced life of work, rearing children, and being part of your community. […]

And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). In our pluralistic, post-modern, western world few things irk people more than the gospel message of exclusivity. After all, absolute truth statements have caused major […]

Cursed be the one who does the Lord’s work negligently, and cursed be the one who restrains his sword from blood (Jeremiah 48:10). Jehovah speaks through Jeremiah the prophet to Moab, a wicked idolatrous nation to the east of Israel, which had a long history of causing God’s people trouble. He pronounces woes upon them, […]

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Paul’s marvellous proclamation is most often terribly misunderstood. I have been guilty of misunderstanding it myself. Romans 8 is not grounded in justification but sanctification. (If you would rather not follow this technical language then skip down to paragraph three). […]

My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth . . . (James 5:19). Perhaps you have a loved one who has left the faith. You are fearful, anxious, hurt, dismayed, and perhaps even angry. What can I write from God’s Word to encourage you? Why does this happen? What should you do? How […]

Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals1, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9b-10.) A professing Christian husband and father leaves his wife of thirty years for a young woman the age of his daughter. […]

And he gave some as evangelists.’ (Ephesians 4:11) There are a plethora of good Bible teachers and preachers in the Reformed denominations of our day, and for this we ought to be thankful. We tend to attract men who love the Bible and theology and who, consequently, are gifted in communicating both. As important as […]

. . . to be cast into the eternal fire. (Matthew 18:8) One of the big questions today is this, ‘Does God send people to hell? Why would a loving God do that?’ How should you respond to such a question? First of all, since the Bible is God’s inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word, it […]

Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? (John 21:15) One of the more glorious promises in Scripture is John 10:28-30, And I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater […]

Cry loudly, do not hold back; raise your voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins. (Isaiah 58:1). The kind of preaching done by Jesus, his apostles, the prophets who preceded them, and the great preachers who have succeeded them is sadly lacking in […]

Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:9-10) I am presently reading the history of Operation Mobilization, the ministry begun by George Verwer in 1958 while he attended Moody Bible […]