• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Things Above Us

Missions - Evangelism - Theology - Sports

  • About TAU
    • Our Mission
    • The Gospel of Grace
    • Writers
    • Contact Us
    • Comment Policy
    • Attribution/Content Usage Policy
  • Resources
    • Before the Throne
    • From Death to Life
    • Our Tract
  • Articles/Blog Posts
    • Missions
    • Evangelism
    • Theology
    • Sports
    • Book Reviews
    • Kid’s Book Reviews
    • pSaturday Psalms
    • Movie Reviews
    • Go Therefore!
    • Something to Think About
  • Things Above Us Roundtable
  • Evangelio de Cristo
  • Store
    • Cart

Posts by Allen

Allen S. Nelson IV is the pastor of Perryville Second Baptist Church in Perryville, Arkansas. He and his wife Stephanie have been married since 2006 and have 5 children. Besides enjoying time with his family, Allen loves teaching the Bible, reading good books, and time outdoors. He is the author of From Death to Life: How Salvation Works and Before The Throne: Reflections on God’s Holiness He is an avid Dallas Cowboys and Arkansas Razorbacks fan, which means he's always excited about 'next year.' You can follow him on twitter @cuatronelson.

A Case for Confessions of Faith

July 23, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

Recently I read through a little over half of James Bannerman’s classic tome, The Church of Christ. I obviously disagree with his Presbyterianism, but that aside, I highly recommend this book and hope to finish the second half sometime soon. One of the areas I found him helpful in was his argument for the use of confessions […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Confessions of Faith, Creeds

5 Reasons People Don’t Believe Certain Truths from the Bible

July 16, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

In teaching on the doctrine of regeneration recently, I was thinking through explanations on why people would reject the Bible’s teaching on this precious doctrine. I came up with 5 reasons. These reasons apply to other precious doctrines as well. When the Bible teaches something on any given subject, here are 5 reasons one might […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Bible, bible reading, Bible study, scripture

Counseling Awakened Sinners and Recent Converts

July 7, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

I had the privilege recently of reading William Buell Sprague’s 1832 book* Lectures on Revivals of Religion. This work is a series of 9 lectures that Dr. Sprague gives defending the biblical warrant for revival and instructing churches on how to promote true revival and guard against counterfeits. This post focuses on lectures 6 and 7. […]

Filed Under: Evangelism, Theology Tagged With: counseling sinners, new christians, Revival, Sprague

The Loveliness of Christ

June 30, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

Lovely

Jesus is lovely. In Song of Solomon 5:16 the Bride says to Solomon, “he is altogether desirable.” Thomas Watson called this book “a divine marriage song” and so it is. And while I don’t think we ought to allegorize it, I do believe that the New Testament shows us plainly that the marriage relationship is a […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Jesus is lovely, Song of Solomon, The loveliness of Christ

The Preaching Killdeer

June 24, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

Growing up in rural Arkansas I had many opportunities to walk the woods with my grandfather learning about various aspects of nature, including birds. One of the most interesting birds I can remember is the Charadrius vociferous, or, you probably know it as the Killdeer. Or maybe, you’ve never heard of the Killdeer. That’s okay, […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: atonement, Cessationism, Christian Life, conversion, Devotional, scripture

What Does my Son Think of Church?

June 19, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

Last Wednesday my wife had a bit of a toothache from a recent filling and so I offered to take our 3-year-old to Wednesday night Bible study. Now, we are just now transitioning back into in-person services so I knew our attendance would be low as we also continue to live stream for those unable […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: 2020, children, Dads, family, Father's Day, local church

7 Ps for Better Preaching

June 10, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

Anyone who faithfully preaches God’s Word always desires to grow in his ability to communicate Scripture’s timeless truths. Preaching the Bible is a high calling and tremendous privilege. It is a task reserved for qualified men, and it is means of grace for Christ’s church that must never be treated flippantly. I’ve only been preaching […]

Filed Under: Preaching Tagged With: pastoring, preaching, Sermon Preparation

A Book of Numbers: What the 2019 SBC Annual Church Profile Data Tells us About the Southern Baptist Convention

June 5, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

The 2019 annual church profile for the Southern Baptist Convention came out recently and the numbers aren’t great. While many people will bemoan the Baptism numbers, something else caught my eye. For those of who you are not Southern Baptists, the reporting works like this. Our church, Perryville Second Baptist, is a member of a […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: church membership, Cooperative Program, local church, Regenerate Church Membership, SBC, Southern Baptists

When God Brings the Sun Burn

May 27, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

Here’s an old sermon outline that I touched up for a blog post. It’s from Jonah 4:5-11. It has to do with God’s patient providential work in Jonah’s life. Let’s consider God’s providence together today: Prevailing Providence First, consider the word ‘appointed’ in Jonah 4:6-8. God is in full control of His universe, isn’t He? […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: God's love, Jonah, Providence, Suffering

Pastors, Plagues, and Playing Games

May 20, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

In my GBTS class on ecclesiology the other night, Dr. Jeffrey Johnson told us the story of John Calvin’s pastoral ministry in Geneva during the plague of 1542. I was able to check out Harry Reeder’s work in John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion Doctrine & Theology (edited by Burk Parsons) to learn a little more. […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: COVID-19, ecclesiology, John Calvin, pastoral ministry, Plagues, Soul Care

4 Conversion Stories

May 13, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

John Wesley I disagree with Wesley on several important doctrinal points. But consider how he recounts his own testimony from May 24, 1738: “In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he […]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Augustine, biography, charles wesley, conversion, John Bunyan, John Wesley, regeneration, testimony

9 Reasons to Depart from Iniquity

May 6, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

Today’s post has my name on it, but I didn’t write it. Rather, we turn to our friend John Bunyan to consider his exhortations on why believers ought to depart from iniquity. This comes from Bunyan’s work, A Holy Life, The Beauty of Christianity. Here are Bunyan’s words on why Christians must depart from iniquity:  […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Holiness, iniquity, John Bunyan, sin

When Providence goes Viral

May 1, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

I wrote this post while there were still quite a few unknowns about COVID-19. President Trump had just declared a National Emergency. Local schools began closing all over the world. The NCAA canceled important sporting events and subsequently all spring sports. And most tragically, many presumably unconverted people entered into eternity. This post does not […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: COVID-19, Providence, Virus

Spurgeon: God is Good and God is Sovereign

April 20, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

God is good and sovereign! The following is taken from Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s Sermon “A View of God’s Glory”.  The section below was particularly edifying to me (the remaining words are all Spurgeon’s): “Do not be alarmed, my Friends, because I am going to preach about Divine Sovereignty. I know some people, when they hear […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Charles Spurgeon, Goodness of God, Sovereignty of God, theology

Why Spontaneous Baptism Sunday is Not a Good Idea

April 6, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

Here I am, a Baptist writing a post against baptism. That might be like Michael writing a post dogging the Big 10 or something. But actually, this post isn’t actually against baptism. Rather, it’s because I love baptism so much that I write today’s post. Now originally, this post was a response to J.D. Greear […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: baptism, gospel, local church, SBC, Southern Baptists, spontaneous baptism

The Aim of Shame

March 30, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

I don’t buy the argument that says Americans are worse today than we were 50 years ago, 100 years ago, or even 240 years ago. Some may be baffled at such a statement given present cultural controversies over marriage and abortion, and the general disdain we seem to have as a society for the things […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Abortion, church, church discipline, Holiness, repentance, shame

Why so Many Almost Christians?

March 25, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

George Whitefield once preached a message on Acts 26:28 entitled, The Almost Christian. In today’s post, I want to highlight 5 reasons he gives for Almost Christians. I affirm that these reasons are still true today. Particularly, they are true in the cultural context in which I am part of, namely Bible Belt Christianity. So, […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Almost Christian, False Conversions, George Whitefield

You Must be Born Again: Make Regeneration Great Again

March 16, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

In God’s kind providence, it was a biblical understanding of the great doctrine of regeneration that birthed (I’m not sure if I’m intending the pun or not) the evangelical movement of the 18th century. Sadly, it is also a misunderstanding and underemphasis of this doctrine that has contributed to the unraveling of evangelicalism in the […]

Filed Under: Evangelism, Theology Tagged With: born again, Evangelicalism, George Whitefield, gospel, john 3, nicodemus, regeneration, Revival

5 Reasons a Historical Adam Matters

March 12, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

Did a man directly created by God out of the dust named Adam really exist in history? Did he really have a wife named Eve? Did he really have sons and daughters and populate the earth? And does it really even matter? Well, actually, yes it does. And I’m going to give you 5 reasons […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Adam, Church Roles, Gender Roles, Genesis, imputation, Jesus and Adam, Marriage Roles, scripture

Latitudinarianism and the Southern Baptist Convention

March 11, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

Really, part of me is just going for blog title of the year. The rest of me, however, does have a point to make. And I understand that latitudinarianism is probably not a word you casually mention much over coffee.  But I’d like to take a quick trip in church history, and then apply that […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: latitudinarianism, SBC, Sound Doctrine, Southern Baptists, Women Preaching

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to page 5
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 11
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

On Sale Now

  • Help for the Rios Family $10.00
  • Before the Throne $17.00 $14.99
  • From Death to Life $14.99 $13.99

Subscribe To Things Above Us

Sign up for our RSS newsfeed and stay up-to-date with the latest blog posts on Things Above Us!

Things Above Us Roundtable

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Play | Stitcher | Email | RSS

Pull up a chair to the TAU Roundtable as the writers from ThingsAbove.Us and other special guests discuss current events, theology, missions, evangelism, and sports!

The Bible Memory App - Bible Memory Verses
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • “Antiracism” Deserves a Capital Letter: A Preview of Voddie Baucham’s Fault Lines
  • Rightly Understanding John 3:16
  • 2 Peter 1 in the Legacy Standard Bible
  • 5 Reasons Baptist Churches Should Associate
  • The Living Logos and True Mythos: A Response to “Satanic Panics and the Death of Mythos”

The Team

Garrett O’HaraGarrett O’Hara

Garrett appears to have originated the term, but not the theology, "dispybapticalvinistic-expialidocious." He ...

“Antiracism” Deserves a Capital Letter: A Preview of Voddie Baucham’s Fault Lines
Tim BatesTim Bates

Tim lives in Akron, Ohio with his wife, Melanie and two children, Calvin and Caroline. He serves as a deacon, teacher...

Reflections on a World Without Sports
Michael CoughlinMichael Coughlin

Michael Coughlin lives near Columbus, OH, and leads local outreaches to glorify our Lord and reach the lost with...

“The Rank Game” Review
George AlvaradoGeorge Alvarado

George Alvarado is an almost retired member of our Armed Forces (yes, he's older than he looks). He has a beautiful w...

A Open Letter to Afflicted Saints
Allen Nelson IVAllen Nelson IV

Allen S. Nelson IV is the pastor of Perryville Second Baptist Church in Perryville, Arkansas. He and his wife Steph...

Rightly Understanding John 3:16
Chuck IveyChuck Ivey

By God’s grace, Chuck Ivey grew up in a Christian home and came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at a y...

The Living Logos and True Mythos: A Response to “Satanic Panics and the Death of Mythos”

Click a term to see related posts.

Adoption atonement Bible book review Cessationism children Christ Christian Life Christmas Chuck Ivey church conversion Culture Devotional discipleship evangelism Foster Care From death to life Genesis gospel grace imputation Jesus Justification local church love Marriage mercy NFL preaching Psalm 119 Psalms reformed baptist Reformed Baptist Theology reformed theology Roundtable sanctification scripture sin sola scriptura Something To Think About Suffering theology Things Above Us worship

Click the image below if you got one of these cards.

Other Posts You May Like…

Book Review — God Made Me AND You by Shai Linne

God Made Me AND You begins with school children teasing each other about their ethnic differences. Their teacher steps in and shares that God’s wonderful plan is for our differences to reflect the amazing diversity of God’s creation and the bring all nations to worship him. Told in Shai Linne’s trademark rhyming style that makes […]

The Immeasurable Greatness of His Power

We are working through the book of Ephesians at Perryville Second Baptist Church. Recently, we came upon Ephesians 1:19 where Paul prays that the Ephesians would know what is the immeasurable greatness of God’s power toward believers. It’s a really great prayer. And it’s an important truth for us today. I’m sure you’ve heard some wrong ways […]

Roundtable logo with VBS and a child in a pew in front of her mother

Ep. 003 | Children’s Ministry — TAU Roundtable

In TAU Roundtable 003, the guys figure out who’s team Todd Friel and who’s team Phil Johnson, whether we should keep or move away from children’s church, plug some books we like, and explain how you can win one of our brand-new t-shirts.

Bread and Butter

There was a farmer who sold a pound of butter to a baker. One day the baker decided to weigh the butter to see if he was getting a pound, and he found that he was not. This angered him, and he took the farmer to court. The judge asked the farmer what he was […]

8 Reasons Why The Next Missionary You Support Should Be A Cessationist – Part 1

As my coworker and I walked down the muddy trail, working intently on the very difficult Kuman language, a young man approached us. “Wagai We!” he yelled. In case you need it later, this means “hello” in the Chimbu Province of Papua New Guinea. We exchanged pleasantries and immediately got down to business. “Why are you […]

5 Reasons Baptist Churches Should Associate

I may write a follow-up post on the nature of associations, but in today’s post, I just want to lay out 5 reasons that churches ought to cooperate. Dr. Gregg Allison says this: [C]hurches are to establish and promote strong associations with other churches for the sake of mutual accountability, sharing of resources, cooperative high-impact […]

2018 © Things Above Us

Copyright © 2021 · Things Above Us on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in