fear

A Word to the Hurting

March 27, 2020 by Michael Coughlin

2020 has been nothing short of perilous. Bloggers and preachers regularly employ hyperbole, but what we are seeing due to the coronavirus pandemic is unique. At the time of writing, I’m a 44-year-old man who was born and raised in the United States, and I can confidently say no one my age has ever seen […]

Walking with God – Part 2

February 10, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

Currently, I am preaching through Genesis 1-11 at Perryville Second Baptist Church. In our 33rd week through the series (no, I am not recommending everyone go that slow!) we came upon the curious case of Enoch in Genesis 5:22-24. This series of posts (see part 1 here) fleshes out some thoughts on Enoch’s walk with […]

Why You Should Preach Dressed Up

July 1, 2019 by Allen Nelson IV

I’m sort of snickering as I write this because I know you probably clicked this link thinking I was going to write a post about why you should wear a suit and tie to preach in. As an aside, I don’t think you should look like you just rolled out of bed when you preach. […]

Tim Bates

Tim lives in Akron, Ohio with his wife, Melanie and two children, Calvin and Caroline. He serves as a deacon, teacher and small group leader at Maranatha Bible Church.

Michael Coughlin

Michael Coughlin lives near Columbus, OH, and leads local outreaches to glorify our Lord and reach the lost with the gospel. Michael’s joys are spending time with his dear wife and children, programming computers, and studying and discussing God’s Word. He is a member of Covenant Bible Church.

Allen Nelson IV

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.

George Alvarado

George Alvarado is an almost retired member of our Armed Forces (yes, he's older than he looks). He has a beautiful wife, a very tall son, and currently teaches at Pilgrim Bible Church in Washington. He is also an author, blogger, apologist, evangelist, and podcaster. He loves spending time with his family and friends, traveling, photography, and continuing his studies in linguistics and theology.

Garrett O’Hara

Garrett appears to have originated the term, but not the theology, "dispybapticalvinistic-expialidocious." He is a husband, a father of four children, a U.S. Navy veteran, and a semi-truck driver. He also holds a Th.M. in New Testament paid for mostly by the Post-9/11 GI Bill (don't tell Mikey Weinstein).

Chuck 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 young age. He has been married to his wife Ashley for 18 years. They have two high energy children by adoption and are currently fostering to adopt more, also by God’s grace. Chuck works full time in local law enforcement and serves as a deacon and teacher at Beech Haven Baptist Church in Athens, GA. He teaches for the Bible Training Center for Pastors, writes Christian book reviews, and occasionally speaks on apologetics for Ratio Christi. Chuck is currently pursuin...

How to Cut Up Your Bible

It was cold and blustery as the sun was setting. Ice had begun to form along the empty streets outside and Jehudi’s teeth chattered as he scurried back to the house having completed his official government business. The contraband he had been dispatched to obtain was tucked safely under his left arm as he opened the […]

An Encouragment to Journal

The word “journaling” may conjure all sorts of emotions for you. Perhaps it makes you think of the grade you got your junior year of English class when you were forced to record a journal entry at the beginning of each class. Maybe it makes you think of the stereotypical “secret diary.” Maybe it the […]

5 Reflections from 10 Years of Daily Bible Reading

In May of 2008 I was inconsistent with my Bible reading at best. I’ve already recounted some of that story in a previous post, but suffice to say that I was too proud and too lazy to read the Bible every day. One day I challenged myself to see how many days in a row […]

Draw Near to God – Part 2

We’ve been talking about James 4:8. Last time we looked at how this verse is a command, a commitment, and a comfort. In this post, we want to continue to think rightly about the truth we receive from this great verse. Scripture is God’s self-revelation to man. And this verse reveals 3 key things to […]

TAU Beginnings

On January 15, I was reminded that it has been two years since we started ThingsAbove.Us. The reminder came by way of a tiny bit of hardship where our domain name expired precisely two years after we purchased it. We got that fixed, but I wondered how many of our readers weren’t around back then. So even […]

The High Calling of Foster Care

I crept into the room for the 4th time that evening. She was asleep in a bed we bought earlier in the summer, hoping to put it to good use. It was now 2 in the morning, and I just couldn’t help but look in on her one last time before bed to make sure […]