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Posts by Todd Swift

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Reformed Covenant Theology

I will admit I am a bit of a theology geek. I will blame all those buddies of mine in the local church throughout the years as well as my seminar professors who had a great passion to know and explain the Scripture. They would say things like, "the meaning of the Scripture is the Scripture." All that being said, the book, Reformed Covenant Theology, by Harrison Perkins, i...

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Our Great Hope

In recent days I've attended two funerals. One of a dear friend and the other a father of a friend. Praise the Lord, both were Christians. Even so, regarding attending funerals, there comes a time to ponder and consider how short our earthly lives really are. Therefore, I have three questions I think every Christian should have answers to. Question number one is, what is o...

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Elders Report

The OBC Elders meet for their regular monthly meeting at 6:30 a.m. on July 18, 2024. The meeting began with Dallas Focht leading the elders in a time of prayer. The Lord is so good. He is so eager to listen, especially to His beloved church, as He commands us to pray about all things. First and foremost, we are thankful for being truly saved. The reality of our justificati...

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Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption

In Exodus Old and New, Michael Morales does an amazing job of detailing the biblical account of Israel's exodus out of Egypt in the Old Testament. In doing so, he also masterfully connects their historical redemptive event as a real-life picture that anticipated the New Testament's historical redemption found in Jesus Christ. Morales explains that the old exodus becomes...

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Elders Report

The OBC Elders met for their regular monthly meeting at 7:00 pm. The meeting began with Pastor Pat leading the elders in a time of prayer. The Lord is good to hear our prayers about the service we render unto Him by His grace, by His Spirit, for His name's sake. The Lord gives the church so many different people who need His comfort and encouragement in the name of His onl...

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The Pinnacle of Christian Life: The Hope of the Beatific Vision

Seeing God is the biblical hope that spans the Scriptures. If you are at all like me, I am having a hard time leaving the topic of our recent conference at church. I do not want to forget about the "All Things New" at the Pactum Conference. It was labeled as an eschatological conference because it borrowed the theme and verse in Revelation 21:5 that states, 'And He who i...

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Elders Report

The OBC Elders met for their regular monthly meeting at 7:00 p.m. on March 21, 2023. The meeting began with Pat Abendroth leading the elders in a time of prayer. The Lord is so good, especially to His church, as He commands us to pray about all things. We are thankful for being truly saved in Christ, who is not only our Savior and Lord, but also the Head and authority of ...

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Elders Report

The OBC Elders met for their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 25 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting began with Pastor Pat leading the elders in a time of prayer. The Lord, who is head of the church, commands us to pray. We pray for all things, but especially for the local church ministry and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are so thankful for his power, plan, and sovereig...

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None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God

Matthew Barrett, in his bookNone Greater, does an amazing job of detailing the importance and necessity of Christians to rightly understand the God of the Scriptures, who is both the Sovereign and Savior of the universe. It is a great book for learning and is very devotional. His book relies on the early church fathers to anchor his defense of the study of God Himself....

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A Gospel Perspective

Enjoying sports is a treasured pastime for many Americans. Somehow or some way, we all like to engage in or watch a good sporting event. Whether it is football, basketball or baseball, (these days the list of sports to play and watch are almost too many to count or mention), it is a lot of fun. One might ask the question, why? Without getting into any of the exact details...

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Elders Report

The OBC Elders met for their regular monthly meeting at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 16. The meeting began with Pastor Pat leading the elders in a time of prayer. The Lord commands us to pray about all things, especially when it comes to local church ministry and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are praising Him for His power, plan, and sovereign will to save sinners wholly...

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Surprised by Suffering: The Role of Pain and Death of in the Christian Life

In his book, Surprised by Suffering, R.C. Sproul does an amazing job of communicating the needed and necessary Christian worldview of suffering. Most Christians try to avoid suffering, which seems understandable until one realizes that according to the Bible, suffering for the Christian in this life is a reality that cannot be avoid. Sproul lays out a simple outline in ...

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The Local Church in 2020

Last year brought us many unusual circumstances. Chief among them was a global pandemic, something the world had not seen for 100 years. With it, came so many new lifestyle changes, that at some point, it more than boggles the mind. As Christians, we see God at work even during this death-threatening time. So many people have been affected by this virus in our own communi...

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Elders Report

The OBC Elders met for their regular monthly meeting at 6:30 a.m. on November 11, 2020. The meeting began with Pastor Pat leading the elders in a time of prayer. The Lord commands us as Christians to pray about all things, especially when it comes to local church ministry and the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. He is our Savior and He is Lord over all things and for this ...

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Elders Report

The OBC Elders met for their regular monthly meeting at 6:30 a.m. via Zoom on May 13, 2020. The meeting began with Pastor Pat leading the elders in a time of prayer. The Lord commands us to pray about all things, especially when it comes to local church ministry and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are praising Him for His power to save sinners wholly and completely. Obvio...

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God’s Promise

People love to make promises. Political leaders make promises. Companies declare promises in their mission statements. Husbands and wives enjoy their mutual promises of faithfulness in marriage vows. Children claim promises to parents. You get the idea. Promises are embedded in the fabric of our lives. There is no doubt that promises have great value and purpose. A promi...

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Elders Report

The Elders of Omaha Bible Church met for their regular monthly meeting at 7:00 p.m. on November 12, 2019. The meeting began with Pastor Pat leading the elders in a time of prayer. The Lord commands and desires us as Christians to pray about all things, especially when it comes to the local church ministry and the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a short time ago th...

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Elders Report

The OBC Elders met for their regular monthly meeting at 6:30 a.m. on June 12, 2019. The meeting began with Pastor Pat leading the elders in a time of prayer. The Lord commands us as Christians to pray about all things, especially when it comes to local church ministry and the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. He is our Savior and He is Lord over all things and for this we ...

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The Structure of Biblical Authority

As a Christian, I am forever trying to make sense of the entire storyline of the Bible. The problem is that it seems there are too many important people and endless stories. After God created Adam, his offspring became large through the various patriarchs. It reads as if there was a whole world order that lasted a long time before the worldwide flood in Genesis 6. After...

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Saving Faith is Grace from God to Every Believer

Of all the amazing realities of knowing Christ by faith alone and His glorious gospel (the only true good news), nothing makes me worship more than the doctrine of "saving faith." Contemplating and understanding what saving faith is, is one of the most important truths we could ever learn and embrace as Christians. Let me begin with Omaha Bible Church's confessional state...

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Biblical Theology: Covenants and the Kingdom of God in Redemptive History

Understanding the primary storyline of the Bible (God's unfolding redemptive gospel through biblical history, finally revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ), is the challenge, and should be the desire and goal, of every Christian. True worship depends on it. While every story in the Bible is fascinating and captivating, they lose their perfect place and ultima...

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Elders Report

The Elders of OBC met for their regular monthly meeting at 6:30 a.m. on December 13, 2017. Pastor Pat began the meeting by leading the elders in a time of prayer. As elders, we are very encouraged by our redeeming God who has given us the gospel through His Son, Jesus Christ. By faith, we are saved by His person and work. Not only that, He has given us all, as the body of...

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God is Sovereign and We are Responsible?

If you have been a Christian for any time at all, you have probably heard that "God is sovereign and man is responsible." At first, this sounds like a strong, biblical phrase that we need to embrace and "preach" to others. But it also seems strangely absurd and contradictory. How can the two doctrines of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility be uttered in the same sen...

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Elders Report

The OBC Elders met for their regular monthly meeting at 7:00 p.m. on August 15, 2017. The meeting began with Pastor Pat leading the elders in a time of prayer. The Lord commands us to pray about all things, especially when it comes to local church ministry and the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and we delighted to obey His command. He is our Savior, and He is our authori...

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A Product that Lasts

If you are as old as I am, Christmas this past month was a real chore because good quality products are hard to find. It seems many of the products we purchase now do not stand the test of time. Back in the day, my parents would brag about buying appliances that were still in use 20 years later. Yesteryear's households provided quality and value that lasted. It may seem a...

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God's Glory Alone: The Majestic Heart of Christian Faith and Life

In his book, God's Glory Alone: The Majestic Heart of Christian Faith and Life, David VanDrunen does an amazing job of communicating the essential and historical reformational truths of 500 years ago; namely, God's glory alone in salvation and why it still matters today for every Christian in faith and life. For sure, this book centers around the greatest of all topics or ...

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Elders Report

The OBC Elders met for their regular monthly meeting at 6:30am on December 14, 2016. The meeting began with Pastor Pat leading the elders in a time of prayer. We as elders are very encouraged by our gracious God to be able to gather for the corporate worship of Jesus Christ in weekly public church services. We are very thankful to be able to have the freedom in this countr...

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