About John Chester

John serves the saints of Piedmont Bible Church, a Grace Advance church plant in Haymarket Virginia, as their shepherd, a position he has held since 2012 and hopes to serve in the rest of his life. Prior to being called to ministry John worked as a lacrosse coach, a pizza maker, a writer, a marketing executive, and just about everything in between. John is a graduate of The Master’s Seminary and The Grace Advance Academy. He hails from The City of Champions, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and is unbelievably blessed to be married to his wife Cassandra.

Reprise: Charismatic Resources?

Posted on June 12, 2019 by John Chester

I honestly had something else planned for today, but this post speaks directly to a question I was asked on Sunday and that I have answered several times in recent months. And so I think it is worth revisiting.

We all need to be very cautious about who we allow to teach our families, and this extends not just to where you attend church, but also to what books you read (and allow your family to read) and what religious broadcasts you listen to and watch. But what about charismatic authors and pastors, are they all bad? Or can charismatic resources be helpful and edifying?… Continue reading

In Praise of Rest

Posted on May 15, 2019 by John Chester

Rest is a dirty word in our society these days. Self-care? Sure. Hobbies? Of course. Retreats? Why not. But rest? What are you, old or lazy? In the era of smart phones, instant messaging, and constant access the email the idea of “doing nothing” seems if not wrong, at least foreign.

But the thing is when you are resting, you are doing something. You are recovering and recharging and I think most importantly you are breaking routine. And you are doing something very biblical. Of course God rested on the 7^th day (Gen 2:2), the Sabbath was commanded for Israel (Ex 20:8-11) and Jesus said the sabbath was decreed for the benefit of man (Mark 2:23-28).… Continue reading

Reprise: You’re Using It Wrong: John 3:16

Posted on May 1, 2019 by John Chester

Scripture is to be a lamp to our feet and a guide to our path. And it is; however, only when rightly understood and applied can it be brought to bear in our lives. When scripture is misunderstood and misapplied it can be a dangerous thing. Remarkably, the best loved verses are often among the most misunderstood ones. Sometimes it is because those verses are taken out of context, other times we simply fail to rightly understand them because we have retained an archaic translation that meant something very different in the past than it does today, and often it is simply a matter of the human heart, when we want to read our desires rather than God’s in a text.… Continue reading

Mr. Rogers Deserved Hell

Posted on April 17, 2019 by John Chester

Yes that Mr. Rogers, Fred Rogers, the star of the iconic PBS children’s show Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. Mr. Rogers (he is so iconic as that character, I don’t really think calling him Fred is right, and I don’t know what else to call him).

When I was a small child my father would occasionally take me with him up his paycheck. My father worked night turn (10:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m.) and paychecks were delivered on Tuesday afternoon, which was his day off so he would usually swing by pick up his paycheck so my mother could do the banking the next day, that wasn’t unusual for the time (the 1970’s).… Continue reading

Back to the Basics: The Christian & The Law

Posted on April 3, 2019 by John Chester

Living the Christian life, although supremely joyful, at times is tough, even complicated. And in many ways the complexity is magnified by the availability of information on the internet. That there is more theological information readily available is great, what is not so great is that sometimes it is very hard to tell, especially for those not familiar with online research or newer believers, reliable sources from crackpots. Over the past months I have fielded questions, after someone in the church read “a great article” online about a wide and quite frankly stunning array of topics. I even fielded a question about whether it was biblical to believe that the earth is round after someone read online that the Bible “clearly teaches” that the earth is flat and covered by a dome. While that is a ridiculous premise, some are a little trickier.… Continue reading

ParkingSpace23

Carrying the tradition of boldly proclaiming the truth!

Author Archives: John Chester