One of my favorite statements from one of my favorite Puritans, Thomas Watson: The first fruit of love is the musing of the mind upon God. He who is in love, his thoughts are ever upon the object. He who loves God is ravished and transported with the contemplation of God. “When I awake, I […]
Read More For the love of GodOn Christmas morning, gifts will be opened that will be ungratefully received. They will be taken, but without gratitude. Perhaps the recipient will have wanted something else. Perhaps the value of the gift is unknown, or perhaps it is known and considered “inadequate.” This same Christmas season, people will be presented with the gift of […]
Read More Ungrateful for the gift of Christ?Every Christmas, John Piper writes a series of four advent poems for his congregation. This year the poems are written around a consideration of the life of Nebuchadnezzar. They are worth hearing or reading. One of my favorite advent poems remains “The Innkeeper.” These are worth hearing or reading as you prepare your heart for […]
Read More Preparing for Christmas worshipEugenics is not an oft-used word in my conversations. And probably not in yours either. But the influence of eugenics and the theology behind it is increasingly influencing our lives. Eugenics is defined as: “the study of hereditary improvement of the human race by controlled selective breeding. Formed from the Greek prefix eu – meaning […]
Read More Eugenics and youI just finished reading Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching. It is admittedly written to pastors and for pastors. But the principles in the book will apply well to anyone who would teach the Scriptures. Two chapters are particularly worthy of consideration. Sinclair Ferguson considers the topic, “Preaching to the Heart.” This principle […]
Read More Feed My SheepIf God demands obedience, then does Christianity just become a 70-year will-power act of endurance? Absolutely not. The point of obedience is to produce joy in the life of a believer as he learns to find the greatest satisfaction in God rather than in the temporal and vain pleasures of this present age (Titus 2:12). […]
Read More Obedience and joy — another leftoverPreparation for corporate worship is a key component to worshipping in a God-glorifying manner. To that end, I like to say, “Sunday worship begins on Saturday.” That is, the things I do on Saturday will produce either the fruit of worship or the lack of it on Sunday. So on Saturday (and actually throughout the […]
Read More Preparation for SundayP. D. James’ reputation is as a mystery fiction writer, but this Christmas a movie based on a non-mystery book written by James will be making headlines. It’s not a feel-good Christmas movie. But it may be a movie that addresses an important theme. Wheaton Professor Alan Jacobs explains the storyline of The Children of […]
Read More The Children of MenAl Mohler has some insightful comments on the announcement last week that Mary Cheney, the daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, is pregnant. That is hardly exceptional news except that she has lived in a lesbian relationship for the past 15 years and has openly opposed a potential ban on same-sex marriages. Mohler’s blog, “Is […]
Read More Mohler on homosexualityOn Sunday I said that following Christ is hard because Christ is a King who “inconveniences” His children with various demands. And one of the things He demands is obedience. Now you might ask, “Just how is obedience an inconvenience?” Obedience is an “inconvenience” because it requires submission and transformation. Many will take Christ as […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (12/10/06)Puritan pastor John Owens articulated much better what I said about the exact time of a believer’s salvation a couple of weeks ago: “He that is alive may know that he was born, though he know neither the place where nor the time when he was so; and so may he that is spiritually alive, […]
Read More What “moment” were you saved?“Christianity is everywhere in our culture, and yet Christ is so hard to find. We have an institutional Christ, a social Christ, a popular Christ, and a cultural Christ. Where is the Lord Jesus Christ?” asks writer and musician John Fischer. It’s a perceptive question for a church culture where the supremacy of Christ is […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (12/3/06)On Reformation Day (October 31) Dallas Seminary professor John Hannah provided a compelling call to return to the driving force behind the Reformation — a commitment to the sufficiency of Scripture. He concludes with these insights and admonitions: Is the real point of Christ’s redemptive mission to create a body of people who grasp the […]
Read More Another Reformation?Al Mohler offers more thoughts on the state of marriage in America.
Read More More on marriageWhile the reality of indwelling sin in the life of the believer is known by most believers, Calvin was right when he said “No one knows the one-hundredth par of the sin that clings to his soul.” When just external activity is considered, disobedience and sin may seem superficial and peripheral. Yet when the activity […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (11/12/06)
