Praying for others

Ask any believer about his prayer life, and he will invariable acknowledge something like, “It’s not what it should be.” And as a pastor, I am not only called on to pray often, but prayer is actually part of my calling. You won’t find “prayer” in most pastoral job descriptions, but the apostles believed that […]

Despairing and troubled?

When you awakened this morning, did the day seem heavy? Did you awaken expecting the problems of yesterday to seem lighter and a resolution more likely only to feel as though the problem grew in dimension during the night, obscuring any possibility of hope? Despair and discouragement are not unusual. The psalmists felt those pains […]

Evangelistic attitudes

Yesterday, Ken Currie wrote this over at Desiring God: Evangelism is counter-cultural. It’s true everywhere on the planet, but perhaps it’s especially so in our increasingly post-Christian Western society. We live in a polite culture, for the most part. Talk about religion? You just don’t go there. Talk about how many tornadoes have come through, […]

What makes you thankful?

What makes you thankful? Our lists usually include things like family, a trouble-free day, an extra (unexpected) blessing or two, and our salvation. Since we are to be thankful for all things, those obviously are fine objects for our gratitude. But I have often been impressed by the things that stimulated Paul’s gratitude. And I […]

Do good Christians make bad citizens?

When greeting people in the foyer after a sermon, it’s not unusual for a preacher to wonder, “Just what did they hear today?” when someone says, “I liked it when you said…” and they proceed to tell the preacher something he said that he is quite sure he did not say. That curious wondering might […]

They’re listening…

When our children were young and curious about conversation between me and my wife, I would sometimes begin to venture into a topic that might be inappropriate for the girls, and Raye Jeanne would look at me and say, “Little pitchers have big ears…” It was her way of saying, “Be careful what you say […]

The benefits of conflict

We don’t (generally) like conflict. Typically, conflict is painful. We’ve been hurt by conflict. And we’ve hurt others in conflict. So it’s hard to affirm a statement like, “there are benefits to conflict.” Yet, when conflict is handled well, there are benefits to it. And Acts 15 demonstrates some of those benefits. This chapter recounts […]

Whom have I in heaven?

It has often been said, “don’t be so heavenly-minded you’re no earthly good.” That is, don’t think so much about heaven that you will be of no benefit on earth to those around you. In truth, most of us are so earthly-minded that we’re no heavenly good. We have put so much attention on the […]

Bragging rights

It’s been called “the Me Monster” — the insatiable desire to exalt oneself and boast in one’s accomplishments. A toddler will say, “Watch me, Mommy.” A mom might say, “I just got my child’s report card today…” A businessman will say, “I just closed the deal I’ve been working on for six months…” A pastor […]

Are you growing in fruitfulness?

Are you growing in spiritual fruitfulness? There are many questions that can be asked to evaluate one’s spiritual life. (Don Whitney’s book, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health is a particularly helpful resource). But I ask this question because I think it encompasses many other questions that we might ask about the spiritual life, […]

The work of ministry

Many years ago, when I was a first-year seminary student, a retired pastor in our church cornered me in a hallway one day, and knowing I was preparing for vocational ministry, asked me, “why do you do what you do?” I was perplexed. He pressed in closer, both physically and metaphorically. “Why do you do […]

Four questions about sanctification

Not only is the means of our salvation — justification — essential, but so is the process of our salvation, called sanctification. If one asserts (as is true) that justification is only by faith in Christ, then so must our sanctification be by faith in Christ. Or to state the same truth in the opposite […]

Justification by faith is essential — three statements

Some things are worth fighting about. Some things are worthy dying to defend. Personal preferences aren’t worth defending (and more fits into that category than most of us would generally be willing to acknowledge). Some truths are worth defending — but not worthy dying to defend. So, while I believe that the Scriptures teach a […]

The gospel in miniature

Earlier this year, I preached a sermon entitled, “What is the Gospel?” In that message, I attempted to provide the essence of the gospel, explaining it with six words (grace, man, God, Christ, faith, hope), then one sentence (“Our sin is imputed to Christ and Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us so that we can […]

Ministry realities

Every seminary student has a dream about what vocational ministry will be like. Every Sunday School, Awana, and VBS teacher has an ideal for what will constitute an effective class or ministry effort. Every missionary, pastor, and elder has at least a mental standard (and often a written standard) to evaluate the impact of a […]