Q & A: Christ’s heavenly throne

Following Sunday morning’s sermon, I had the following email interchange to clarify one point from the message on Romans 1:4. The essence of the question is, “just what does it mean that Christ was “declared [a better translation is “appointed”] the Son of God with power?” Q: I wanted to ask you for a bit […]

Sermon: Paul, God, and the Gospel (Pt. 2)

“Paul, God, and the Gospel” Pt. 2 Romans 1:1-7 May 24, 2015 A few years ago I saw a book in the bookstore and was curious about the title and book, Jesus, Life Coach, so I looked it up online and found this description from the editors: There was a time when only athletes had […]

Sermon: Paul, God, and the Gospel (Pt. 1)

“Paul, God, and the Gospel” Pt. 1 Romans 1:1-7 May 17, 2015 If you’ve ever had a young teen in the house, you know that teens don’t always want to listen. They believe that they have all the answers to life and that their parents are ill-equipped and to handle life because they have not […]

My first visit to the principal’s office

It was my first time in the principal’s office (that I remember, anyway). I wasn’t there for a good reason. A friend and I had a disagreement and decided to settle it in a “manly” fashion — with our fists. It may have been a long walk to the office, but the conversation behind the […]

Romans: the most OT book in the NT

Romans is a complex logical argument, and much of the logic is derived from the OT. In a sense this is a research document, with its primary source being the OT. In addition to a great many allusions to the OT, Paul directly quotes it 63 times. And at least 14 OT books are quoted […]

What Romans says about God

The book of Romans is about two things: it is about the gospel and it is about God. That Romans is about the gospel might be widely assumed and understood, since the themes of justification and sanctification are particularly prominent in the book. And since Romans is in the Bible, it is slightly obvious to […]

A summary of the book of Romans

Sunday morning I began a sermon series on the book of Romans. My goal in starting a new sermon series is to provide a summary and overview of the contents and flow of the book. And sometimes that is best seen in a chart. Here is my current attempt at charting Romans (I reserve to […]

Sermon: God’s Gospel

“God’s Gospel” Romans May 10, 2015 I am rarely at a loss for words. Preachers usually have something to say about most everything. And my personality is that I generally have an opinion about everything, and I often want to express that opinion. I frequently have to force myself not to say something and too […]

Let’s just praise the Lord

In the early 1970s there was a popular chorus with the following lyrics: Let’s just praise the Lord, praise the Lord Let’s just lift our hands to heaven And praise the Lord Let’s just praise the Lord, praise the Lord Let’s just lift our hands to heaven And praise the Lord Now put us in […]

Sermon: The ABCs of Praising God

“The ABCs of Praising God” Psalm 145 April 26, 2015 One morning this week I was about to leave home for my office and I was thinking through my day and remembered that I had scheduled a meeting for later that afternoon and had forgotten to tell someone else whom I’d asked to be there […]

Sermon: The Sinning Believer and His Sin

“The Sinning Believer and His Sin” Psalm 130 April 12, 2015 Arthur Lampitt was driving his tan Ford Thunderbird to work one July morning in 1963 when he was involved in a car accident so bad that he was reported as dead on the local radio station. It had been raining and his car tires […]

Sermon: For This Purpose I Have Come to This Hour

“For This Purpose I Have Come to This Hour” John 12:27-36 March 29, 2015 (Palm Sunday) Today is Palm Sunday. It’s a day to remember that everybody loves Jesus. Everybody loved Jesus on the day He entered Jerusalem riding on the donkey, making His claim to be Messiah. And everybody loves Jesus today. Except that’s […]

Sermon: Fearing God – A Life of Blessing

Fearing God — A Life of Blessing Psalm 112 March 22, 2015 When I read Scripture, not only am I instructed by the words I read, but I often also have emotional responses to those words: Some words make me feel comforted and encouraged and hopeful and happy — like being wrapped up in a […]

Sermon: When the Well Runs Dry

When the Well Runs Dry Psalm 63 March 15, 2015 Many years ago — in what was probably one of the last great adventures my brother and I had before I got married — we went on a day hike in the Cleveland National Forest in CA. We didn’t make plans that were too extensive; […]

Inerrancy Summit, redux

The Shepherds’ Conference, which was conducted under the banner of the Inerrancy Summit this year, is now over. Because of the pace of most conferences, I like to take some time to go back through my notes after I return to refresh myself with the essential parts of each message. As I do that, I […]