Grab bag

Some helpful articles from the last week: Denny Burk writes about sexual orientation in, “Is Homosexual Orientation Sinful?” I do not dispute that there is a legitimate distinction to be made between orientation and behavior. I do question, however, whether the Bible supports the notion that only homosexual behavior is sinful while homosexual orientation is […]

What God changes at salvation

The writer to the Hebrews exhorts his readers to “consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (12:3). In other words, one antidote to discouragement, despondency, and depression is a serious consideration and meditation on the work of Christ. To that end, […]

Sermon: Who is the Holy Spirit?

Who is the Holy Spirit? Selected Scriptures February 16, 2014 It seems that we live in a time when theological error is particularly thriving. There have always been false teachers. They just seem to abound today: There is confusion about the church and unity — should we embrace every entity that calls itself a church […]

Sermon: Love One Another (Pt. 3)

Love One Another, Pt. 3 1 John 3:19-24 February 9, 2014 Many people struggle with the question of whether or not one is saved. John Piper gets to the central issue about assurance when he writes: The most agonizing problem about the assurance of salvation is not the problem of whether the objective facts of […]

God and Exodus

A few theological thoughts about while doing today’s Bible reading (Exodus 5-8): Pharaoh’s initial response to Moses’ request to release the Israelites was similar to and a precursor to the way many unbeliever’s today reject God — “why should I do that? Who is God and why should I obey Him?” (Ex. 5:2) God actively […]

Expunged

Dear Ann Landers: A few years ago, I committed a crime (a misdemeanor). I was arrested and charged. Since I had never been in trouble before, my lawyer had my record expunged. Will this show up on a police background check? I’m looking for a job and want to be sure my prospective employers won’t […]

Sunday Leftovers: Why God gives us material possessions

With all the cultural talk about the economy, it’s easy to get confused about financial priorities. And it’s hard to keep a biblical perspective for why we have money and material possessions. But the Apostle John won’t let us forget. “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his […]

Sermon: Love One Another (Pt. 2)

Love One Another, Pt. 2 1 John 3:15-18 February 2, 2014 The story, an open secret in the crowded nylon city of Mount Everest base camp, trickled out from the high Himalayas: A British mountaineer desperate for oxygen had collapsed along a well-traveled route to the summit. Dozens of people walked right past him, unwilling […]

God promised Abraham

The book of Genesis is commonly known as the book of beginnings. In part, that is because of the beginning of the world with Creation and the name of the book in the Hebrew Bible, which is taken from the first word, “In the beginning” (which is one word in Hebrew). And another beginning in […]

Sunday Leftovers: Don’t be surprised when the world hates you

The churches in Asia Minor had been infiltrated by false teachers that were leading them astray about the relationship between the believer and sin. The result was that some who were genuine believers became unsure about their salvation. In addition, these false teachers were not only indulging in their licentious sins but they also were […]

Sermon: Love One Another (Pt. 1)

Love One Another, Pt. 1 1 John 3:11-24 January 26, 2014 It’s a story I’ve told before, but it’s a good one… Paul Tripp has written of himself — “When I got married, I did what every other groom does. I repeated vows to my wife that said I would love her sacrificially all the […]

Sermon: Essential Truths for Assurance

Essential Truths for Assurance Selected Scriptures from 1 John 1-3 January 19, 2014 One essential for learning is repetition. Few of us memorize a Bible verse the first time we see it. We go over it again and again. We write it down, read it in our Bibles, review it on notecards, look it up […]

Sunday Leftovers: Teach Me, Lord

‪Martin Niemöller‬ was a pastor in Nazi Germany who interned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1938 to 1945 for so-called activities against the state. Following his release he revealed how the Bible sustained him during those years: What did this book mean to me during the long and weary years of solitary confinement […]

Sermon: “Teach Me, Lord”

“Teach Me, Lord:” A Prayer for God’s Word to Do Its Work Psalm 119:33-40 January 12, 2014 I have been using some kind of “read through the Bible in a year” plan for longer than I can remember. I’ve read through the Bible chronologically (like we’re doing this year); I’ve used the Navigator “Book-at-a-time” plan […]

The sinner’s pathway – redirected

Neither a farmer nor a rancher am I. Yet for at least two weeks during a couple summers of my youth, I became a “temp” farmer, working on my uncle’s dairy farm. It was a time not only for a “city-slicker” to be exposed to some life realities, but also a fun time with my […]