Sunday Leftovers (9/11/11)

From Thomas Watson, The Godly Man’s Picture, who reiterates some of the same principles of how to read the Scriptures that we spoke of this morning: A godly man shows his love to the Word written: (i) By diligently reading it. The noble Bereans “searched the Scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11). Apollos was mighty in the […]

Church is not that complicated

There are many ideas about how to do ministry (I receive new ideas on postcards and flyers virtually everyday in my mailbox and inbox). There have always been many diverse and divergent ideas about the priorities of ministry. The temptation is often to take a pragmatic approach to “make the church grow.” Now having dancing […]

They said it better than me – the value of Scripture

A few quotes that were left on the cutting room floor from Sunday’s sermon about Scripture: “There is no substitute for submission to Scripture. Your spiritual health depends on placing the utmost value on the Word of God and obeying it with an eager heart.…Don’t relinquish the sweet, satisfying riches of God’s Word for the […]

Sunday Leftovers (9/4/11)

It won’t substitute for a trip to the doctor’s office. And it usually isn’t adequate for an employee review. And a building inspector certainly won’t allow it. But for the believer, self-examination is not only allowed, but it is commanded. A believer is called to examine his salvation — is he genuinely saved (2 Cor. […]

An example of suffering

Pastor Keith has been teaching through the book of Job on Sunday mornings. This Sunday, he mentioned again the story of Brian Birdwell as an example of those who suffer. If you don’t have time to read his book, Refined by Fire, here is a brief summary of his story in his words: Brian currently […]

Do I believe this?

The Psalms repeatedly affirm the goodness and lovingkindness of God. He is merciful. He is trustworthy. Reading Psalm 118 this morning, I wondered, “Do I believe this?” So I turned the statements of the psalmist into a series of questions to test the condition of my heart — Do I believe that God is lovingly […]

A gold apple

“Like apples of gold in settings of silver Is a word spoken in right circumstances” (Prov. 25:11; NASB) It was supposed to be a simple fencing project. Buy a few panels, take the old ones down, put the new ones up. Real easy. And real unrealistic. It evolved into one of my typical projects, one […]

A sermon do-over

Every preacher has them: sermons that they realized after-the-fact that they did the worst thing that can be done in a sermon. They missed the point of the passage. I’ve had at least my fair share of them. But one stands towering over all the others in my mind. I remember studying that week, wondering […]

Approved by God

It was an incredible offer. Thousands and thousands of dollars were at my disposal. Power, I was told, would be mine. Prestige. Privilege. All because I had been pre-approved for a Platinum Visa. Or if I preferred, I could opt for the offer of a Gold MasterCard that came from another bank that same day. […]

Afflicted for the sake of comfort

I don’t recall where I first heard this principle, but after 20+ years in ministry, I believe it is true: in every seat in every sanctuary is a person with a sad story or heartache. Talk to anyone for any significant length of time and ask the right kinds of questions and you will find […]

After jury duty

I spent the first two days of this week serving our community in the juror’s box. On Monday I was part of the selection process for two different juries before eventually being seated as a member of the second jury. I’ve been called for jury duty before but never had the privilege of sitting on […]

Founded on the gospel

I almost missed it. This morning, my Bible reading began in 2 Chronicles. And there, tucked into the account of the construction of the Temple in Israel was a little gem of grace that I just about skipped past. And then my rememberer worked. Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles from the last week: The Telegraph provide a lengthy obituary of John Stott: “He turned his own church, located just a few yards from the headquarters of the BBC, into a showplace for a renewed form of evangelicalism. Strong lay leadership at All Souls set him free to become the trainer of […]

An acceptable sin

Pride is an acceptable sin. It is not acceptable to God, of course, but both in culture and church, pride in its various forms is often not only accepted, but lauded. In another day, one might have written a book and then waited for others to write reviews of it. Today, it apparently has become […]

Humbled by grace

Followed relentlessly by police officer Javert, Jean Valjean finds himself with a unique opportunity: another man has been accused of his crimes and is about to be convicted. And if the innocent man is convicted, Valjean will be free. The dilemma is, can he allow another man to be unjustly accused and imprisoned for the […]