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 […]

Something for every person

You have been a Christian for years. Ministry seemed intimidating at first, but you’ve been involved in your church for a number of years, you’ve volunteered in some civic organizations, and you have a fairly clear perspective on your spiritual giftedness and effectiveness. Ministry is much more natural now. Yet, while the patterns of life […]

Two thoughts while reading Chronicles

This morning I began reading the two books of the Chronicles again. When reading these books, it’s easy to have your eyes become glassy and your mind distracted as you read name after name of unknown people. How can I read these verses in fresh ways so that the Lord uses this morning in redemptive […]

Life under the sun

Solomon found life under the sun to be vanity. The pursuit of all the attractions of the world was empty and void of any sustaining meaning and hope. But all those activities found empty by Solomon are infused with meaning and fulfillment as they are redeemed by Christ. The believer in Christ finds them […]

Favorite commentaries on Ephesians

This morning I preached my last sermon in the series on Ephesians. Last week I put away the 75 file folders of sermons covering this series. Next week I will attempt to put my commentaries back on my shelves in their rightful place. (When I am preaching through a book, I pull all the commentaries […]

Sunday Leftovers (7/3/11)

Ask someone what some of the main themes of Ephesians are, and you will likely receive answers like salvation, family, how to relate to others, the church, spiritual armor and warfare, and theology. But it’s unlikely that you’ll hear the answer, “love.” Yet love is a dominant theme in this letter. The word “love” appears […]