Dad, the family nurturer

When we read Paul’s words to the Ephesians carefully, his instruction to fathers makes us shake our heads and wonder, “Did I hear that correctly?” The word for “bring them up” in 6:4 is the same word as “nourish” in 5:29 — it has the idea of tender care and feeding, like a mother providing […]

Sunday Leftovers (4/3/11)

Many times I have had someone make a brief comment after a Sunday morning worship service or over a Wednesday evening fellowship meal that goes something like this: “Pray for me, I’m going to visit my folks next week…” Or, “My kids are coming to visit this weekend; will you pray for us?” There are […]

If the Bible is not enough, nothing else will be either

Reviewing a bad book about a good topic, Tim Challies concludes with this statement: If you struggle believing what the Bible says, but learn to find security in the testimony of a toddler, well, I feel sorry for you. And I do not mean this in a condescending way. If God’s Word is not sufficient […]

Boasting in the cross

We are people of the cross. The cross is the source of our spiritual life. It is the reason for our hope. It is the foundation of our victorious living. Paul says it this way: “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which […]

They received the New Testament for the first time

You really need to watch this video. It’s 10 minutes — and you won’t regret investing your time watching this: I had two thoughts while watching this: This is one of the reasons that we have supported Bible translation for so long and have invested so much in the ministry of the Gibsons in Papua […]

Faithful men and a faithful God

“And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,…” (Heb. 11:32-33; NASB) One man had a weak faith. One was a weak […]

The door is open

Normally my office door stays wide open because I enjoy having people stop in and visit for a while. However, on occasion a project demands my full attention, so I close my door. For a number of years, that closed door would periodically burst open, and people would come running into my office, yelling loudly […]

Wisdom is calling

Does not wisdom call, And understanding lift up her voice? (Prov. 8:1) Scripture (particularly in Proverbs) says that the fool is the one who chases the adulterous. The fool is the sluggard who is too lazy even to feed himself. The fool is the one who rejects correction and instruction. The fool believes himself always […]

How to read Scripture

Scripture not only testifies to its own authenticity and reliability, but it also tells us how to read and understand and delight in it. For example, Proverbs 3 offers four directives for the kinds of attitudes we are to cultivate as we read Scripture: Cultivate a desire to remember and know Scripture (vv. 1-4). Read […]

Sermon leftovers (1/30/11)

To answer the question “How does a man love his wife?” the question “How has Christ loved the church?” must be answered first. What follows is a list of some of the ways in which Christ has loved His church to accomplish her purity and sanctification (please note that this list is not exhaustive). He […]

Book Review: Craftsmen

Title: Craftsmen: Christ-Centered Proverbs for Men Author: John Crotts Publisher: Shepherd Press, 2005; 159 pp. $12.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): Talking to someone the other day, he remarked something like, “The hardest thing I do is to try to lead my wife spiritually — why is it so hard to have even a 3-minute spiritual conversation […]

Grab bag

From around the internet: A brief Q&A with Billy Graham revealed some reflections on aging (both how older and younger should think about it) and his life of ministry. I statement that I found particularly interesting: I also would have steered clear of politics. I’m grateful for the opportunities God gave me to minister to […]

The Bible – in one sentence

I came across this blog post and question last week: “What’s the message of the Bible in one sentence?” And it got me to wondering: how would I articulate the theme of the Bible so briefly? I came up with two answers, kind of like the Westminster Confession — one shorter and one longer. Here […]

Book Review: The God Who is There

Title: The God Who is There: Finding Your Place in God’s Story Author: D. A. Carson Publisher: Crossway, 2010; 234 pp. $16.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): Three days ago our church again began our annual trek through the Scriptures. Now one of the so-called problems of reading through the Bible in one year is the inevitable […]

Grab Bag

A few things I’ve spotted around the Internet recently: The end of the year means the inevitable “year in review” lists. Here is a list of “Top 10 Theology and Church Stories” (with many supporting links) from Colin Hansen. Accordance recounts a brief (and recent) history of the study Bible. [Accordance is my Bible study […]