Sermon: A Heart for the Word

A Heart for the WordPsalm 119:161-168January 8, 2023 This morning, at the beginning of the new year, we want to remind ourselves about the importance of the Bible. What do you know about the Bible? There are 66 books in the Bible (39 in the OT, 27 in the NT). There are 1189 chapters […]

God is Good

God is good. So says Psalm 100:5. And Psalm 73:1. And Psalms 34:8, 100:5, 135:3, and 145:9. And the prophets also speak of God’s goodness in Jeremiah 33:11, Lamentations 3:25, and Nahum 1:7. Jesus also affirms the goodness of God (and at the same time asserts His own deity, Mt. 19:17). To say that God […]

Sermon: Give Thanks

Give ThanksPsalm 100November 20, 2022 We live in difficult days (has there ever been a time in the world when we couldn’t say that?). People are trying to define the exact nature of our troubles; one theologian has observed that social observers and politicians and others have called our time, “the age of anxiety, the […]

Sing for Joy

There are (seemingly) many reasons to be discouraged: The economy My economy Personal conflicts (especially the unresolved kinds) Temptations Suffering — both significant (cancer, totaled cars, lost jobs) and insignificant (four red lights in a row, paper cuts, lost computer files) Physical weakness Family concerns — marital needs, young children needing training and discipline, teenage […]

Sermon: Life in Seasons of Lament

Life in Seasons of LamentPsalm 119:153-160August 28, 2022 When we are in crisis, we don’t always think rightly or well. The disciples were no different. On one occasion, Jesus took the disciples on a boat trip across the Sea of Galilee — a body of water with which many of them were very familiar. Seemingly […]

Day and night in the Bible

If you have ever needed to rid yourself of a few pounds, you know how your mind can be absorbed with thoughts about food while on a diet. You wake up hungry. You are hungry before meals, shortly after meals, and at bed. When you aren’t engaged in a task, your mind wanders to the […]

Sermon: Help Me!

Help Me!Psalm 119:145-152January 23, 2022 I know some of y’all enjoy hiking and camping. But serious hiking is not for everyone. Several years ago, the staff of the Bridger Wilderness in the Tetons released some of the comments taken after people had concluded their hikes. Here are a few samples: Trails need to be […]

Sermon: The Righteous God’s Righteous Word

The Righteous God’s Righteous Word Psalm 119:137-144 July 11, 2021 Puritan John Rogers, who died as a martyr under Queen Mary in 1555, was a lover of the Word of God. One Sunday, he petitioned his people to adhere to the Bible by warning them what God might say about their neglect of the Scriptures: […]

Sermon: What We Want from the Word

What We Want from the Word Psalm 119:129-136 December 27, 2020 What did you want this week? That’s a fitting question for a week when there is much gift giving. What gifts were you anticipating giving? What kinds of gifts were you hoping to receive (or not receive)? Where did you want to go (or […]

Sermon: A Servant of Scripture

A Servant of Scripture Psalm 119:121-128 June 21, 2020 Private Harry Cole was a private in the British Army that was retreating to Dunkirk in 1940. He penned a letter to his mother and family during the retreat, but his regiment was overrun by the Germans and he never made it to Dunkirk and did […]

Sermon: When Your Soul is Tempted to be Despondent, Pt. 2

When Your Soul is Tempted to be Despondent, Part 2 Psalm 103:6-22 May 17, 2020 Over the past couple of months I’ve thought several times of a popular and catchy, but ridiculous song from the late 1980s: In every life we have some trouble But when you worry you make it double Don’t worry, be […]

Sermon: When Your Soul is Tempted to be Despondent

When Your Soul is Tempted to be Despondent Psalm 103:1-5 May 10, 2020 Several months ago, while reading my Bible, I was struck by the beauty of a particular psalm and though I didn’t have time to study it in detail that day, I knew I didn’t want to forget to study that psalm, so […]

Sermon: God Unchanging

God Unchanging Psalm 102:23-28 May 3, 2020 There are some constants in life — the proverbial death and taxes among them. Another constant is change. We can be certain that very few things in life are static; most things change. Among the changes in life are cultural norms. Consider the story of one John Fisher […]

Sermon: Our Infinite, Intimate God

Our Infinite, Intimate God Psalm 139 March 29, 2020 Loneliness is a common affliction. While living in an increasingly connected world, many feel increasingly disconnected relationally. As one secular writer noted a few years ago, “…if you’re an average American, you’re not nearly as connected to the people around you as your parents or grandparents […]

It’s ok to be fearful. If we are fearing God.

This article was originally written by me for The Center for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship. It is a good reminder that fear is good — when it is fear of God, and not the kind of panicked fear that is being exhibited in many communities these days. Almost two years ago, designer Kate Spade committed […]