Christ’s sacrifice

A healthy baby was born in the hospital down the street. Ho-hum. God provided for your basic needs again this week. Yawn. You shared the gospel with someone this week and he trusted Christ. Of course. Your spouse/child/parent/friend loves you. Okay. The extraordinary has become ordinary. It happens in life. And it happens in the […]

Preparing for communion

This Sunday we will observe the ordinance of communion in our worship service. As I have been preparing for that (and my sermon) this week, I have been thinking about the gospel and its implications. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians, it is most important — of first importance. John Stott captures some sense of […]

John Stott tribute

This morning, John R. W. Stott was taken into the presence of the Lord. I have repeatedly used and been helped by his work, The Cross of Christ. I did not always agree with his conclusions (I am puzzled by his belief in annihilationism, for instance), but I repeatedly found him to be an insightful […]

Grab bag

This week I counted the number of open tabs in my web browser. It was over 40. Time for a Grab Bag, me thinks. Many more churches are being proactive in providing biblical counseling for their people and the community (check out the GBCM webpage and the GBC biblical counselor training page as examples). Capitol […]

We cannot contemplate the cross too much

While preparing for tomorrow evening’s Good Friday service, I came across this gem: We cannot contemplate too often what the Saviour endured in order to secure our salvation. The better we are acquainted with His sufferings, and the more frequently we meditate thereon, the warmer will be our love and the deeper our gratitude. [A. […]

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 […]

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 […]

Sunday Leftovers (12/19/10)

There is a tendency, both culturally and in the church, to disconnect the infant Jesus from the crucified Christ. Too many want to insulate the babe in the manger from the God-Man who cried from the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” Yet there is no meaning in Christmas without a […]

Book Review: Jesus: the Only Way to God

Title: Jesus: the Only Way to God Author: John Piper Publisher: Baker, 2010; 123 pp. $5.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): The gospel is always under attack. Recently I read this statement — from someone who for many years was considered to be in at least the same corridor of conservative evangelicalism, if not in the classroom […]

Book Review: Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

Title: Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross Editor: Nancy Guthrie Publisher: Crossway, 2009; 152 pp. $12.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): It is a common temptation to think too superficially and too rarely about the cross and the gospel. The occasional evangelistic sermon, generally wrapped around a holiday celebration, along with an occasional communion remembrance is enough […]

The cry from the cross

Two quotes to stimulate your thinking as you contemplate the crucifixion of Christ on this Good Friday morning and His cry from the cross — “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?’ that is, ‘MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?’” (Mt. 27:46; NASB) […]

Christ, the cross, and joy

The longer I walk with Christ, the more I not only love Him, but the more I love the cross. I love to read the crucifixion story. It moves me every time. I love to read about the cross — I have at least a couple dozen books that deal with the singular topic of […]

The necessity of a rejected Christ

Over the years, I have I heard others say this, and I have said it too: “Jesus didn’t have to die.” That is a partially true statement, in that Christ was fully blameless, innocent, and untainted by sin. It was “right” for Him not to die. Yet that obscures part of the message of Scripture. […]

Sunday Leftovers (3/28/10)

It is tempting to look at the crucifixion of Christ simply as the result of the unchecked sin of unredeemed men and the unbelief of the nation of Israel. Considering only the responses of the crowds can lead one to think, “well, if they had believed, then this would never have happened — Christ would […]

What Jesus thought of His birth

For the past several weeks, children around Granbury and the country and the world have been trying to listen in on the private conversations of their parents, hoping to gather hints about what might show up under the Christmas tree. Mostly, their attempts — I think — have been in vain (at least they always […]