The danger of affirmation

We all like and long for approval. We desire affirmation. We want to be liked. We want the thumbs up of approval and the back slap of affirmation. We want to hear “good job” after a presentation, an “I’m impressed” after a house project, and a “you’re a great parent” from our parents when they […]

Sermon: In Praise of God, Pt 2

In Praise of God, Pt. 2 Romans 11:36 August 2, 2020 In an article entitled, “How Big is God?” David Coppedge, a scientist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory writes that a manned flight to Pluto going at the maximum speed of Apollo astronauts, would take 17 years before it could park in a hangar at […]

Something for every person, redux

I originally wrote the post below almost 10 years ago. It is still (particularly) appropriate today, in the midst of the Covid-19 physical isolation. 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 […]

How can we glorify God?

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from All Things for Good. Question. How can we be said properly to glorify God? He is infinite in His perfections, and can receive no augmentation from us. Answer. It is true that in a […]

What is enjoying God forever?

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from A Body of Divinity. …what is enjoying God for ever but to be put in a state of happiness? As the body cannot have life but by having communion with the soul, so the […]

What is it to glorify God?

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from The Godly Man’s Picture. What is it to glorify God? Glorifying God consists in four things: 1: Appreciation, 2. Adoration, 3. Affection, 4. Subjection. This is the yearly rent we pay to the crown […]

When I consider Your heavens

O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease. When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles spotted recently: A lesson in truth-telling, and what makes Christians different: “Mike Daisey, Apple, and Our Culture’s Crisis in Truth-Telling.” “Temptation Is Not Sin,” writes Bill Mounce. He makes three points: 1. Temptation is not sin, 2. No one can make you sin, and 3. God is on your side. The question […]

Three portraits of Christ

In John 2, Christ interacts with three different groups of people: His mother and the members of a wedding party, the Jewish leaders in the Temple, and a broader group of people in Jerusalem. [Aside: It’s interesting that the ones who are most prominent at a wedding — the bride and groom — are not […]

Sunday Leftovers (8/28/11)

Looking back her tennis career and all the fame that came with her 146 victories, Chris Evert Lloyd said one day, “We get into a rut. We play tennis, we go to a movie, we watch TV, but I keep saying [to my husband], ‘John, there has to be more…’” The good news is, there […]

For college students: this one thing I do

In contrast to the fabled “freshman five,” here is a “freshman 15” that is really good for all first-year college students (and high school students, and grad students, and well, anyone). Pastor Jeff Brewer suggests 15 ways to glorify God as an incoming freshman. If the first principle is practiced well, then the others will […]

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 […]

God: worthy (alone) of glory

A few of years ago, popular author John Gray (Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus) released a new book: How to Get What You Want and Want What You Have. His thesis? “When you do your best, God does the rest.” In one place he reportedly writes, “Regardless of your particular orientation [of […]

“Cancer is the best thing that ever happened to me”

Zac Smith died of cancer at 33. He left behind a wife and three children. Yet he said before he died: “Cancer is the best thing that has ever happened to me.” After his death, his wife continued to walk in similar faith in God — “God doesn’t just throw stuff to us and then […]

The work of God’s fingers

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? (Ps. 8:3-4) All this God created with His fingers (Ps. 8:3) — He cast these spheres and […]