A Faithful and Worthy Man

“A Faithful and Worthy Man”Luke 7:1-10August 10, 2025 Last Sunday was a special day for us — a humbling and gratifying day. We are thankful. Leading up to the day, and even during the dinner and recognition, I couldn’t help but think about one of my mentors, J. Dwight Pentecost, who participated in my installation […]

Sermon: Because of God’s Mercy…Be Transformed (Pt. 2)

Because of God’s Mercy…Be Humble Romans 12:3-5 September 20, 2020 Henry Augustus Rowland was a professor of physics at Johns Hopkins University in the second half of the 19th century. On one occasion he was called as a witness in a court case and his qualifications were given as “the highest known authority in this […]

The trouble of pride and the blessing of humility

The proud and arrogant person is a trouble to all that converse with him, but most of all unto himself: every thing is enough to vex him; but scarce any thing sufficient to content and please him. He is ready to quarrel with any thing that falls out; as if he himself were such a […]

No ordinary man

Most of us are pretty ordinary people. Perhaps we have some influence in our particular circle of relationships, but the breadth and depth of influence for the majority of us is neither significantly deep or wide. And that is true of most individuals mentioned in Scripture as well. Sure, we know the stories of Abraham […]

Real spiritual growth is downward

“Humility is the product of ongoing repentance as one decides against, turns from, and by watching and praying seeks to steer clear of pride in all its forms. And as the battle against pride in the heart is lifelong, so humility should become an ever more deeply seated attitude of living at the disposal of […]

Are we not sinners?

John Newton: Are we not sinners? Were we not rebels and enemies before we knew the gospel? And have we not been unfaithful, backsliding, and unprofitable ever since? Are we not redeemed by the blood of Jesus? And can we stand a single moment except he upholds us? Have we anything that we have not […]

Naaman’s dream

Have you ever had a dream? I have… When I was five, I dreamed of being a garbage man. When I was ten, I dreamed of being fifteen. When I was fifteen, I dreamed of being a baseball player. When I was twenty, I day-dreamed. When I was twenty-five, I dreamed of finishing school. When […]

Prideful or humble

The story Jesus tells in Luke 18 is not just about justification and how one can be justified (v. 14). It’s also about pride and humility; and Jesus’ purpose in telling the story is to expose the pride of the self-righteous Pharisees (v. 9). And that means this is a parable not only for unbelievers, […]

My problem

I have a problem. It is a sin I struggle with every single day. When I spend time in confession, I find that it has influenced my every sin. As I ponder my motives and desires I find that it has tainted virtually every thought I have and it certainly has tainted every sinful thought […]

Six manifestations of humility

Shortly after the turn of the last century, a preacher was concerned about several evidences of pride in his life. It seemed to him that he was consumed with pride, and as an antidote, sought to put on some acts of particular humility. So one thing he chose to do was to make a sandwich […]

Pride and e-Boasting

Tim Challies writes this morning about pride: “…the key to pride is the desire to elevate myself so I can have God’s position and status for myself. It effectively lowers God as it elevates self. Humility, on the other hand, is simply a right assessment of myself that takes into account the infinitely vast gulf […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles from the last week or two: Ten “Wives Speak Out” about their role in marriage and their practice of submission in their marriages. I find myself gravitating more to biographies these days — and here are two new ones on theologian Charles Hodge that appear interesting. Kevin DeYoung takes a closer look […]

“I am the Lord”

It has been often noted that at the base of all sin is some form of pride. A man pridefully deems that the protection of his finances is more important than the government’s right to tax, so he is deceitful on his 1040 form. A child yearns for a toy and is billigerent in his […]

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 […]