Books to encourage your sanctification

Romans 12-13 is about some everyday practices in the believer’s life that need sanctification. Both the first verses (12:1-2) and the last verse (13:14) of that section emphasize the basic steps of sanctification: Aggressively put off sin Joyfully put on Christ and righteous replacements of sin Intentionally cultivate a renewed way of thinking To help […]

Enjoying Christ and His gifts

Sanctification is a long (life-long) process that is hampered by painful battles against the flesh, temptation, and sin as well as the hard task of enduring in doing what is right. It’s hard. But it’s not complicated. The pathway to sanctification is also the road to Christ. That is, if you want to be sanctified […]

Sermon: The Holiness of God

The Holiness of God Isaiah 6:1-8 May 9, 2021 Early in his ministry, Donald Grey Barnhouse, the famed preacher of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, was invited to preach at Princeton Theological Seminary, the school from which he’d graduated a few years earlier. One of the school’s most prominent professors, Dr. Robert Dick Wilson, was […]

The Hard Work of Sanctification

As believers we cannot expect a life of ease; in fact, we should anticipate a life of labor. We labor to serve one another in the church. We labor to disciple and discipline our children well. We labor to cultivate and develop our spiritual gifts. We labor not to sin — to control our personal […]

Sermon: It’s Time (Pt 3)

It’s Time (Part 3) Romans 13:11-14 May 2, 2021 In 1899 just months after being sworn in as governor of New York, Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech in Chicago which remained one of his most well-known and well-loved oratorical masterpieces. In it, he calls the technologically-growing, wealth-amassing Americans to be wary of the life of […]

Sermon: It’s Time (Pt 2)

It’s Time (Part 2) Romans 13:11-14 April 25, 2021 In 1940, Japan formed an alliance with Axis powers Germany and Italy, to the dismay of Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander-in-chief of Japan’s Combined Fleet. He protested the alliance without success and then set about the task of preparing for what he perceived as an inevitable war […]

Sermon: It’s Time (Pt 1)

It’s Time (Part 1) Romans 13:11-14 April 11, 2021 Larry Walters had always dreamed of flying, but because of poor eyesight was unable to get into the US Air Force. So he made his living with another kind of transportation service — driving a truck. But he would still frequently think about flying. At some […]

Sermon: Thankful Hearts Giving Thanks

Thankful Hearts Giving Thanks Colossians 3:15-17 November 22, 2020 Rudyard Kipling is one of the most well-known British writers from the 19th and 20th centuries. He penned many poems and such classic stories as How the Leopard Got His Spots and The Jungle Book. His writing made him famous and wealthy. A newspaper reporter approached […]

Sermon: Because of God’s Mercy…Serve God’s People

Because of God’s Mercy…Serve God’s People Romans 12:6-8 September 27, 2020 When James was seven years old, he was hit by a bread delivery truck. He survived, but he suffered an injury to the frontal lobe of his brain and a chunk of his skull was missing — an indentation that was evident for the […]

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 […]

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

Because of God’s Mercy…Be Transformed, Part 2 Romans 12:2 September 13, 2020 We need to change. We have to change. We have been called to change. Change is necessary for the one who is in Christ Jesus. And we can change because of the gospel that has saved us. Just listen to a few passages […]

The (often) slow nature of sanctification

I cringe every time I get on our scale. I am fearful (ok, that’s a strong word, but it’s probably pretty close to my internal anticipation in that moment) of what number will be revealed moments after I am positioned and still. Even though the scale doesn’t cringe and groan as much as it did […]

Sermon: Because of God’s Mercy…Be Transformed

Because of God’s Mercy…Be Transformed Romans 12:2 September 6, 2020 If you know me, you already know this is true for me; if you don’t know me, this is just a little self-disclosure: I don’t like change. I like regular. I thrive under routine. Sameness is my friend. And that means that Raye Jeanne and […]

The gospel of forgiveness and transformation

Since the time of the early church, there has been a debate about the role of works in salvation. Are there works that should be done for our salvation? Should believers be circumcised for their salvation? (That was the question in Acts 15.) Or is there a kind of work that is necessary as an […]

Sermon: Saved for Good Works

Saved for Good Works Ephesians 2:10 October 27, 2019 Five hundred and two years ago this week, a lone monk posted 95 topics of debate for the church of that day (what we now know as the Roman Catholic church). He didn’t want to bring down that church; he simply wanted to reform it. His […]