Sunday Leftovers (1/9/11)

The story is told about a visit that the 18th century king of Prussia, Frederick II of Prussia made to a prison in Berlin. Expectantly, the inmates all vainly attempted to prove to him their innocence and the injustice of their incarceration. Everyone, that is, with one exception. Seeing that one lone, quiet prisoner, the […]

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 […]

Sunday Leftovers (12/12/10)

After preaching on the story of the angel’s appearance to Zecharias (Luke 1:5-25), I came across two resources about that story. The first is Jon Bloom’s contemplation of what the first conversation between Zecharias and Elizabeth might have been when his tongue was finally loosed to speak again. Jon also notes the theme of grace […]

Sunday Leftovers (12/5/10)

One final thought about music and worship comes courtesy of John Piper: We must make it our aim that the joy awakened by music be joy in God. Not all pleasures of music are pleasures in God. Then the effort to delight in God through music will involve a prior shaping of the mind by […]

Sunday Leftovers (10/31/10)

After thinking this morning about the Reformation and the theology of the Reformation, here are a few links that will expand your understanding how God used that movement to preserve the truth of the Gospel: The 95 theses of Martin Luther Basic books about the Reformation Many different posts and resources about the Reformation Sola […]

Sunday Leftovers (10/17/10)

How dark is the darkness of sin? How black is the blackness of sin? Scripture tells us a number of realities about what it means to live in the dark: It is impossible to be “partially dark.” if one lives in any part of darkness, then he lives in full darkness and that darkness is […]

Sunday Leftovers (10/10/10)

When Paul says “Let no one deceive you with empty words…” (Eph. 5:6), it is not only a warning that there is a world system and an evil ruler of that system and individuals in that system that will attempt to pervert truth and delude others and destroy lives, but it is also a call […]

Temptation and gratitude

Paul says that after putting off sexual sin (Eph. 5:3-4a), the believer is also put on the contrasting righteous action of gratitude. When tempted to sin as an expression of his discontentment with God, the believer is to consciously cultivate gratitude in his heart. How might we express gratitude in our hearts and with our […]

Sunday Leftovers (10/3/10)

In Not Even a Hint, Josh Harris has a helpful section on the lies the world system offers about sexual temptation and the truth Scripture reveals about those lies. I turned his principles into a chart that I find helpful in seeing the difference in worldviews: Or, download it as a PDF.

Sunday Leftovers (9/26/10)

In Ephesians 5:1-2, Paul refers to the security of our love from God the Father as the basis of our love for others. We can love others because we have been loved by Him. That principle then begs the question, “What are the qualities of a loved child, and how will those qualities impact his/her […]

Sunday Leftovers (9/12/10)

John Calvin has a fitting summary of the principles we spoke of this morning — how to build God-exalting and Christ-glorifying relationships: If anyone, therefore, appears before you who is in need of your kind services, you have no reason to refuse him your help. Suppose he is a stranger; yet the Lord has pressed […]

A couple more thoughts about Christ’s atonement

The truth about Christ’s penal substitutionary atonement is the key component to understanding the gospel. And the Scriptures abound with images, references, and teaching about that atonement. The Old Testament sacrificial system anticipated the atoning work of Christ — it anticipated the punishment being administered by the wrath of God, it looked forward to Christ […]

Sunday Leftovers (8/29/10)

Count these among famous first words: “What hath God wrought?” Samuel F. B. Morse sent this message over the world’s first commercial telegraph line on May 24, 1844. “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.” This message of Aug. 16, 1858, was the first official communication sent over a […]

Sunday Leftovers (8/22/10)

One of the frequently omitted realities about sanctification is that it is a process. No one is sanctified instantly, like a cheap pudding, or even fast, like an inexpensive hamburger. Sanctification takes time. In fact, it is part of a believer’s life every day until he is finally glorified through his death. In other words, […]

Sunday Leftovers (8/15/10)

While I came to GBC with no intention of leaving, I never thought 20 years would come so quickly and I would still be here! What happy and satisfying years these have been for me, Raye Jeanne, and our daughters, Elizabeth and Emily. The Lord has been gracious to mature us in our marriage and […]