One writer has noted that “there is a ‘father hunger’ in every one of us — an insatiable desire to know our fathers.” I believe he is right and I believe that produces at least two clear implications. One, it behooves a father to do all he can to fulfill that hunger by being intentional […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (6/17/07)Call this, “How to listen to a sermon about marriage (or any sermon).” There is a temptation when a pastor announces his sermon topic as being “the roles of husbands and wives in marriage,” for a husband or a wife to inwardly cheer, thinking, “Wonderful! I am so glad we came this morning for my […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (6/10/07)A fundamental means of surviving — no, thriving — in marriage is by cultivating love in that marriage. Husbands are called to love their wives (Eph. 5:25-30). Wives are called to love their husbands (Titus 2:4). In the classic passage on love, all believers (including both husbands and wives) are called to a life of […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (6/3/07)As is often the case, I didn’t finish my sermon on Sunday. Not only did I not complete the sermon, but I left unsaid a number of things along the way. Here are a few of them (saving still a few for this coming Sunday)… Peter’s words to wives and husbands in 1 Peter 3 […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (5/27/07)Numerous factors in the culture of the church have led too many churches and too many people to believe and practice a theology that places the work of ministry on the shoulders of trained professionals and absolves untrained servants of ministry responsibilities. Yet the New Testament has a different view of ministry. Ministry is the […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (5/6/07)God has gifted every believer with at least one spiritual gift and at the same time He is also producing His fruit in that believer through the working of the Holy Spirit. So the longer a believer walks with Christ, more and more fruit is produced. And the longer a believer serves Christ in the […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (4/29/07)On the priority of a personal walk with God — If you are unhappy and discontent or even angry with God, it is the fruit of a heart that has fed too lightly and too little at the table of God — you have learned to be happy with things that cannot satisfy. Modern Christians […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (4/22/07)What you believe is reflected in what you do and how you do it. Everything you do reveals something about your belief system. Those two statements are important for individuals and churches as they make decisions about the future. To that end, we have identified a number of truths that are crucial to us as […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (4/15/07)The life of Christ has been called “The greatest story ever told,” and the resurrection has been called “The greatest event in history” and “The key to everything.” All those statements are not only true, they are crucial. Christianity hangs on the validity of the resurrection, as Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 15. It is […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (4/8/07)Every word in Scripture counts. Every word is used by God to reveal Himself and His purposes (which is why Jesus makes statements like “truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished,” Mt. 5:18). Which is why […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (4/1/07)All men thirst for God. They know they are thirsty — that they need something to satisfy their deepest desires — but they know not that their thirst is for God. This leads them to drink all manner of worthless and detrimental water. In Finding God in Unexpected Places, Philip Yancey recounts the following story […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (3/25/07)While Scripture has a high view of Scripture, the goal of acquiring knowledge of Scripture, meditating on Scripture and listening to sermons is not the mere accumulation of more knowledge. The goal of Biblical instruction is not just more knowledge. Rather, true Biblical instruction and knowledge will culminate in people and in a church that […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (3/18/07)There is a simple reason why Jesus says, “Do not judge according to appearance…” (Jn. 7:24). Because we are prone to being impressed with the superficial. For the same reason that foods that have much attraction and little substance and sustenance (read: candy bars, fast food burgers, chips and dip, and bubble gum), we are […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (3/4/07)I have been carrying in my Bible for several years a statement by J. I. Packer [Quest for Godliness] that is excellent preparation for Sunday worship: We must never, therefore, let our Sundays become mere routine engagements; in that attitude of mind, we shall trifle them away by a humdrum formality. Every Sunday is meant […]
Read More Preparing for Hearing a SermonI have been deeply encouraged as I have prepared for communion and the sermon this week. I have read and perused more books and articles than I normally do, and have found many Biblical encouragements. For instance, I found myself thumbing through J. I. Packer’s Knowing God (it’s been far too long since I picked […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (2/25/07)
Words of Grace 