A summary of the book of Romans

Sunday morning I began a sermon series on the book of Romans. My goal in starting a new sermon series is to provide a summary and overview of the contents and flow of the book. And sometimes that is best seen in a chart. Here is my current attempt at charting Romans (I reserve to […]

Let’s just praise the Lord

In the early 1970s there was a popular chorus with the following lyrics: Let’s just praise the Lord, praise the Lord Let’s just lift our hands to heaven And praise the Lord Let’s just praise the Lord, praise the Lord Let’s just lift our hands to heaven And praise the Lord Now put us in […]

I confess

I confess I find confession hard. Don’t we all? There is nothing easy about admitting one is wrong. And compounding the difficulty of confession is the further requirement to ask for forgiveness from the one to whom we are confessing. And when we confess to the Lord, it additionally requires a desire to change — […]

When God doesn’t answer prayers

A company in Chicago is one of the largest magazine fulfillment firms. They send out renewal and expiration notices and handle the re-subcriptions for many different magazines. A number of years ago there was a mistake in a piece of computer software. A short time later the error was realized when a rancher in Powder […]

The cost of not following Christ

Jesus tells His followers to consider the cost of following Him: “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me […]

How gracious is God’s grace?

A number of years ago I cleaned out and rearranged my bookshelves and in the process found a number of empty binders that I was no longer using. Seeing this accumulation of treasures, my then 6-year-old daughter asked me for them so she could “play school.” [Now she teaches English at a middle school in […]

The blessings of having God as our Father

As believers we acknowledge that God is our Father, but that reality too often feels inadequate to us. We would rather have a loving father with flesh — a human daddy — than a heavenly Father. I have heard it said on multiple occasions, “I know God loves me, but I want my dad…” Yet […]

Sin is not liberating

Sin is not liberating. People will say it is liberating. Advertisers will attempt to convince you it is liberating. Those who engage in habitual sin will assert that Christians who follow the way of Christ are in bondage and enslavement. Sinners will smile, laugh, and appear joyful when engaging in sinful behavior, asserting that they […]

One thing God does in our suffering

Suffering is not embraced by most believers. The flesh compels us to avoid suffering, to call suffering “bad,” and to assume, like Job’s friends, that something has gone terribly wrong spiritually if we or our friends suffer or are persecuted. But the consistent testimony of Scripture is that suffering is normal and to be expected […]

Church membership — it’s more than a nametag

After this morning’s sermon on church membership, someone shook my hand and quipped, “so I guess [church membership] is more than wearing a name tag.” Yes, it is indeed. My friend was obviously being facetious. Yet his point was obvious. Church membership is a priority for every believer, and being a church member has implications […]

A theology of ministry…pictured

This morning the sermon dealt with the theology that undergirds GBC’s philosophy of ministry. The statement, “Shepherding God’s people by God’s grace for God’s glory,” is shaped by 13 theological truths. Here is a diagram that illustrates what we mean by shepherding God’s people, and how those theological truths relate to our philosophy of ministry.

Sunday Leftovers: 1 John and assurance

This morning we concluded our study of the book of 1 John. After 36 sermons, we’ve had a clear look at what John has to say about salvation, spiritual life and obedience, and eternal life and assurance. This morning’s final sermon is designed to help us remember the big picture and essential truths of the […]

Sunday Leftovers: Our place in the world

One of my favorite commentaries as I have studied the book of 1 John has been David Jackman’s The Message of John’s Letters. Repeatedly, Jackman has synthesized a passage and drawn out its relevance for today’s church. This was true again this week as he related the truth about the world, its ruler Satan, and […]

Sunday Leftovers: Unrighteousness is sin…all unrighteousness

In his first letter, several times John makes the statement that sin is unrighteousness. No where does he say it more clearly than in 5:17 — “all unrighteousness is sin.” Our tendency is to read that statement, reflect on it for a moment, devise a list of sins in our heads (some of which may […]

Sunday Leftovers: You can pray

Because the believer in Christ is secure in his salvation, he can be sure that God has saved and will save Him through eternity (1 Jn. 5:13). But that’s not the only benefit of salvation; because the believer is saved, he also can be confident in going to God in prayer, not withholding anything from […]