Sermon: God’s Revelation, Man’s Rejection, Part 3

“God’s Revelation; Man’s Rejection” Part 3 Romans 1:20-25 September 20, 2015 They have been called some of the world’s weirdest festivals. Consider: On the last Tuesday of January on St. Ninian’s Isle (Scotland) the local men dress in full Viking regalia, light torches, and go rampaging through town. Of course. (What else is there to […]

Sermon: God’s Revelation, Man’s Rejection, Part 2

“God’s Revelation; Man’s Rejection” Part 2 Romans 1:20-25 September 13, 2015 I believe it was about April of 1990 that I was first contacted by Grace Bible Church after I’d submitted my resume for consideration of the open pastoral position here. I responded to the nine questions they sent me and then waited for their […]

Sermon: God’s Revelation, Man’s Rejection, Part 1

“God’s Revelation; Man’s Rejection” Part 1 Romans 1:20-25 September 6, 2015 The day after Christmas in 1944, Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda was sent by his commander to Lubang Island in the Philippines with these orders: You are absolutely forbidden to die by your own hand. It may take three years, it may take five, but […]

Rest in the wisdom of God

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from A Body of Divinity, chapter 7: “The Wisdom of God.” Adore the wisdom of God. It is an infinite deep; the angels cannot search into it. ‘His ways are past finding out’ (Rom. 11:33). As […]

Grab bag

“When Your World Caves In” (Paul Levy) — a sober reminder of the cost of sin in general and the cost (and protection against) sexual sin in particular: “Recently I’ve spent some time with two friends who were in ministry but have fallen morally and so now find themselves out of a job that they loved, […]

What the Lord hates

Is it possible for God to hate? Does God hate? Yes, it is possible for God to hate and yes, He does hate. He hates anything that is contrary to righteousness. His hatred is a means of defending His truth, integrity and good. He is against anything that violates His standard of what is right. […]

The sufficiency of God

While working on Sunday’s sermon, I came across this statement by R. C. Sproul on the omnipotence of God, affirming also the sufficiency of God, who does all things His will desires without dependence on any other thing: Aristotle was perplexed by the mysteries of change and motion. As he observed changes taking place around […]

Help! Who can help me?

It became something of a western movie caricature — a family or group of families is moving into new territory and has no military protection. They find themselves in a narrow crevasse, surrounded on both sides by steep cliffs. Then high on one hill, they see a lone Indian scout. All the members of the […]

God’s lovingkindness is everlasting

Psalm 118 begins this way: Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Oh let Israel say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Oh let the house of Aaron say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Oh let those who fear the LORD say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.” (vv. 1-4) And it ends […]

Our God is in the heavens

In the summer of 1956, a group of people spent an afternoon waterskiing on Schroon Lake, NY, when they decided to go out one more time. Though tired from the activities of the day, Dawson Trotman (the founder of The Navigators) got back into the boat for one more ride. Also on the boat that […]

He is able

A well-known Christian chorus says: He is able, more than able to accomplish what concerns me today He is able, more than able to handle anything that comes my way He is able, more than able to do much more than I could ever dream He is able, more than able to make me what […]

“But God…”

Author and professor John Patrick suggests that there are nine questions that every person must answer — Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? How do I come to terms with death? How do I make sense of suffering? How can I possibly believe in justice? What can I […]

Why God is patient

Scripture speaks often about the importance and wisdom of being patient. (Consider Prov. 14:29; 15:18; 16:32; 19:11; 20:22; Col. 3:12; Js. 5:10; 1 Pt. 2:20ff as just a few examples). Scripture also speaks of the patience of God. God waits. One of the common New Testament words for patience is to be long-suffering (see Rom. […]

God is faithful

God is faithful. We believe that. Or at least we say we believe that. But, most of us still struggle to rest in God’s faithfulness each day. Near the end of both of his letters to the Thessalonians, Paul reminded those readers of God’s faithfulness. We do well to remember those reminders, as well as […]

Despairing and troubled?

When you awakened this morning, did the day seem heavy? Did you awaken expecting the problems of yesterday to seem lighter and a resolution more likely only to feel as though the problem grew in dimension during the night, obscuring any possibility of hope? Despair and discouragement are not unusual. The psalmists felt those pains […]