Sermon: God’s Plans for the Future

God’s Plans for the FutureZechariah 1:18 – 2:13October 16, 2022 Jeanne Calment was born in 1875 in Arles, France. When she was 13, she met Vincent Van Gogh when he came to her hometown to paint (she didn’t like him). She stopped riding her bicycle in 1975 — at the age of 100. The New […]

Sermon: The God of Comfort

The God of Comfort for a Day of TroubleZechariah 1:7-17October 2, 2022 One writer has said, “Life is full of disappointments. The biggest catastrophes (wars and tsunamis) and the smallest inconveniences (lower back pain and unfulfilled desires) infuse unrest into our lives. Trials snatch peace from us.” [Menikoff, Character Matters.] Meg was the mother of […]

Alone, but not alone

A few decades ago, a medical doctor wrote about some of the implications of being alone that he had observed: “Medical statistics on the loss of human companionship, the lack of love and human loneliness quickly reveal that the expression ‘broken heart’ is not just poetic image for loneliness and despair. It is an overwhelming […]

How God comforts His people

I’ve been told that I’m not always the best patient when I am sick. It seems that I whine a little much about my illness, perhaps even venturing into the category of complaint and discontentment. I do acknowledge that I have a propensity for not being patient with any sickness — I just want it […]

Remember God’s Promises

Trials are regular and normal. Disappointment is inevitable. Failure is common. One skeptic rightly noted, “In times like these it’s good to remember that there have always been times like these.” If we expect a trouble-free life, we will never be satisfied. However, the goal in life is not to avoid trouble and trial, […]

God is a rewarder

I always enjoyed school and learning — I suppose in large part because I have also always been curious about just about everything. “How does that work?” is still a common question from me in conversations. But the year I was in fourth or fifth grade, I was particularly motivated to do well. My parents […]

The King’s care of His people

No matter how personally wealthy a king is, no earthly ruler provides for his people. Rather, every earthly king seeks provision from his people through taxation. Political rulers don’t give to their people; they take. [And by saying that, I am not suggesting that the “taking” through taxation is wrong — it isn’t, as Rom. […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles I’ve bookmarked recently (or not so recently): “How to Pray for Afghan Christians” (Kevin Carson) “Jesus Is Literally All They Have Left” (Randy Alcorn) “9 Things You Should Know About the Taliban” (Joe Carter) “Celebrating 50 Years Of Marriage” (Paul Tripp) “Preaching the Funeral Sermon I Once Most Dreaded” (Hershael York) — […]

God is a Missionary God

At the end of Romans, Paul reveals the reason for that theological treatise. His letter was a missionary letter — a request for financial and spiritual support and encouragement as he took the gospel of Christ to Spain. All the theology of the letter was simply his way of affirming his beliefs and teaching, demonstrating […]

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 […]

What is the Fear of God?

Many years ago I saw a new title by a favored author and I immediately purchased the book for two reasons: one, I always benefited from all that author’s writings, and two, the book was on the topic of the fear of God, something I had struggled to comprehend as a believer. So with anticipation […]

Sermon: In Praise of God, Pt 2

In Praise of God, Pt. 2 Romans 11:36 August 2, 2020 In an article entitled, “How Big is God?” David Coppedge, a scientist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory writes that a manned flight to Pluto going at the maximum speed of Apollo astronauts, would take 17 years before it could park in a hangar at […]

God knows

God knows… God knows the name of every star (and by extension, every heavenly body); He not only knows their names, but He named every star, solar system, galaxy, and universe. He numbers, names, and monitors each and every one (Ps. 147:4; Is. 40:26). God knows the average number of hairs on every head — […]

God’s merciful use of sin

You are aware of the saying, “You can be anything you want to be; you can do anything you want to do, if you just try hard enough.” I am intentionally working to burst bubbles and change thinking when I say, “Bologna.” That saying is just wrong. Completely wrong. And foolish. And deceiving. And hopeless […]

Sermon: God’s People? Saved! (Pt 2)

God’s People? Saved! (Pt 2) Romans 11:28-32 July 19, 2020 I like a good “who dunnit?” Sunday evenings, our family has enjoyed many hours of watching Masterpiece Mystery — Foyle’s War, Sherlock, Inspector Lewis, Miss Marple, Poirot, and Endeavour among them. I have read quite a few Agatha Christie mysteries, and other similar fare. In […]