Kevin DeYoung quotes John Calvin: If there is no more effective remedy for anger and impatience, he has surely benefited greatly who has so learned to meditate upon God’s providence that he can always recall his mind to this point: the Lord has willed it; therefore it must be borne, not only because one may […]
Read More Impatient?The words of the crucifixion are simple: “And they crucified Him” (Mk. 15:24). Yet there is a horror behind this kind of death, as one doctor has told: Simon is ordered to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus is quickly thrown backwards with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the […]
Read More “They crucified Him”Whenever I read the account of the crucifixion of Christ, I am always amazed at the simplicity of the account of the actual crucifixion (for instance, Matthew almost regards it as an afterthought — “and when they had crucified Him…,” Mt. 27:35) and the ironic and paradoxical activities surrounding the events of the crucifixion. Consider […]
Read More Paradoxes of the crucifixionThe New Testament provides a clear picture of the kinds of men who are to lead the church as elders. Both Titus (1:5-9) and Timothy (3:1-7) are given numerous qualifications for these men, as the following chart summarizes (download the PDF): There is close overlap in topics between the two lists, though not many repeated […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers — elder qualificationsWe have been reading the Gospels for almost four months in our Bible reading program. For four months we have been consumed with Christ. For four months, each day we have had a new or increasing view of the nature of Christ. Perhaps the temptation has been to think, “there must be something more that […]
Read More The cup that the Father gave ChristReading Psalm 51 this morning is a reminder of the power and pervasiveness of sin. And of the grace of forgiveness. We do well to meditate on both, as Thomas Watson exhorted in The Christian on the Mount: Meditate upon the FILTH of sin. Not only is the guilt of Adam’s sin imputed, but the […]
Read More Meditate on sin…and forgivenessAll the audio, including main sessions, breakout session, and panel discussions from the recent Together for the Gospel conference now appear to now be available on the T4G website. Use the menu on the right side of the page to choose which sessions you’d like to watch or download.
Read More Together for the Gospel audioSome helpful articles spotted recently: A lesson in truth-telling, and what makes Christians different: “Mike Daisey, Apple, and Our Culture’s Crisis in Truth-Telling.” “Temptation Is Not Sin,” writes Bill Mounce. He makes three points: 1. Temptation is not sin, 2. No one can make you sin, and 3. God is on your side. The question […]
Read More Grab bagThough he is best-known for a sermon about hell, I have often said that some of my favorite writings from Jonathan Edwards are about heaven. Here is an example: We ought not to rest in the world and its enjoyments, but should desire heaven. We should “seek first the kingdom of God.” 236 We ought […]
Read More Living Ready for HeavenIn prayer (when we are genuine and truthful), our hearts are exposed and revealed as in no other way. That is true as well of the heart of Christ, which makes the Lord’s prayer in John 17 a particularly rich and stimulating passage of Scripture. Of this passage, Melanchthon wrote, “There is no voice which […]
Read More The Lord’s prayerJesus never promises His followers a pain and trouble-free life. In fact, He promises just the opposite. There will be troubles, and often those troubles are because we are followers of Him. As two examples, consider: “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted […]
Read More Take courageFound on the internet recently: “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 Is that what that means? And what about Jesus’ words in John 15? “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done […]
Read More Ask whatever you want…God will do itOne of my favorite pictures from my childhood is a picture that was taken of me and my farmer grandfather. I was maybe four or five-years-old and I was standing with my grandfather in one of his fields. He was surveying the crop; I was more interested in the camera. In those years, I would […]
Read More Life on the farmWhat do you offer a man who is discouraged and hopeless? What do you offer someone whose world is shattered? What do you offer someone who has captured a glimpse into the future, and the fear of it is not startling, but terrifying in its deadliness? What did Jesus offer the disciples? On Thursday night […]
Read More Fearful?Several years ago, Mark Ashton-Smith was on a planned 4-day kayak trip around the Isle of Wight in England when his kayak capsized. Unable to get back into the canoe and in frigid and rough waters, he reached for his phone (which he’d had the foresight to place in a watertight container) and called the […]
Read More The Father and the Son
