Fifty years ago, Sam Rayburn was in his 17th year as the Speaker of the House when he discovered that he had terminal pancreatic cancer. He then surprised everyone by announcing that he was leaving Washington D.C. to return to his hometown, Bonham, Texas. Why would someone leave Washington with its fine hospitals for a […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (10/2/11) — RelationshipsThis month’s free audiobook download from Christianaudio is John Piper’s book, Think. This is an excellent book that I enjoyed very much (in print format). Download it here.
Read More Free audiobook: ThinkSome helpful articles recently spotted on the internet: Douglas Groothuis offers wise counsel on listening to sermons in “A short theology of listening.” An excerpt: Listen . . . with all your might; hear the living and active word. The teaching and preaching of God’s imperishable word is truly a sacred event whereby the Truth […]
Read More Grab bagA few days ago, Pat Robertson asserted that it was acceptable for one to divorce a spouse with Alzheimer’s since “Alzheimer’s is a form of death.” He continued, “I know it sounds cruel, but if he’s going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial […]
Read More ‘Til death do us part?Take five minutes to think about “the missionary question” — where are there people groups who don’t have any Christians among them or a functioning church to do the work of evangelism? How many are there? [HT: Take Your Vitamin Z; Challies]
Read More The missionary questionDavid Murray has produced some helpful material on technology and its relationship to parenting. A few days ago he published these short, five lessons for parenting in light of the technological influences of our day: Technology no longer has boundaries Know when to cut it off The difference between preference and addiction Focus on technology […]
Read More Technology and parentingAll men tend towards pride. A wise man’s temptation is to boast in his own wisdom. A strong man is tempted to boast in his own strength. A rich man is tempted to boast about his riches (Jer. 9:23). There is a two-fold problem with this pride. First, the pride is rooted in an exaltation […]
Read More Let him who boastsThomas Watson, reflecting on Hebrews 4:16 articulates what encourages and what hinders a believer coming boldly into the presence of God: Holiness gives us boldness with God. ‘Thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.’ Job 22:23, 26. Lifting up the face is an emblem of […]
Read More This will take away your confidenceThat the world — all of it, in every sphere — belongs to the Lord was expressed well by Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper: “…there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” Of course his assertion was preceded […]
Read More The world belongs to the LordJohn Flavel: “I determined to know nothing,” that is, to study nothing myself, to teach nothing to you, but “Jesus Christ.” Christ shall be the center to which all the lines of my ministry shall be drawn. I have spoken and written of many other subjects in my sermons and epistles, but it is all […]
Read More Knowing Christ alone in ministryActually, it’s a picture of the results of gossip, in simple form: “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” (Eph 4:29) Via: DOGHOUSE | Just Don’t […]
Read More A picture of gossip…As I mentioned in my sermon yesterday, it is far more important why we pray than what we pray. In general, our attitude in prayer is more critical than the mechanics of our prayer. Yet there are also some “mechanical” things we can do to help our prayer life — a consideration of time, location, […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (9/18/11)Some helpful articles from the last couple of weeks: A long time ago I began recognizing a changing trend in counseling. Women were battling with lust and pornography too, as Carolyn McCulley affirms in her recent post, “Lust: Not for men only.” She writes: “We have a message of hope and redemption in the morass […]
Read More Grab bagContinuing the thoughts from yesterday, Thomas Watson asks the question, “Are we lovers of the Word?” He offers some tests of this aspect of our godliness. Let us test by this characteristic whether we are godly: Are we lovers of the Word? 1. Do we love the Word written? What sums of money the martyrs […]
Read More Are we lovers of the Word?From Thomas Watson, The Godly Man’s Picture, who reiterates some of the same principles of how to read the Scriptures that we spoke of this morning: A godly man shows his love to the Word written: (i) By diligently reading it. The noble Bereans “searched the Scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11). Apollos was mighty in the […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (9/11/11)
Words of Grace 