Creation reveals the wisdom of God

This morning Tim Challies posted this video to attempt to demonstrate the vastness of the universe: I obviously can’t agree with Sagan’s conclusions at the end of that clip. Thomas Watson was right when he wrote in A Body of Divinity (something I read this morning), that the created world reveals the wisdom of God: […]

Sunday Leftovers (7/31/11)

In his book Licensed to Kill (a book about the mortification of sin), author Brian Hedges notes: One of the reasons some people fail to benefit from their study of Scripture is that they interpret it in gospel-ignoring, Christ-neglecting ways. Too many never overcome sin because they never benefit from the Bible because they have […]

Preaching to yourself

I recently picked up and began reading Joe Thorn’s book, Note to Self. The book is about the discipline of meditation and especially the art of meditating on the gospel so that the gospel increasingly guides our thinking and actions. Justin Taylor did an interview with Joe Thorn in which they discussed the purpose and […]

Blog updates

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve made some changes to my blog page in an effort to simplify the information on the front page and provide an updated look. So now only the latest post will be posted in full on the front page, and the remaining posts will have “continue reading” links after […]

Aging and pastoral succession

John Piper, Don Carson and Tim Keller talk about succession in their ministries. But underneath their discussion is also wisdom about how to address issues related to aging. This is a good video for pastors to watch — along with anyone who is getting older.

Grab bag

Some helpful articles from the last week: The Telegraph provide a lengthy obituary of John Stott: “He turned his own church, located just a few yards from the headquarters of the BBC, into a showplace for a renewed form of evangelicalism. Strong lay leadership at All Souls set him free to become the trainer of […]

Christ’s sacrifice

A healthy baby was born in the hospital down the street. Ho-hum. God provided for your basic needs again this week. Yawn. You shared the gospel with someone this week and he trusted Christ. Of course. Your spouse/child/parent/friend loves you. Okay. The extraordinary has become ordinary. It happens in life. And it happens in the […]

Preparing for communion

This Sunday we will observe the ordinance of communion in our worship service. As I have been preparing for that (and my sermon) this week, I have been thinking about the gospel and its implications. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians, it is most important — of first importance. John Stott captures some sense of […]

John Stott on glory

It is good to contemplate the glories of heaven. What lies ahead? What will it be like to be in the presence of and see the Savior? What joy might our newly redeemed from sin bodies be like (can you imagine no impulse to sin ever again)? What glories and grace will be revealed to […]

John Stott tribute

This morning, John R. W. Stott was taken into the presence of the Lord. I have repeatedly used and been helped by his work, The Cross of Christ. I did not always agree with his conclusions (I am puzzled by his belief in annihilationism, for instance), but I repeatedly found him to be an insightful […]

An acceptable sin

Pride is an acceptable sin. It is not acceptable to God, of course, but both in culture and church, pride in its various forms is often not only accepted, but lauded. In another day, one might have written a book and then waited for others to write reviews of it. Today, it apparently has become […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles from the last week: Kevin DeYoung gives us something to think about: “I’ve learned over the years that the simplest way to judge gray areas in the Christian life like movies, television, and music is to ask one simple question: can I thank God for this?…” John Piper wrote a teenager about […]

Resources for battling temptation

Though we regularly face temptation and though we sometimes succumb to temptation does not mean we are not in Christ or that Christ is not working in us. John Piper illustrates: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy, who doesn’t want you to finish the race, throws mud on your windshield. The […]

Moore on temptation

At the conclusion of his book, Tempted and Tried, Russell Moore offers this statement about the “benefits” of temptation: I hope you recognize the satanic offers that come to you for self-directed provision or protection or exaltation. I hope you see how our Lord Jesus can intercede for you, how the Spirit can fight through […]

Sunday Leftovers (7/24/11)

Sin is evil. And temptation is the tool Satan uses to draw individuals into sin so that they are destroyed by it. He seeks to deceive and delude unbelievers so that they are prevented from seeing the light of the gospel. And he seeks to devour believers as their adversary. There is nothing inherently good […]