NANC certification complete!

Nearly four years after I began the process, (3 years, 11 months, to be exact), today I completed the NANC certification process. A couple of thoughts about the process: I am grateful for the rigor and demands of the process. The discipline of study for the basic training and the exams were good for my […]

Pleasing men — not such a good idea

This Sunday I am preaching on work that glorifies God (Eph. 6:5-8). As I made my way through that passage this afternoon, I was meditating on the phrase “not…as men-pleasers” (6:6) and the numerous other similar phrases in the NT and the example of Samuel who looked far too quickly at external qualities and ignored […]

When children suffer

Parents have dreams and desires for their children. And sometimes those desires are cut short by the intrusion of Job-like illness, suffering, and even death. We believe in the sovereignty of God. We know that worship is our calling when God orchestrates trials in our lives. But what does that worship sound like when our […]

Easter and the resurrection

Three statements about the resurrection: Easter is the New Year’s Day of the soul. [A. B. Simpson] The gospel…doesn’t explain Easter. Easter explains the gospel. Christ was God. The miracle wasn’t that Christ rose from the dead. It would have been even more unthinkable for the God/Man who was born as he was, and lived […]

Sunday Leftovers (4/24/11)

The resurrection means that Christ is alive, and those who believe in Christ also live (1 Cor. 15:12-20). The resurrection means that we can rejoice in what we have in Christ even when we suffer loss in the world (1 Peter 1:6-7). The resurrection means that when others would say, “curse God,” we can say, […]

That’s My King!

HT: Kevin DeYoung.

Good Friday – It is Finished

Tomorrow morning our family has what we think is a fairly moderate yard task ahead of us — we have about 450 sq. ft. of sod to lay and about fifty feet of shrubs to trim (the shrubs average 8-10 ft in height). It seems like a manageable task now; in the middle of it, […]

It’s Friday . . .

HT: Justin Taylor.

We cannot contemplate the cross too much

While preparing for tomorrow evening’s Good Friday service, I came across this gem: We cannot contemplate too often what the Saviour endured in order to secure our salvation. The better we are acquainted with His sufferings, and the more frequently we meditate thereon, the warmer will be our love and the deeper our gratitude. [A. […]

Passion Week timeline

The movement of Christ during the Passion Week is significant, because it reveals both His nature and His purpose. But, it can be difficult to sometimes follow the progression of events over the different days. Here is a chart that demonstrates not only what happened on each of the days, but also the people with […]

The clueless church

Paul Levy, over at the Reformation 21 blog, has noticed the various “niche” churches and has decided, after searching Scripture, to start his own church and ministry: I am about to start a new ministry of which I will be President called ‘Clueless church’ or ‘4:27’. The strap line is ”he does not know how”. […]

Dad, the family nurturer

When we read Paul’s words to the Ephesians carefully, his instruction to fathers makes us shake our heads and wonder, “Did I hear that correctly?” The word for “bring them up” in 6:4 is the same word as “nourish” in 5:29 — it has the idea of tender care and feeding, like a mother providing […]

Books to read to prepare for Easter

I do at least two things to prepare my heart for Easter each year. First, I read through the accounts of the passion week at least once and often more than that. The simple recitation of the account of Christ’s death and resurrection is sobering and invigorating and always stimulates in me grateful worship. And […]

Christ is all

In Colossians 3:11, Paul says (echoing v. 4 — “Christ, who is our life…”), “Christ is all, and in all.” That is, Christ is all-sufficient. He is everything a believer needs and He is everything to that believer. And He is in all believers equally — no one gets an extra dose of Jesus. His […]

2011 Gospel Coalition Conference

The Gospel Coalition Conference begins today at 2:00 p.m. (CDT) with a message by Al Mohler. The messages may be watched live at The Gospel Coalition. Or, if you are unable to watch live, the video will be posted on the Desiring God website an hour after the conclusion of each message. All nine plenary […]