25 words for new graduates

Always treasure Christ and you will never be disappointed. If you are disappointed, you have hoped in something more than you have hoped in Christ.

Sunday Leftovers (5/2/10)

Who has influenced you for the cause of Jesus Christ? Who has been a dominant, guiding influence in the progress of your faith? The list is invariably substantial (and my best guess is that in heaven when our eyes are opened to the vastness of the expanse of God’s grace, the list will be greater […]

Faith and works

Yesterday I interacted with two stories relating to the nature of saving faith. When a man is genuinely saved, the fruit of that salvation will be evidenced in his life. That is, empowered by the Holy Spirit, he will be changed so that while prior to salvation he could do nothing good, now after salvation […]

Religious theists and saving faith

Faith in God is not enough to save a man. Two related stories that came across my computer screen this morning authenticate that statement. The USA Today references this morning a survey by Lifeway Christian Resources about the so-called faith of young adults (age 18-29). In this study, among those who identified themselves as “Christian:” […]

Dry and thirsty?

Many years ago, my brother and I went on a hiking expedition in the Cleveland National Forest in Southern California. Unfortunately, we were ill-equipped for the day. What began as a cool, refreshing, spring-like morning quickly developed into a hot, parching, dead-of-summer day. Soon I was overcome with the most overwhelming drive to quench my […]

Grab bag

Al Mohler, “The Pill Turns 50” “Has God Predetermined Everything? Even Sin?“ “Why fight sin if God uses it for good anyway?” Together for the Gospel panel discussions are now available A new book by John Piper, Jesus, the Only Way to God (July, 2010) Practical suggestions for how to encourage missionaries — and without […]

There are Canaanites in the land!

The story of Israel in the book of Joshua is triumphal and victorious. It is filled with obedience, worship, and delight in God. The story of Israel in the book of Judges is sorrow and defeat. Judges is everything that Joshua isn’t. It is a book of disobedience, idolatrous worship, and rejection of God. And […]

Thinking about our thoughts

David longed for words and meditations that were acceptable to God — words both inward and outward that reflected a heart conformed to the character of God. Solomon notes that the inward thoughts of a man reveal the very character of a man — it is not what he does but what he thinks that […]

Sunday Leftovers (4/25/10)

Ministry is often perceived to be for “ministers” only — for pastors. Individuals in the church might “help” or “serve,” but real ministry is for the paid “professionals,” the thinking goes. Yet as Ephesians 4 demonstrates, ministry is for everyone. At GBC, one of the core values that we affirm and encourage is “every member […]

What should we feel at communion?

Many years ago we had occasion, because of when Easter occurred in the month, to have communion twice in close proximity — about only a week apart. I suppose it was just too much for someone who lamented to me, “it feels like we’re having communion all the time…” It was more a complaint than […]

An effective church

In my lifetime, I have moved more than 1000 miles seven times, and numerous more times locally. There are many benefits as well as detractions to such a nomadic existence. When we moved prior to my sophomore year in High School, I became aware of a new difficulty — how do you choose a new […]

Tozer on spiritual maturity

For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been thinking on Sunday morning about spiritual maturity as both the goal and result of ministry. All our efforts in the church and in our relationships are to see spiritual maturity produced in others, and when we make that our goal, God will accomplish that very thing! This […]

Together for the Gospel audio

Much of the audio from last week’s Together for the Gospel Conference is now posted. All the general sessions except Matt Chandler’s are now posted (the video of Chandler’s session is available). Yet to be posted are the break-out sessions and the panel discussions (always a highlight). I’m just starting to listen to the audio, […]

Sunday Leftovers (4/18/10)

My first semester of seminary, I took a church history course that was taught by a gentle-looking, long-tenured, dry-speaking professor who appeared to be on the cusp of retirement. The required text was as plain, unassuming and dry as the professor. It wasn’t long before I was lost in an avalanche of dates, names, and […]

On knowing Christ

Paul wanted to know Christ — even to the point of knowing the fellowship with Him that comes from suffering (Phil. 3:10). And Paul wanted his spiritual children to know Christ — that they would know the full confidence that is associated with the hope of His calling them to salvation (Eph. 1:19), and that […]