Good listening

I spend a fair bit of time each week either in my car or on a piece of exercise equipment where I can listen to sermons and lectures that are good for the edification of my soul. If you likewise are interested in adding some beneficial sermons to your iPod, you might consider the audio […]

Reading Proverbs

Today we begin reading the book of Proverbs. Here is some background information (Word document) about the book that will help you understand it as you read, as well as a brief summary here: The key word in Proverbs is “wisdom,” and making men wise serves as the fundamental purpose of the book (cf. 1:2). […]

Sunday Leftovers (1/31/10)

About a decade ago, a company in Tokyo launched a new business venture — a 24-hour convenience store run entirely by robots — no managers, no clerks, no humans at all on the premises. The idea was that people didn’t want to have to deal with grumpy, tired clerks, so why not remove them from […]

Some good Puritan reading

It was after I finished seminary that I was introduced to the Puritans. A friend gave me a book by Thomas Watson, I thanked him, and put it on my shelf where it sat for several years. One day I was browsing through my shelves looking for something; I saw the book, picked it up, […]

Let the congregation sing!

Not only was the book of Psalms the song book for Israel; it also included many admonitions to sing. As a very small sample, consider Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name. (Ps. 30:4) Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of […]

Are you a cessationist?

Cessationism is the belief that the sign gifts God gave the church are no longer operational or valid for the church today — their purpose and function for authenticating the message of the apostles is no longer necessary because of the completion of the word of God. Among the things believed to have ceased are […]

Mohler: 3 blogs on theology and life

In the past week, Al Mohler has posted three different blogs that relate theology to life and the kinds of assumptions people have about God and the decisions that result from those assumptions. In “Air Conditioning Hell: How Liberalism Happens,” he writes, Theological liberals do not intend to destroy Christianity, but to save it. As […]

Made to glorify God

Thomas Watson applies the truth of the glory of God and meditates on what it means that we are made for His glory: There is no one here present but God has put in some capacity of glorifying him; the health he has given you, the parts, estate, seasons of grace, all are opportunities put […]

The accessible God

It is commonly presumed in our Western, self-reliant culture, that not only is God accessible to us (believer or unbeliever), but that it is something of a birth-right (if you’re born, you have the right!) to have access to God. In this way, it is believed, God is our servant. Well, He is accessible. But […]

Reading Exodus

A couple days ago, we began reading the book of Exodus in our reading through the Bible in a year program. Some of the books may be unfamiliar to you, so in an effort to help you understand what you are reading, as much as possible (I am fully confident I will be unable to […]

God is holy

In the vision of Isaiah 6, the prophet saw the angels around the throne of God repeatedly declaring, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts.” We ourselves often speak and sing of this truth. But what does it mean that God is holy? It means that He is set apart and distinct. He is […]

Can you hear God? A meditation on Exodus 6:9

Sometimes, in the midst of discouragement, it’s hard to see the blessings of God. As an example, consider this morning’s Scripture reading. For all the blessings God had given Abraham (an eternal covenant), Isaac (spared from death on a sacrificial altar!), and Jacob (sons who would be the patriarchs of Israel), there was something He […]

On theology and practice

With one word, Paul initiates a significant change in his letter to the Ephesians. With the singular (and easily overlooked) word, “therefore,” Paul moves his letter from theology to practice, from instruction to application. It is Paul’s regular habit to make such transitions (see the transitions between Romans 1-11 and 12-16 and Colossians 1-2 and […]

The cost of discipleship

The benefits of salvation are great and wondrous and are and should be spoken of in glowing and rich terms. The privileges accrued through the cross ought to be of our greatest happiness. Yet there is also a corresponding truth that since by the gospel God means to change our lives from fleshly and earthly-minded […]

Sunday Leftovers (1/24/10)

In our very earliest years of marriage, my wife and I had a neighbor who always asked a simple and direct question whenever she saw us come outside: “where are you going?” The question became something of a game to me and Raye Jeanne — could we initiate and direct the conversation first so that […]