I have a bachelor’s degree in print journalism and I always have considered it a good thing to have a little newspaper ink on my hands each day. Yet I have also long had the conviction that newspapers are often a poor source for evaluating the relative importance of any given story or event because […]
Read More Sabbatical ReflectionsTomorrow a number of men from our church will be leaving to attend the Shepherds’ Conference at Grace Community Church in California. Registration recently closed, but it is still possible to “attend” the conference via live streaming. Details for how to avail yourself of that ministry (free of charge!) is below (taken from an email […]
Read More Shepherds’ Conference Live StreamWhat are the characteristics of a man in leadership? What does a man who is really a man look like? Generally, we look to 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 to consider that answer, yet 1 Cor. 16 also offers several qualities of the godly man (in leadership). We know that Paul is talking about […]
Read More A Man’s Man“Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity”(Eph. 4:26-27; NASB). This pair of verses is familiar. Very familiar. To parents (who use the verses in exhorting their children). And husbands and wives (who use them to attempt to […]
Read More Book Review: Uprooting AngerWhat is the basic assumption of the God-honoring pastor as he begins to preach, and the God-honoring hearers as they actively listen to that same sermon? In other words, what is the intention of the pastor in delivering his sermon? Alistair Begg answers, in his sermon, “The Pulpit: It’s Power and Pitfalls:” From the pulpit […]
Read More A good sermon…Everyone wants to be somebody. By that I don’t mean that everyone is necessarily seeking his identity or that he is muddled in some measure of a mid-life crisis. But I do mean that everyone wants to achieve some measure of measurable and recognized success. They want to do something so that they will be […]
Read More Book Review: Memoirs of an Ordinary PastorStimulated by the book Pierced for Our Transgressions, Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence (pastors at Capitol Hill Baptist Church) began a series at Christmas that will culminate at Easter on the penal substitutionary work of Christ. I’ve only listened to the first two messages, but it appears that it will be a very helpful and […]
Read More Atonement sermonsEarlier this week, Keith asked me, “what’s the best book you’ve read on your sabbatical, so far?” I offered several different titles that I enjoyed, but none stood out as “the best.” Now I have a title for him. Not only is Pierced for Our Transgressions the best book I’ve read on sabbatical, but it’s […]
Read More Book Review: Pierced for Our TransgressionsThe past couple of days I’ve been doing a fair bit of reading in the recently published book, Pierced for Our Transgressions. It is an important book because of it is a clear and definitive defense of the penal substitutionary work of Christ on the cross. I’ll have more comments when I finish the book […]
Read More Reflection on God’s work in salvationDo you ever wonder how to love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you (Mt. 5:44)? John Piper, contemplating that command of Christ, relates it to the familiar pattern for prayer that follows in Mt. 6 — It would be unwarranted to think that the loving prayer for our enemy should ask for […]
Read More How to love your enemyHere are some blogs of interest from the past few days — In the past two days, Al Mohler has written two articles that all parents ought to read. Yesterday he wrote, “The Death Culture Strikes Again,” addressing the role of the internet in increasing suicide rates among teens, concluding with yet another admonition to […]
Read More Catching up on some blogsIn the last year or so, I became aware of the ministry of Art Azurdia, and the treasure of sermons available from his ministry as a pastor for some 20 years. Having heard a number of his sermons, I purchased his book, Spirit Empowered Preaching. After hearing a broad variety of other preachers and kinds […]
Read More Book Review: Spirit-Empowered PreachingThe audio from the Solus Christus conference held at Countryside Bible Church last weekend is now online. Here are the links to the various sermons: Christ: Our Only Mediator (Al Mohler) Christ: Our Only Righteousness (Tom Pennington) Christ: Our Only Advocate (Phil Johnson) A Tale of Two Covenants (Phil Johnson) Christ Alone: The Heart of […]
Read More Solus Christus AudioI finished reading John MacArthur’s book, The Truth War this morning — on the same day that the main headline in my newspaper (referring to the question of Roger Clemens’ supposed steroid usage) was, “Testimony hits no closer to the truth.” The headline is a revelation of the time in which we live. We tear […]
Read More Book Review: The Truth WarLast week, Al Mohler presented the W. H. Griffith Thomas lectureship at Dallas Theological Seminary, speaking on the new atheism. If you are wondering what men like Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkins are saying and writing (and millions of people have purchased their books, so someone is wondering), then you will find these […]
Read More Mohler on the new atheism
Words of Grace 