Sunday Leftovers (5/27/07)

As is often the case, I didn’t finish my sermon on Sunday. Not only did I not complete the sermon, but I left unsaid a number of things along the way. Here are a few of them (saving still a few for this coming Sunday)… Peter’s words to wives and husbands in 1 Peter 3 […]

Think About It

Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote these words in application of Ephesians 2:2 a generation ago, but they sound just as true today as in the day in which he wrote them: Their little life is entirely controlled by the organization of the world. They think as the world thinks. They take their opinions ready-made from their favourite […]

Lies We Believe

John MacArthur makes the good point that man likes to live according to five dominant lies — lies that constitute the attempt of man to rid himself of the influence and authority of God. These lies are: Life is random. We are all products of evolutionary chance with no purpose and no creator and no […]

Justification and Catholicism

With the reconversion last week of Francis Beckwith, the President of the Evangelical Theological Society, to Roman Catholicism, questions have arisen again about the relationship between Catholicism and Evangelicalism. Beckwith said (among a number of other things) that the reason for his reconversion centered around his understanding of justification: I became convinced that the Early […]

Encouragement and Help for Parents

Christian parents sometimes undergo the sorrow of watching their children stray from the truth of Christ. How should they respond to that sinful waywardness? Abraham Piper (John’s son), offers some counsel that serves as both an encouragement (there is hope for repentance!) and some help (what can I do??). Read it here. In addition, there […]

An Example of and an Exhortation to Endurance

In thinking about ministry and the role of the pastor and the role of the people in relation to 1 Thess. 5:12-24, I came across a story a read a few years ago and a statement about the importance of perseverance in ministry. The story concerns a pastor, John Newton, and a troubled parishioner in […]

Sunday Leftovers (5/6/07)

Numerous factors in the culture of the church have led too many churches and too many people to believe and practice a theology that places the work of ministry on the shoulders of trained professionals and absolves untrained servants of ministry responsibilities. Yet the New Testament has a different view of ministry. Ministry is the […]

The Holiness of God

The holiness of God is an oft-repeated theme in Scripture. It is demonstrated in His choice of Israel as His people (Dt. 7:6), the sanctification of that people (Lev. 21:8); His jealousy for that people and His holiness that would not allow Him to overlook their sin (Josh. 24:19); His unique character (1 Sam. 2:2); […]

Sunday Leftovers (4/29/07)

God has gifted every believer with at least one spiritual gift and at the same time He is also producing His fruit in that believer through the working of the Holy Spirit. So the longer a believer walks with Christ, more and more fruit is produced. And the longer a believer serves Christ in the […]

A few more thoughts on the tragedy at Virginia Tech

This week we have learned the importance and reality of Rom 12:15 — Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. You could not read the headlines, watch the news or hear the reports of what happened at Virginia Tech and not be moved to compassion. Amidst all the “analysis,” however, there […]

Sunday Leftovers (4/22/07)

On the priority of a personal walk with God — If you are unhappy and discontent or even angry with God, it is the fruit of a heart that has fed too lightly and too little at the table of God — you have learned to be happy with things that cannot satisfy. Modern Christians […]

Nine reasons to read the Puritans

At the recent Ligonier Conference, in a brief exhortation, Joel Beeke offered nine reasons to read the Puritans: The Puritans will help shape your life according to the Bible. Puritan writings will show you how to integrate Biblical doctrine into daily life by: addressing your mind, confronting your conscience by exposing specific sins and asking […]

On humility

God says, “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3). How might that kind of humility be […]

What to say about Virginia Tech

The events today at Virginia Tech are tragic. Several years ago, after the shootings at Columbine, John Piper compiled 21 ways to love and comfort the hurting. He later revised the list after the 9-11 tragedy. His words are just as appropriate for today. A condensed version of his essay may be found here.

Sunday Leftovers (4/15/07)

What you believe is reflected in what you do and how you do it. Everything you do reveals something about your belief system. Those two statements are important for individuals and churches as they make decisions about the future. To that end, we have identified a number of truths that are crucial to us as […]