Tomorrow (Monday, Oct. 3) the annual national conference for the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) begins. It is the 40th anniversary of the founding of this organization, and promises to be an excellent conference. If you are unable to attend, you can enjoy the live stream of the plenary sessions here: Live Stream #ACBC16
Read More Live Stream the ACBC Conference“Behold the Man!” John 19:1-5 October 2, 2016 Familiarity, it is said, breeds contempt. It may not always breed contempt, but very often, it does produce apathy. We are familiar with someone or something so we no longer find the amazement and joy that we did when we were first introduced to that item or […]
Read More Sermon: Behold the Man!When the Scriptures speak about the Christian’s relationship to the government, the emphasis is consistently on the civil obedience, not civil disobedience. For instance: The believer is to pray for his civil authorities (1 Tim. 2:1–3) The believer is to submit to his civil authorities (Rom. 13:1; 1 Pet. 2:13–15) The believer is to obey […]
Read More When civil disobedience is permissible“Essential Reminders About Responding to Government” Romans 13:1-7 September 18, 2016 Last week we began talking about “Election Essentials” — understanding what the Bible has to say about politics, the church, and you. We began that series by thinking about the role of government and the authorities in government — what is the role of […]
Read More Sermon: Essential Reminders About Our Responsibility to the GovernmentThis weekend, Calvary Bible Church hosted the Biblical Counseling and Discipleship Conference (BCDC). This conference meets the basic training requirements for certification as a member of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). I was privileged to be able to participate in this conference. There is always much material to cover in each session, so […]
Read More BCDC 2016 Notes – Weekend 1“Essential Reminders About the Role of Government” Romans 13:1-7 September 11, 2016 Robert Wilson, in his book Character Above All seeks to answer one fundamental question: “What is the relationship between the President’s character and presidential leadership?” He asks the question because it is his observation that as a group, the American people “‘started out […]
Read More Sermon: Essential Reminders About the Role of GovernmentWednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from A Body of Divinity, and is Continued from Part 1. How does it appear that the Scriptures have…a divine authority stamped upon them?… [4] That the Scripture is the Word of God is evident […]
Read More The Scriptures: A Divine Authority, Pt. 2“Accused and Condemned” Romans 3:19-20 August 28, 2016 A number of years ago singer Billy Joel talked about his spiritual life: “I wasn’t raised Catholic, but I used to go to Mass with my friends and I viewed the whole business as a lot of very enthralling hocus-pocus. There’s a guy…nailed to a cross and […]
Read More Sermon: Accused and CondemnedWednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from A Body of Divinity. How does it appear that the Scriptures have…a divine authority stamped upon them? Because the Old and New Testament are the foundation of all religion. If their divinity cannot be […]
Read More The Scriptures: A Divine Authority“The Weightiness of Sin” Pt. 5 Romans 3:18 August 21, 2016 Unless you are a fan of rock climbing, you likely don’t know the name of Alex Honnold. But among a particular group of climbers — solo climbers — those who climb without a rope or any protective equipment of any kind, and often even […]
Read More Sermon: The Weightiness of Sin, Pt. 5“The Weightiness of Sin” Pt. 4 Romans 3:15-17 August 14, 2016 Like many of you, I get news updates on my phone; several times a day I’ll get a notification on my home screen about some breaking news event: it’s hot in Texas; it’s raining everywhere but in Texas; someone won a gold medal at […]
Read More Sermon: The Weightiness of Sin, Pt. 4Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is from The Christian on the Mount. Grace is precious in itself; 2 Peter 1:1 speaks of precious faith. Grace is precious in its origin; it comes from above (James 3:17). Grace is precious in its nature; […]
Read More Meditate upon the excellency of grace“The Weightiness of Sin” Pt. 3 Romans 3:13-14 August 7, 2016 A blog that I occasionally read recently published, “50+ Old Fashioned Insults We Should Bring Back.” In the author’s estimation, we have lost the ability to insult others in “clever, nuanced, descriptive, and… amusing” ways. So he made an appeal to reincorporate some older […]
Read More Sermon: The Weightiness of Sin, Pt. 3Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from The Christian on the Mount. When you have sifted out the finest flour that the creature can give, you will find something either to dissatisfy or nauseate. The best wine has its froth, the […]
Read More Meditate upon the vanity of the creature“You Must Be Born Again” John 3:1-8 July 31, 2016 (Communion Sunday) The book of John is all about belief and faith — John uses the verb “believe” 98x in his gospel. He asks questions like, “how does one come to believe in Christ?” And, “how does a believer in Christ live and act?” The […]
Read More Sermon: “You Must Be Born Again”
Words of Grace 