Sermon: Paul, God, and the Gospel (Pt. 1)

“Paul, God, and the Gospel” Pt. 1 Romans 1:1-7 May 17, 2015 If you’ve ever had a young teen in the house, you know that teens don’t always want to listen. They believe that they have all the answers to life and that their parents are ill-equipped and to handle life because they have not […]

My first visit to the principal’s office

It was my first time in the principal’s office (that I remember, anyway). I wasn’t there for a good reason. A friend and I had a disagreement and decided to settle it in a “manly” fashion — with our fists. It may have been a long walk to the office, but the conversation behind the […]

A godly man is moved by faith

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from The Godly Man’s Picture. As gold is the most precious among the metals, so is faith among the graces. Faith cuts us off from the wild olive of nature, and grafts us into Christ. […]

Romans: the most OT book in the NT

Romans is a complex logical argument, and much of the logic is derived from the OT. In a sense this is a research document, with its primary source being the OT. In addition to a great many allusions to the OT, Paul directly quotes it 63 times. And at least 14 OT books are quoted […]

What Romans says about God

The book of Romans is about two things: it is about the gospel and it is about God. That Romans is about the gospel might be widely assumed and understood, since the themes of justification and sanctification are particularly prominent in the book. And since Romans is in the Bible, it is slightly obvious to […]

A summary of the book of Romans

Sunday morning I began a sermon series on the book of Romans. My goal in starting a new sermon series is to provide a summary and overview of the contents and flow of the book. And sometimes that is best seen in a chart. Here is my current attempt at charting Romans (I reserve to […]

Sermon: God’s Gospel

“God’s Gospel” Romans May 10, 2015 I am rarely at a loss for words. Preachers usually have something to say about most everything. And my personality is that I generally have an opinion about everything, and I often want to express that opinion. I frequently have to force myself not to say something and too […]

Grab bag

With the discussion of transgender issues and gender reassignment surgeries increasing, we do well to be informed on those topics. So consider JBMW‘s article, “What is Gender Reassignment Surgery? A Medical Assessment.” Kevin DeYoung tells us why we ought to give, “Three Cheers for Bill and Hillary Clinton” — at least the Clintons from a […]

Let us labor for the knowledge of God

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from The Godly Man’s Picture. As we would prove ourselves to be godly, let us labour for this good knowledge of the Lord. What pains men will take for the achievement of natural knowledge! I […]

What is it to glorify God?

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from The Godly Man’s Picture. What is it to glorify God? Glorifying God consists in four things: 1: Appreciation, 2. Adoration, 3. Affection, 4. Subjection. This is the yearly rent we pay to the crown […]

Let’s just praise the Lord

In the early 1970s there was a popular chorus with the following lyrics: Let’s just praise the Lord, praise the Lord Let’s just lift our hands to heaven And praise the Lord Let’s just praise the Lord, praise the Lord Let’s just lift our hands to heaven And praise the Lord Now put us in […]

Sermon: The ABCs of Praising God

“The ABCs of Praising God” Psalm 145 April 26, 2015 One morning this week I was about to leave home for my office and I was thinking through my day and remembered that I had scheduled a meeting for later that afternoon and had forgotten to tell someone else whom I’d asked to be there […]

A godly man is a man of knowledge

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from The Godly Man’s Picture. It will be enquired in the next place, “Who is the godly man?” For the full answer to this I shall lay down several specific signs and characteristics of a […]

GBC Men’s Retreat Audio

The audio from Grace Bible Church’s men’s retreat last weekend has now been posted. Tom Pennington (Senior Pastor, Countryside Bible Church) led the main sessions on the topic of spiritual leadership. You may access the audio on the GBC men’s ministry page, or through the podcast link. And additional messages from previous GBC men’s events […]

God forsaking God

Echoing the theme expressed by Heath Lambert in yesterday morning’s sermon, John Flavel wrote this several centuries ago: Did God really forsake Jesus Christ upon the cross? Then from the desertion of Christ’s, singular consolation springs up to the people of God… Christ’s desertion is preventive of your final desertion. Because He was forsaken for […]