Sermon: For This Purpose I Have Come to This Hour

“For This Purpose I Have Come to This Hour” John 12:27-36 March 29, 2015 (Palm Sunday) Today is Palm Sunday. It’s a day to remember that everybody loves Jesus. Everybody loved Jesus on the day He entered Jerusalem riding on the donkey, making His claim to be Messiah. And everybody loves Jesus today. Except that’s […]

The usefulness of Heaven’s crown

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from The Fight of Faith Crowned. In this passage, Watson is meditating on the usefulness of the promise of a crown of righteousness that will be granted to the believer in Heaven (2 Tim. 4:8). […]

Sermon: Fearing God – A Life of Blessing

Fearing God — A Life of Blessing Psalm 112 March 22, 2015 When I read Scripture, not only am I instructed by the words I read, but I often also have emotional responses to those words: Some words make me feel comforted and encouraged and hopeful and happy — like being wrapped up in a […]

Repentance is never out of season

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from The Doctrine of Repentance. The two great graces essential to a saint in this life are faith and repentance. These are the two wings by which he flies to heaven. Faith and repentance preserve […]

Sermon: When the Well Runs Dry

When the Well Runs Dry Psalm 63 March 15, 2015 Many years ago — in what was probably one of the last great adventures my brother and I had before I got married — we went on a day hike in the Cleveland National Forest in CA. We didn’t make plans that were too extensive; […]

The blessedness of forgiveness

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. “For this cause shall everyone who is godly pray unto you.” (Psalm 32:6) Holy David at the beginning of this psalm, shows us wherein true happiness consists; not in beauty, […]

Inerrancy Summit, redux

The Shepherds’ Conference, which was conducted under the banner of the Inerrancy Summit this year, is now over. Because of the pace of most conferences, I like to take some time to go back through my notes after I return to refresh myself with the essential parts of each message. As I do that, I […]

Inerrancy Summit, Day Four

The final day of the 2015 Shepherds’ Conference has ended and the conference is finished. Today’s messages were highlighted by the beginning and end — Sinclair Ferguson’s message to begin the day and John MacArthur’s to end the day. More reflections on the week will come early next week, but for now here are the […]

Inerrancy Summit, Day Three

The third day of the 2015 Shepherds’ Conference just ended. Many highlights today, including Fernando Ortega leading music again this morning. I particularly appreciated the message by Steve Lawson this morning, “The Invincible Power of the Word of God,” speaking on seven symbols of the Word of God: a sword that pierces a mirror that […]

Inerrancy Summit, Day Two

The second day of the 2015 Shepherds’ Conference just ended. Many highlights today, including Fernando Ortega leading music this morning, and excellent messages particularly from Steve Lawson, Ian Hamilton, and Mark Dever (who preached on Psalm 119, and read the entire Psalm as part of his message). The single, best sentence that was beneficial for […]

Inerrancy Summit, Day One

Yesterday was the first day of the 2015 Shepherds’ Conference, which this year is also being called The Inerrancy Summit. The structure of the week is much different than other Shepherds’ Conferences: the conference is four days rather than three, there are only two breakout sessions and 18 general sessions (generally there are six and […]

Prayer’s primacy

Every believer will acknowledge the importance and priority of prayer. And most of those same believers (all?) will also acknowledge that they don’t pray satisfactorily — their attention in prayer is too short, their time in prayer is inadequate, and their prayers feel ineffective. Reasons abound why we don’t pray: We really believe we are […]

Look on Christ

Look on [Christ] in what respect or particular you will; cast your eye upon this lovely object, and view Him any way; turn Him in your serious thoughts which way you will; consider His person, His offices, His works, or any other thing belonging to Him; you will find Him altogether lovely. [John Flavel]

I confess

I confess I find confession hard. Don’t we all? There is nothing easy about admitting one is wrong. And compounding the difficulty of confession is the further requirement to ask for forgiveness from the one to whom we are confessing. And when we confess to the Lord, it additionally requires a desire to change — […]

What is God’s justice?

Wednesdays 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. ‘Justice is to give every one his due.’ God’s justice is the rectitude of his nature, whereby he is carried to the doing of that which is righteous and equal. […]