How gracious is God’s grace?

A number of years ago I cleaned out and rearranged my bookshelves and in the process found a number of empty binders that I was no longer using. Seeing this accumulation of treasures, my then 6-year-old daughter asked me for them so she could “play school.” [Now she teaches English at a middle school in […]

Sermon: The Message of the Cross – Grace

The Message of the Cross: Grace John 1:14-17 January 25, 2015 The story (I assume it’s apocryphal, but who knows…) is told about a woman who went to a photographer to get a portrait done. She was anticipating the day when he would call her back to see the result of his work on her […]

The grand reason why all things work for good

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from All Things for Good, chapter 3: “Why All Things Work for Good.” 1. The grand reason why all things work for good, is the near and dear interest which God has in His people. […]

When I consider Your heavens

O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease. When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, […]

The blessings of having God as our Father

As believers we acknowledge that God is our Father, but that reality too often feels inadequate to us. We would rather have a loving father with flesh — a human daddy — than a heavenly Father. I have heard it said on multiple occasions, “I know God loves me, but I want my dad…” Yet […]

Sermon: Pray in this way

Pray in This Way Matthew 6:9-15 January 18, 2015 At the beginning of a new year, we often engage in self-evaluation — Perhaps you have an annual physical like I did this week. You may evaluate the state of your marriage and home — “how are the children or grandchildren doing and how effective are […]

The repentant are sin-haters

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is from The Doctrine of Repentance, chapter 4: “The Nature of True Repentance.” The fifth ingredient in repentance is hatred of sin. The Schoolmen distinguished a two-fold hatred: hatred of abominations, and hatred of enmity. Firstly, there […]

Sin is not liberating

Sin is not liberating. People will say it is liberating. Advertisers will attempt to convince you it is liberating. Those who engage in habitual sin will assert that Christians who follow the way of Christ are in bondage and enslavement. Sinners will smile, laugh, and appear joyful when engaging in sinful behavior, asserting that they […]

Sermon: What Will You Do with God’s Word?

What Will You Do with God’s Word? Psalm 119:41-48 January 11, 2015 In one of our early years of marriage, Raye Jeanne was trying to be creative with her cooking and trying to come up with some healthier options that tasted similar to some of our favorite meals. And so one night she put a […]

It was wonderful that Christ would die for us

Wednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from The Lord’s Supper, Chapter 4: “Christ’s Love Displayed in the Sacrament.” Behold the amazing love of Christ. His body was broken. The cross, says St Augustine, was a pulpit in which Christ preached his […]

We glorify God by being contented

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, Part I: “Man’s Chief End.” We glorify God, by being contented in that state in which Providence has placed us. We give God the glory of his wisdom, when we rest […]

Setting goals?

The beginning of January is typically a time when people set new goals for the coming year. And generally they are akin to some kind of self-improvement project: lose weight, save some amount of money, spend more time with family, get spiritual, and meet an achievement at work or school. If you are among those […]

He explains the Father

What is God the Father like? John 1:18 tells us that no one can see God and live. So we cannot know the fullness of God. It is impossible for us to know God. Except Christ came for the express purpose of revealing the nature and character of God to us. So because of Christ […]

He came to explain the Father

The following is a manuscript of the Christmas Eve message I gave tonight. After my junior year in college I got a job working in a hardware store and lumberyard. While “fix-it” projects had always intrigued me, I really knew nothing about what I was selling. And our store had one particular customer who seemed […]

Why was it useful that Jesus Christ was made flesh?

This is a bonus edition of Wednesdays with Watson — a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is taken from A Body of Divinity, Part IV: “The Covenant of Grace and Its Mediator;” it follows this morning’s post, “Why was Jesus Christ made flesh?” Use one: Of instruction. (1.) […]