Sunday Leftovers: Our place in the world

One of my favorite commentaries as I have studied the book of 1 John has been David Jackman’s The Message of John’s Letters. Repeatedly, Jackman has synthesized a passage and drawn out its relevance for today’s church. This was true again this week as he related the truth about the world, its ruler Satan, and […]

Sermon: We Know

We Know… 1 John 5:18-21 August 24, 2014 We don’t often like to admit it, but most of us are pretty ignorant most of the time about most things. We don’t know nearly as much as we’d like to convince people we do know. Our children ask us questions about the way things operate — […]

Should you fast?

In recent years, there have been numerous books written on the Biblical practice of fasting. I have read at least one of those books. I have also read numerous chapters, articles, and blog posts about the practice. And I have heard many conversations about the practice of fasting. And it seems to me that too […]

Sunday Leftovers: Unrighteousness is sin…all unrighteousness

In his first letter, several times John makes the statement that sin is unrighteousness. No where does he say it more clearly than in 5:17 — “all unrighteousness is sin.” Our tendency is to read that statement, reflect on it for a moment, devise a list of sins in our heads (some of which may […]

Sermon: Sin and Death…and Grace

Sin and Death…and Grace 1 John 5:16-17 August 17, 2014 I was listening to a couple of interviews of some pastors and counselors recently and the interviewer asked two different panels a question that I have asked others a great many times: “what do you think is the greatest need or problem in the church […]

Reading Lamentations

The book of Lamentations is very closely associated with the book of Jeremiah, as they both deal with the destruction of Jerusalem: Jeremiah as a prophetical warning, Lamentations as a lament after the fall. The poetry is important in interpreting the book as it highly corresponds to the message, which is that although the people […]

Why does God listen to your prayers?

God is a prayer-hearing God. He hears the prayers of His people (1 Jn. 5:14). And that does not mean that He has an ability to audibly comprehend the sounds being made by our voices. For God to hear our prayers means that God responds to our prayers with action. He is favorable to us, […]

It’s hard to trust God

I sympathize with those who find it difficult to trust God in adversity. I have been there often enough myself to know something of the distress, the despair, and the darkness that fills our souls when we wonder if God truly cares about our plight. I have spent a good portion of my adult life […]

Praying in Jesus’ name

To pray “in Jesus’ name” (Jn. 14:13) does not mean that Jesus is bound to answer our requests the way we want. It is not a set of magic words that constrict God from acting according to His will. In fact, to pray, “in Jesus’ name” is to request the will of God above all […]

Sunday Leftovers: You can pray

Because the believer in Christ is secure in his salvation, he can be sure that God has saved and will save Him through eternity (1 Jn. 5:13). But that’s not the only benefit of salvation; because the believer is saved, he also can be confident in going to God in prayer, not withholding anything from […]

Sermon: Pray with Confidence

Pray with Confidence 1 John 5:14-15 August 10, 2014 When a new college graduate takes his first job, one of his concerns will be, “what kind of benefit package do you have?” He wants to know what added privileges there are for working in this job — is there health care and a retirement package […]

Reading Habakkuk

One of the most repeated sentences by young children is, “it’s not fair…” As in, It’s not fair that my brother can stay up later than me. It’s not fair that dad’s piece of pie is bigger than mine. It’s not fair that I can’t watch that movie. It’s not fair that he broke my […]

Kindle book sale

If you own a Kindle or use Kindle software on another device to read books, this is a good week to purchase books, as there are a great many excellent deals on books this week/month. Tim Challies has compiled a long list of these books; among the ones at the top of my list are: […]

Watch your heart

[Keeping the heart] is the hardest work; heart-work is hard work indeed: to shuffle over religious duties with a loose and heedless spirit, will cost no great pains; but to set thyself before the Lord, and tie up thy loose and vain thoughts to a constant and serious attendance upon him; this will cost thee […]

Is God alive?

“They decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can […]