Inexpensive ebooks by J. I. Packer

Each week Crossway has a sale on some of its ebooks; this week the offering is a package of four books by J. I. Packer: Weakness Is the Way: Life with Christ Our Strength Finishing Our Course with Joy: Guidance from God for Engaging with Our Aging Taking God Seriously: Vital Things We Need to […]

Sermon: Discerning the Spirits

Discerning the Spirits 1 John 4:1-6 May 11, 2014 On this day that we recognize our mothers — and the mothers of our children — we recognize the uniqueness of a mother’s role. And as you have reflected on the way your mother has influenced you, perhaps you’re asking the question today, “what makes my […]

Dr. Pentecost’s memorial service

Here is the video of the memorial service that was held for Dr. P — J. Dwight Pentecost — at Dallas Theological Seminary on Wednesday afternoon: J. Dwight Pentecost Tribute (1915–2014) | Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS).

John Calvin’s last will and testimony

I give thanks to God that, taking compassion on me whom he had created and placed in this world, he delivered me by his power out of the deep darkness of idolatry, into which I was plunged, that he might bring me into the light of his gospel, and make me a partaker of the […]

Repentance and the grace of God

If we understand that no man will ever genuinely repent without the grace of God changing his heart, then we will not feel that we have to dilute the demands of the gospel. We will put our confidence in God. We will remember that, if God is displeased with us, He will not bless us. […]

Who made David do what he did?

Late in David’s life, he make a foolish and sinful decision. You would expect a man to mature with age and his decision-making to become more God-honoring the older he gets, and in some regards, that was the way David lived. But not on this day. As David prepared to transition the kingdom of Israel […]

Sunday Leftovers: what in the world is the Holy Spirit doing?

In one of his books, R. C. Sproul quotes a portion of Martin Luther’s final sermon — something preached just days prior to his death in 1546. Among those final words, Luther said: In times past, we would have run to the ends of the world if we had known of a place where we […]

Sermon: What in the world is the Spirit doing today?

What in the World is the Spirit Doing Today? John 16:5-11 May 4, 2014 We live in a crazy world. I know it’s always been that way. But it certainly seems to be getting worse, doesn’t it? It is easy to look at the world and shake one’s head in disbelief at what is happening. […]

Free audio book – Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

This month Christian Audio is making J. I. Packer’s classic work, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God available as a free download. Just go to Christian Audio, enter your email address and download. It’s that simple. (Of course, then you also need to listen to the book to benefit from it!) To whet your appetite, […]

The spiritual gifts

The New Testament provides instruction about spiritual gifts in four primary passages: Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4. The lists in each of these chapters differ both in content and length. But it is the shortest reference to spiritual gifts that helps us to understand the structure and nature of […]

Real spiritual growth is downward

“Humility is the product of ongoing repentance as one decides against, turns from, and by watching and praying seeks to steer clear of pride in all its forms. And as the battle against pride in the heart is lifelong, so humility should become an ever more deeply seated attitude of living at the disposal of […]

Dr. P in glory

Apart from my father, the man who personally influenced me the most in my preparation for ministry was J. Dwight Pentecost. Yesterday, three days after turning 99, he entered the presence of his beloved Lord and Savior. Dr. P, as he was affectionately known by all, was the first pastor I remember having. He was […]

Sunday Leftovers: the gifts of the Holy Spirit (tongues)

This morning we considered the sign gifts — the gifts given by the Holy Spirit that were to authenticate the apostolic and prophetic message and messengers — and particularly the gift of tongues, which is the most commonly practiced sign gift today. It is impossible to consider all the biblical teaching on the subject in […]

Sermon: The Gifts of the Spirit (tongues)

The Gifts of the Spirit, Pt. 3 1 Corinthians 14:1-28 April 27, 2014 Over the past two months, we’ve taken a brief excursus from our study of 1 John to study the work of the Holy Spirit. We did this because in 3:24 it says, “We know by this that He abides in us, by […]

Preparing for communion

In tomorrow morning’s worship service we will remember the death and resurrection of Christ through communion. Paul exhorts the Corinthian believers (1 Cor. 11:23-34) to examine themselves before taking the elements so that they do not take them in an unworthy manner and in so doing, invite the judgment of God on themselves. So self-examination […]