Sunday Leftovers: marks of repentance

The believer is to forgive anyone who comes to him for forgiveness — and whenever he comes to him for forgiveness (Lk. 17:3). Yet it is always easier to forgive someone who is repentant and broken for their sin. But what does repentance look like? The apostle Paul commends the Corinthians for their repentance and […]

Consider your own death

What would you do and how would you act if you considered your imminent death? Specifically, what kind of evangelist would you be if you were convinced of your soon physical demise? Such a consideration would likely stimulate you and me to greater boldness in evangelism, which was the point of Joseph Alleine, a Puritan […]

Free audio book by Wendell Berry

Last year I listened to Wendell Berry’s Hannah Coulter (available at Christian Audio for only $4.98). It was a delightful and wonderful book — one of my favorite non-theological books I’ve read in a long time. And this month, ChristianAudio is giving away Wendell Berry’s Jayber Crow. I’ve not read or listened to this book, […]

Theology deals for your Kindle

Several excellent theological resources are available for a short time for your Kindle — many of them published by Crossway. Consider these examples: A God Entranced Vision of All Things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards ed. by John Piper & Justin Taylor ($1.99) Jonathan Edwards and Justification ed. by Josh Moody ($3.99) God’s Grand Design […]

Recent Sermons

The Recent Sermons page of my blog was recently updated. On that page you can listen to or download recent sermons. A much greater archive of sermons is kept on the church audio page and document page (for outlines).

Sunday Leftovers: more on confession and 1 John 1:9

In 1 John 1:9, the beloved disciple reminds believers that “If (when) we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Most believers are quite familiar with this verse, but what does it really mean to confess our sins? What is confession? What should […]

Preparing for a sermon on 1 John 1:9

This afternoon I’ve been thinking about tomorrow’s sermon on 1 John 1:9. This may be one of the most well-known verses in Scripture, behind perhaps John 3:16, Psalm 23, and Genesis 1:1. It’s easy to miss the importance of a passage because of our familiarity. How can we prepare to hear this familiar word in […]

The blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin

When it comes to blood, I am squeamish. On two separate occasions I’ve almost fainted while making a pastoral hospital visit. When a hospital scene comes up in a television show, I always avert my eyes. When someone wants to show off a scar or wound, I ask not to be shown. Yet there is […]

What should we think about yesterday’s Supreme Court decisions?

Yesterday the Supreme Court of the United States handed down two significant rulings concerning homosexual marriage. What should we think about them? First of all, Joe Carter tells us, “9 Things You Should Know About the Supreme Court’s Same-Sex Marriage Cases.” His article helps to simplify the complexity of these cases and provides an overview […]

What God has done

For the past two days, I have been meditating on the first part of Ps. 40:5 — Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us… The words are penned by David and I have pondered what kinds of things he might have contemplated as he considered […]

11 reasons to read Revelation

The book of Revelation, along with some of the OT prophetic books is among the most daunting books for believers to read. While the overall message of Revelation is clear (judgment is coming!), yet the meaning of the particulars in the book is sometimes more difficult to discern. So we are tempted to skip reading […]

It happens every day

It happened every fall. I worked as a pool cleaner while in seminary and as soon as the weather got too cool to swim, to save a couple of dollars, a few customers would request to have their pools covered and winterized and their service discontinued until the spring. We would show up to do […]

Our God who hears our prayers

Virtually every believer will acknowledge that he does not pray enough. We don’t pray for a variety of reasons. And one of those reasons is that we do not think highly enough about God who hears our prayers. We have a deficient functional theology. Oh, we would likely say the right words about God and […]

Sin is not master

John Murray, Redemption, Accomplished and Applied: There must be a constant and increasing appreciation that though sin still remains it does not have the mastery. There is a total difference between surviving sin and reigning sin, the regenerate in conflict with sin and the unregenerate complacent to sin. It is one thing for sin to […]

Sunday Leftovers: four reasons for hope for the believer who sins

Toxicologists Frank LoVecchio and Jeffrey Suchard of the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix conducted a study a few years ago and discovered that 15% of Arizona rattlesnake attacks occurred after the snakes had been mortally shot, bludgeoned, or even beheaded. One man shot and decapitated a snake, then waited five minutes before picking […]