Christ’s death and God’s will

George Smeaton, The Apostles Doctrine of the Atonement: Peter intimates that God subjected Him to death, and that He was not properly overcome by His enemies, — that it was the will of God, His determinate counsel or plan, that Messiah should be delivered as a malefactor into the hands of men, and be put […]

Who killed Jesus?

The cross of Christ is repugnant to many. Polly Toynbee, one of the most well-known opinion columnists in Great Britain and leader of the British Humanist Association, reviewed the 2005 movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In an article subtly entitled, “Narnia Represents Everything That Is Most Hateful about […]

Every time we look at the cross…

John Stott: Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, “I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.” Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size […]

It’s good to be hungry

“And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” (Deut. 8:3; NASB) […]

The 10 commandments

It has often been observed that the ten commandments are given in two “tables” — that is, there are two primary sections of commandments, with the first four governing a man’s relationship with God and the second six governing a man’s relationships with other men. It is also significant that each of the Old Testament […]

Understanding Deuteronomy

This week we began reading the book of Deuteronomy. In this book, Moses recounts for Israel the giving of the Law and recites the history of the nation in living Egypt so that they will not forget the truth that obedience to God is their singular priority (4:9, 23, 31; 6:12, 13-15; 8:11, 14, 19; […]

New issue of Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

The new issue of The Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is now available online. Articles can be read and downloaded for free. Articles that appeared particularly interesting to me were “The Problem of Pornography: Why It’s Wrong and How to Help” by Heath Lambert and “Marriage in the Cosmic Plan of God” by Tony […]

Sermons from Jerry Bridges

I haven’t listened to these yet, but the titles would indicate that these sermons by Jerry Bridges would be worth hearing: Train yourself for godliness Learning to preach the gospel to yourself every day An explanation of “union with Christ” for the new believer Counsel for stuck-in-the-mud Christians Five life truths learned from over six […]

The forgiveness of God

Stephen Charnock: If God did delight in the death of Christ, it was not surely simply in his death; for could a father delight to tear out the bowels of his son? The afflictions of his people go to his heart; much more would the sufferings of his darling. God had more delight in forgiveness […]

Pardon from sin

Stephen Charnock: [When a sinner is pardoned] the greatest evil is taken away, sin, and the dreadful consequents of it. Other evils are temporal, but those know no period in a doleful eternity. There is more evil in sin, than good in all the creatures. Sin stripped the fallen angels of their excellency, and dispossessed […]

Understanding Numbers

The last couple of weeks, we have been reading the book of Numbers, which is one of the Old Testament books that people are prone to skipping or skimming because it is not readily understood. Because of that, I thought a chart of the book might be helpful to comprehending the contents and flow of […]

Sunday Leftovers — Beyond Forgiveness

Genuine and complete forgiveness is more than just transacting forgiveness. There are further implications when we forgive those who sin against us. Forgiveness means that we will go beyond what is “required” (Philemon 21). Remember, forgiveness is granted in two ways: forgiveness is transacted when a sinner confesses his sin to the one he has […]

Your motive matters

Almost three decades ago, when I was a first or second-year seminary student, a retired pastor in our congregation pulled me to the side in the foyer one Sunday morning. “I have a question for you,” he said. And pointing his finger somewhat aggressively towards me, he asked, “why do you do what you do?” […]

Shepherds’ Conference audio

All the audio for last week’s Shepherds’ Conference at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA has been posted. Because of a funeral I had to do for a family member, I was only able to attend portions of the conference, but from the messages I heard, the ones by Tom Pennington on prayer and […]

Who decides?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been collecting articles that indicate moral dilemmas and debates in our culture. The spectrum of articles I’ve seen is broad. In January, the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision was marked. Those on either side of the debate are seemingly becoming more entrenched in their positions. The […]