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 […]

Prideful or humble

The story Jesus tells in Luke 18 is not just about justification and how one can be justified (v. 14). It’s also about pride and humility; and Jesus’ purpose in telling the story is to expose the pride of the self-righteous Pharisees (v. 9). And that means this is a parable not only for unbelievers, […]

Free audio and ebook tracts

Christian audio is making a collection of 27 tracts from Crossway Good News Tracts available for free. These tracts come as both audio files (about 5 minutes each) and PDF files. I have not read them, but a glance through the titles and authors (and the publisher) makes me think these will largely be trustworthy […]

Communion an occasion of gratitude

To continue to prepare my heart for communion tomorrow morning, I read another chapter this evening from The Puritans on the Lord’s Supper. The chapter, “The Renewal of Our Christian Vows” by Edmund Calamy concludes with these paragraphs: Take care that the deepest thankfulness is a constant concomitant of all your renewed vows [in communion]. […]

The value of communion

At least once per month, most churches practice the ordinance of communion. Some partake of the bread and the cup weekly. For older believers who have been faithful in church participation, it is likely that they have taken communion hundreds of times, if not into the thousands. It might be tempting to wonder, “what’s the […]

“Prof” in the presence of the Lord

A man who influenced generations of students at Dallas Theological Seminary (e.g., he was both my professor and my father’s) — Howard Hendricks, known simply as “Prof” to his students — early this morning entered the presence of the Lord. The article on the DTS website captures the essence of Prof well, and brought numerous […]

She’s his princess, he’s her William

He says she’s his princess. And he also says that he’s her (Prince) William. A remarkable story of God’s grace, the gospel, and biblical love: HT: Challies

Reading the Pentateuch

This year our church is following an Old Testament reading plan — reading through the entire Old Testament chronologically, along with two of the Gospels. So these first months of the year, we are in the first five books of the Old Testament — the Pentateuch. For many books of the Bible, I have put […]

Just as the Lord commanded

Obedience is hard. We tend to do “kind-of obedience” — the kind of obedience that moves towards fulfilling the spirit of the law, but not the letter. Full obedience? That’s rare. Obedience that is complete, exact, to-the-letter, joyful, and non-resistant is unusual. We cut corners — “that’s close enough.” So driving 73 (or 75 or […]

“I don’t do blood”

I don’t do blood. Those real-life operating shows on TV? You’ve never seen anyone flip channels so fast! Dissections in my high school and college biology labs? Someone else had to do them. Emergency room and intensive care visitations? They better be quick — I’ve had more than one hospital room start “spinning” on me! […]

Rescued

Here is a story of rescue and redemption from the former senior pastor at Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Skip Ryan (he’s now an assoc. pastor there). It’s worth 15 minutes of your time to see how God redeems sin for our good and His glory: HT: Dane Ortlund.

Passover and communion

This morning I read again the account of the first Passover in Exodus 12. As Jesus makes clear (Mt. 26:2, 18-19; Lk. 22:15; see also 1 Cor. 5:7), there are obvious connections between the Jewish festival and the Christian church’s ordinance of communion. After reading the biblical account, I further refreshed my mind about the […]