Sunday Leftovers: the deity of Christ

From the opening verses of John’s gospel, a number of truths about Christ are readily apparent: Jesus Christ has eternally existed. Jesus Christ has eternally existed alongside God the Father. Jesus Christ is Himself God, with the Father. Jesus Christ is the originator of all things. Jesus Christ is life and is the source of […]

Life in heaven

Throughout Revelation, the reader is given glimpses of life in heaven is like. Among these images is one given in chapter 7 during the interlude between the coming sixth and seventh seal judgments. A large multitude of people who had been redeemed from every nation on earth surrounding the throne of God saying, “Salvation to […]

Needed: Bible Intake

It’s one thing to be unfamiliar with Scripture when you don’t own a Bible; it’s another thing when you have a bookshelf full. No Spiritual Discipline is more important than the intake of God’s Word. Nothing can substitute for it. There simply is no healthy Christian life apart from a diet of the milk and […]

The great delusion

There are many confusions about God. There are many truths about Christianity that have been confused and perverted so that too many people are deceived and deluded about the realities of God and His Word. But one delusion stands above the rest: God is love and that means that He could never be angry against […]

Holy, holy, holy

In the year 739 B.C., Isaiah had the vision of God’s throne where he saw angels surrounding that ultimate source of rule and authority. And those angels had one declaratory message: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” (Is 6:3) More than 800 years later, the […]

He is worthy

We know that God does not share His glory with another (Is. 42:8). But a careful reading of that verse reveals that the Father is not saying that He does not share His glory with anyone else, but that He does not share His glory with another besides His chosen One, His Servant, the Messiah […]

Are you listening? Part 2

In Revelation 2-3 Jesus Christ sends a series of letters to seven churches in Asia Minor. These churches are intended to awaken them from a variety of states of spiritual slumber, and while most offer some form of commendation, the primary intent is to address sins in the churches that are worth of Christ’s condemnation […]

Free audio book: God Is in the Manger

This month’s free audio book at Christian Audio is Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas. “There are only two places where the powerful and great in this world lose their courage, tremble in the depths of their souls, and become truly afraid. These are the manger and the cross […]

Are you listening?

When our girls were little and we needed to talk to them about some form of conduct that needed correction, they would often offer some kind of defense, “But Dad, I…” They wouldn’t be far into their apologetic before I would raise my hand in the universal signal of “stop,” and then look directly into […]

At Last

Jared Wilson reflects on the joy of a groom seeing his bride for the first time on their wedding day: The first song ever sung (by man, anyway) is a love song. Smitten by the vision of his bride for the first time, music erupts from his mouth. And there is the foretaste in this […]

Essentials Conference Registration

From Countryside Bible Church: No Biblical command is more widely accepted and yet more routinely disobeyed than Christ’s command to make disciples! Evangelism – communicating the gospel to the lost people around us – is not optional. It’s not a special gift Christ gives only to a select few. Although some are more gifted and […]

The terror of Jesus Christ

Read many contemporary books about Jesus Christ and they will paint a picture of One who is a friendly buddy, or a permissive and non-threatening boss, or a kind, passive, and undemanding husband. But the apostle John paints a different picture of Christ in Revelation 1. He: is the faithful witness (v. 5) is the […]

An unusual commendation?

We all like to be complimented. We identify with the boy who said to his father, “Dad, let’s play darts. I’ll throw. And you say, ‘great shot!’” We want people to say we’ve done a job well, that we look good for our age, that it looks like we’ve lost a few pounds, that our […]

Contending with Christianity’s Critics

Several weeks ago, our church went to a conference hosted by Watermark Community Church, “Contending with Christianity’s Critics: Answering New Atheists and Other Objectors.” The audio and video from that conference is now available on Watermark’s website. You can download or view/listen online to all seven of the messages: “The Importance of Apologetics for Every […]

When it’s wise to be inhospitable

I grew up in a home where we often had others into our home for the purpose of fellowship and hospitality. In serving as a pastor for more than 20 years now, my wife and I have always sought opportunities to spend time with people inside and outside our church body to cultivate relationships and […]