The endurance of the faith, the endurance which holds to His gifts in the midst of a world that does not care, nor support, or even outright rejects your faith, is to receive all He promises. The way of endurance is the very thing you are doing right now, gathering around His gifts, confessing your... Continue Reading

ALL of life–in heaven or on earth–now centers on The God/Man who now rules and reigns from His church kingdom, in heaven and on earth.  Jesus Christ is the heart of the Sabbath (and everything else); and His resurrection on the first day of the week has now forever “wrenched” His true church from the... Continue Reading

He opened my eyes. All of the things my parents had taught me. All of the verses I had memorized. It all suddenly clicked. I actually believed it. I didn’t have the theology for it at the time, but I got saved. It wasn’t in some dramatic moment. I didn’t pray a prayer. I didn’t... Continue Reading

Paul told Timothy to “rightly handle the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). That includes understanding when a passage fits into God’s plan. If we make straight-line application from Old Testament Israel to the church, or apply promises made to David directly to ourselves without understanding their ultimate fulfilment in Christ, we miss the deeper... Continue Reading

Your words can either kill or heal. Imagine someone thrusting a sword into your chest and piercing your heart. That’s a grisly image. Proverbs 12:18 says, “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Wouldn’t you rather soothe someone’s heart with your words than stab... Continue Reading

“Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery” (Exodus 6:9). “So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go in, tell Pharoah king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of the land’” (Exodus 6:10,11).   We’ve all heard,... Continue Reading

At any rate, the images are colorful. David speaks of a banquet in front of enemies, a head anointed with oil, a cup overflowing. Then, in his closing summary, David employs a vivid picture: personified goodness and mercy follow him “all the days” of his life. David’s poetry displays a grain and texture that draws... Continue Reading

We preach a Christ who overwhelms us, dazzles us, blows our minds, and causes our hearts to swell with affection.  Indeed, we show God’s people jewel after jewel after jewel found in the Lord Jesus.  The fountain never runs dry.  Introduction In a previous article we considered the precious privilege of preaching the unsearchable riches... Continue Reading

I should not be able to count the stars on a clear night. It should not be possible. Stars were never meant to be countable. They’re meant to overwhelm us, to remind us of how big the universe is and how small we are down here on our wet little garden rock. They’re meant to... Continue Reading

One of the biggest perks, I think, of being a pastor is having the privilege of administering the sacrament of baptism. I have had the joy of baptizing all three of my children. While I would have been happy to have our pastor baptize them, it’s a real joy to hold your child, pray for... Continue Reading