What Every New Christian Needs From You
Well, to state the obvious, they need the gospel
“They need to be shown that the message which led them to Christ is the genuinely central message of the New Testament. So show them it again and again, from different books and different authors. If you’re meeting up regularly (and you should), take them on a tour of key verses.” I remember strapping... Continue Reading
Are We Allergic to Insignificance?
Jesus is telling a bunch of ambitious men who were hungry for power and significance in His kingdom that to actually get into the kingdom they must become relatively insignificant
“Jesus flips everything on its head. Jesus puts this little boy in the center and tells his disciples they need to become like a child, otherwise they will never enter the kingdom. Forget about being the secretary of defense; you won’t even get in without becoming like a child.” Can you imagine if all... Continue Reading
The Morning Before a Sexual Fall
How the battle for purity is lost
“Even in a society dominated by images and video, words remain the battleground for sexual purity. Every illicit image whispers a lie and makes a promise it cannot keep. By listening to the words of God and knowing him with fear and affection, we are prepared to prove that sexual sin’s promises are untrustworthy and... Continue Reading
Does God Really Invite Everyone?
By God’s grace, He calls people from every corner of the world to believe in His Son
“Everyone in the whole world is invited. All races, nations, ethnicities, and kinds of people are invited. There is no one who is too different, too sinful, too good, or too disabled who is not invited by Christ’s call to come and feast with him.” And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those... Continue Reading
The Greatest Cure for Pastoral Burnout Is Christ Himself
The Puritans knew first-hand the challenges and toilsome labors that accompany faithful gospel ministry
“So what do the Puritans have to say to the weary, exhausted, discouraged pastor? Look to Christ. By faith, look to Jesus Christ, the One who is mighty and glorious and whose steadfast love is better than life. Out of a love for the glory of God, the word of God, and the people of God, the... Continue Reading
The Cross and the Believer’s Home
Jesus went to the cross to prepare a final home for believers in the new heavens and new earth.
As He approached Jerusalem and the sufferings that He was about to endure there, Jesus told His disciples: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go... Continue Reading
Great Guilt, Greater Grace!
Our Saviour gave Himself, and ascended to the heights to apply God's grace to us.
The primary consideration in the description of biblical guilt, is not that we feel subjectively guilty (whether the accusation is false, unproven or confirmed), but that, in the eyes of the LORD we are ACTUALLY, objectively and legally guilty before the Law. Absence or presence of feelings at this point are irrelevant. Sin, as an... Continue Reading
Our Cross
The pattern of Christian sanctification is connected to the experience of the cross – namely, our spiritual life is connected to suffering and weakness.
There are many who view sanctification as primarily a matter of human exertion. It is very natural for us to want to sanctify ourselves – to cultivate a sense of spiritual independence and self-sufficiency so that we can be in control of our spiritual lives. We are tempted to glorify the life of the victorious,... Continue Reading
Israel’s Golden Calf Idolatry
How Our Culture Perverts Our Understanding of Yahweh and His Ways
Did the Israelites really believe that something they built with their own hands turned the Nile to blood and destroyed all the firstborn of Egypt? Indeed, the Israelites seem less-than-intelligent to many modern readers. Were they that senseless, or are we as modern readers missing something when we read the story? “How could they... Continue Reading
It Pleased God…to Create
The creation is predicated upon the divine pleasure, or will, to create, as mysterious as that is to us.
Creation is, again, not necessary for God. God’s creative love is not ‘a love which is needy and in want’ and so ‘loves in such a way that it is subjected to the things it loves’; God loves not ‘out of compulsion of his needs’ but ‘out of the abundance of his generosity’ [quoting Augustine].... Continue Reading