While Jesus was biologically Mary’s son, He was the adopted son of Joseph. Joseph was in the royal line of the Kings of Judah. After David, Joseph was in the line of Solomon. It was necessary that Jesus be adopted into the regal line so that He might have a real and legal right to the throne of David. As the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, it was necessary that one from the royal line serve as His adopted human father.

The whole goal is to “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 5:16). Perhaps God will give you the opportunity to share the gospel with them. If not this Christmas, maybe next. Keep praying for their salvation. Who knows, God may do something in the future that will make them open to the good news of Jesus Christ.

Quit complaining. Something will go wrong this Christmas. Someone will hurt your feelings. Your parent’s house will be too hot. Your brothers house will be too cold. A meal will be barely edible. Your obnoxious friends will be extra obnoxious. Still, God is more pleased with gratitude than with grumbling. If we learn to overlook a few offenses we’ll be happier too.

But God also has a “Good Works Planning Department.” He has not only planned our salvation, but also all the good works that follow our salvation. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

If man’s chief end is to glorify God, surely that must be the goal of every sermon – to move people to worship. A sermon is not a lecture; it’s not about putting across mere information. Of course preaching requires the communication of information, but we mustn’t stop there. We want the people of God to encounter God in preaching as his word goes forth. J.I. Packer once wrote: ‘The proper aim of preaching is to mediate meetings with God.’

Christian, you must expect to be hated today for the same reason. Your goodness unmasks the badness of the unbelievers around you. Your light illumines their darkness. Your truth exposes their error. Your holiness declares their depravity. Your life stands in judgment of them, it convicts them of their guilt, it shows them who God expects them to be. And all of this is true even though you are so far from perfect, even though so much of the old man remains.

Marshall, of course, was not the first one to address this objection and his answer was in tune with those who had gone before him. He noted that it was illegitimate to argue from baptism to the Lord’s Supper because the two sacraments are not identical. In other words, comparing baptism with the Lord’s Supper is like comparing apples with oranges. Yes, both apples and oranges are fruit, but they are significantly different kinds of fruit. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are both sacraments of the new covenant but they differ in important respects so that only the former is suitable for infants.

“Far as the curse is found.” Like the spring thaw, turning sheets of ice into fresh running water, the power of God will extend to every square inch of this world and turn every curse into a blessing. The tube-fed will enjoy home cooking. The wheelchair bound will go waterskiing and climb mountains. Those who... Continue Reading

There are hundreds of thousands of children who are refugees and victims from the war on marriage, the attack on humanity, coming because of humanities pride and arrogance in seeking to go against the Maker’s instructions.  Who is counting the cost of the social disintegration that is occurring because of the foolish attempt not only... Continue Reading

We give our best and most creative energies to teaching God’s people almost everything except the person and work of our Lord and Savior. This should cause us considerable alarm, for there is reason to fear that our failure here has reached epidemic proportions. We need to return to a true preaching to the heart,... Continue Reading