Prayer may sit on your conscience, but it isn’t complaining. It remains on the list of tasks for the day, but those who are not prayed for are unaware that they are forgotten. As other demands steal our attention, prayer gets pushed to the background. Many pastors, myself included, will go week after week until... Continue Reading

I believe the hope in moving forward and breaking the Jezebel brand on black women is found in the Gospel.  By affirming their identity in Christ, black women can learn they are not simply sexual tools made to be sexploited by the hands of selfish men.  They are beautiful women made in the image and... Continue Reading

In the midst of temptation you will hear the words of doubt again, “Did God really say?” You and I need to be ready to muzzle the serpent with truth. Continue to tutor yourself with the reality that God’s Word is in fact God’s Word. Do this in the good times as well as the... Continue Reading

What then do good works do in our salvation? In the first instance they remind us of God’s mercy and grace toward us in Christ (3.14.18). In the second case they are “fruits” of his efficacious call (3.14.19). We “take the fruits of regeneration (ex regenerationis fructibus) as proof of the indwelling of the Holy... Continue Reading

We may think that by removing the offense and making all of our corporate worship apart from a portion of the sermon as normal as possible we will be able to make the gospel more approachable, more appealing. But we can’t. If we try to, we do not even achieve what we are seeking to... Continue Reading

The whole situation is so depressing that, like Luther, I cry:  “I had utterly despaired had not Christ been head of the church” And there is the solution. I believe in Jesus. I believe he is the Saviour who died for the sins of the world. And I also believe that he is the Head of the... Continue Reading

The tongue can be a spark and set a soul on fire for God. The tongue can be like a bit in a horse’s mouth used to change the entire direction of our neighbor’s day or life. Like a rudder on a ship or a bullet from a gun, the tongue can do a world of good... Continue Reading

We need to stop treating the church this way. The church is a body, not a drive-through. It is a group of living people. The church is a spiritual place, not a social club. When we come on the Lord’s Day, we need to expect that God is going to meet with us in the... Continue Reading

The doctrines of grace show us what we are and what we truly deserve. They therefore humble us, bring us low, puncture pride, eliminate self-righteousness, drive us from self-sufficiency, and silence all boasting. As the Apostle said: “No flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Cor. 1:29).   The doctrines of grace are not just... Continue Reading

“The central emphasis on fruit in the New Testament has to do with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. This is the fruit of a changed life, a changed character, a character that is strengthened and nurtured by the source of holiness, Christ Himself.”   “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes... Continue Reading