The Wonderful Christololgy of Thomas Goodwin
"Thy misery can never exceed His [Christ's] mercy. . . . Therefore let neither [sin nor misery] discourage any from coming unto Christ for grace and mercy."
Goodwin labors to show us, Christ’s church, especially from the Book of Hebrews, that our Messiah is very active in heaven for His people on earth; and that, in His human nature, He sympathizes with us and shares our griefs and sorrows (and joys). Goodwin teaches that Jesus Christ, as God’s Great High Priest, given... Continue Reading
Fathers: An Endangered Species
God intended fathers to have both a position of great honor and awesome responsibility.
As much as children need their mothers, God implanted a divine need in the heart of children for a father who is more than a passing contributor to their existence. A child who can look up to, love and respect his or her father is well on the way to a healthy and successful emotional... Continue Reading
Daddy’s Here
When explanations fail, that Voice still calls to His children. Perhaps that's why those words still move us after all these years: "Daddy's here;. Daddy's here."
A father forms. He blesses. He corrects. He protects. He teaches. He commissions. With a word, he can instill courage or fear. He can strengthen a child for the journey ahead or leave wounds that linger for decades. A father’s voice can penetrate places explanations never can. Father’s Day can be complicated. For some,... Continue Reading
The Importance of Preaching God’s Severity According to John Owen
God is not mocked.
There is a proneness in corrupted nature to despise the riches of the goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering of God, not knowing that the goodness of God leads them to repentance, and thereon after their hardness and impenitent heart treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath, as our apostle speaks (Rom. 2:4–5). Considering... Continue Reading
The Reformation at 500: Luther’s Wasted Year?
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
In spite of all appearances during that year of waiting in the shadows, God was not finished with Luther, and Luther was not finished with the Reformation. To quote a popular line, things were not falling apart—they were merely falling into place. I love studying the Reformation at this season of the year.... Continue Reading
A Slippery Slope: Rio Grande Presbytery’s Suspension of a Serving Pastor
It appears to me that the suspension of TE Garris is just one more example of the “Cancel Culture” trend infecting the church.
Is such language to be no longer permitted when discussing serious matters with meaningful consequences? As all adults should know, the ability freely to engage in sometimes difficult discussions with one another—especially peers—is part-and-parcel for a society in which civil and religious liberties exist and thrive. The recent decision of the PCA’s Rio Grande... Continue Reading
Steve Mcqueen: Born Again, Set Free
When the king of cool met the King of kings, he fell to his knees.
Steve McQueen reportedly left life with a bible given to him by Billy Graham. According to his wife, he read it daily. Why? Because he had a new heart, new affections, new loves. He knew the Savior and had been adopted by God. Steve McQueen made The Great Escape. But he was sprung by... Continue Reading
Dying in Public: The Witness of Ben Sasse
Sasse has always had a strong sense of vocation and believes he still has work to do, difficult as it is.
The truth is, “It is appointed unto men once to die” (Hebrews 9:27). The way Sasse has stewarded this physical trial reminds Christians that we have all been entrusted with a brief window in which to live. Though our death may not be as public as his, our faith certainly can be. Landry observed that... Continue Reading
The American Revolution: The Dominion Of Providence Over The Affairs Of Men
Today is the 250th Anniversary of one of the most important sermons of the Revolutionary War.
Witherspoon observed that Divine Providence can at times be obvious but that it can also be subtle and almost hidden. Then, people must pause and ponder to discern God’s work. Sometimes this work comes through favorable circumstances and other times through challenges, but God is accomplishing His aims. Serious minds he concludes benefit greatly from... Continue Reading
The Soldier God Refused to Forget
Not all memorials are granite. In the genealogy of Christ, God preserved the name of a faithful soldier.
God preserved the name David tried to bury. Every Memorial Day, I think about that. Uriah has now been remembered for nearly three thousand years, not because kings honored him properly. His own king had him killed. But God refused to let him disappear. And Uriah was not even an Israelite by birth. He was... Continue Reading