Seek the Things that are Above
Four ways in which disciples of Christ should set their affections on things above and not on things that are on the earth.
Discipleship is impossible without the Word of Christ since Jesus said that making disciples fundamentally involves teaching them to observe all that he commanded. In order to observe Christ’s teaching, Christ’s teaching must dwell in us richly. One of the most well-known verses in all of Scripture about singing is found in Colossians 3:16.... Continue Reading
Whom Will You Call?
Jesus teaches us to end our prayers with an acknowledgement of qualification.
There’s no need to have any doubt about the God before whom we’ve laid all our petitions and requests. For He won’t fail or delay. But He will answer us. After all, says Jesus, the kingdom is his. He rules over everything; it’s all under his command. He can order anything to be done for... Continue Reading
Hospitality: A Command for Our Joy
Why Be Hospitable?
The same heart behind hospitality—whether to strangers or close friends—is also seen in the way we care for suffering Christians outside our homes as well, as we love our brethren and the outcast. Our motivation for hospitality should flow from the commands of Scripture, yes, but also from our desire to help and be involved... Continue Reading
A Man’s Work is for His People
Rightly Understanding the Quiet and Peaceable Life
The willingness of the men of Gad and Simeon to do their duty, and the blessing of the women being able to take on the responsibility of homesteading while their husbands and fathers are off fighting in the war for their countrymen’s freedom is a tale as old as time. Yet, it’s a perfect representation... Continue Reading
Enduring Trials
How should we as Christians respond to various trials?
God is our refuge and our strength. We are also reminded that God “tests the righteous.” Yes, we may – and do – suffer pain. Job suffered the loss of everything. Yet, from the hand of God, we are being strengthened, tempered, and refined. The testing from God is meant to prepare us and not to... Continue Reading
Troubles, Prayer, and Deliverance
Your constant privilege is prayer, to visit the throne of grace and wait upon our God.
The promise encourages us, the invitation allures us, but trouble impels us to call upon our God! Our troubles are frequently the instruments the Holy Spirit employs to carry on His sacred work in our hearts. By troubles, He empties us of self, weans us from the world, and endears Jesus and His salvation to us! Oh, believer, make use of your privilege in every... Continue Reading
25 Bible Passages about Truth
God leads us in his truth.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in... Continue Reading
Christ is the Start of All Inquiry
This world is not a machine, it’s a temple to God.
Think Christianly, friends. When you do, you’ll find that the world is not just an arrow pointing to the heavens but a gift from the hand of the God who loves you. Delight in it, explore it, discover it, conquer it, and exercise dominion over it. When you know how to look you’ll find that written... Continue Reading
Dwelling in His Presence
God's will is good, acceptable, and perfect.
What we need is not just a moment in His presence—a brief period in a worship service, Bible study, or prayer. We cherish these, but the settled victory comes as we learn to dwell—to stay—to remain in a stable or fixed position, not to be drawn away or distracted. Jesus called this “abiding.” The... Continue Reading
Justification and the God-Centered Gospel
To be justified means to be declared right with God by virtue of the remission of sins accomplished by Jesus.
The effect of the God-Centered Gospel is new life in those whom the Lord touches with His grace. Justification creates fellowship with God and other believers while sanctification results in them walking in the light down the narrow path of repentance. There will be good fruit produced by it. On the other hand, the Man-Centered... Continue Reading
The Desperate Hunt for Relevance will Render You Irrelevant in the End
The census found the number of people who identified with the Church of Scotland had slumped by more than a third over the decade.
Submitting the evidence of the church’s relevance, Rev David Cameron goes on to list a whole load of things the Church of Scotland does that one can access in any number of other places. That is to say, although it may offer some worthy things, they are not uniquely worthy things that can be found... Continue Reading
3 Things You Should Know about Habakkuk
Faith in God brings peace and leads to life.
Habakkuk’s message is a definitive response to the problem of sin that so troubled the prophet. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ reveal both the certainty of God’s final victory over evil and the possibility of salvation through His Messiah. In light of these truths, we can celebrate God’s patience in withholding judgment... Continue Reading
WCF 24: Of Marriage and Divorce
Why Should Anyone Marry?
God’s teaching on marriage and divorce can teach us to live not by our feelings but by the eternal word of God. It can help us practice real love and commitment. But marriage is not the ultimate source of love. An older single person once gave me a box of books. Tucked inside one book... Continue Reading
Grounding Our Expectations and Limitations in God’s Word
Growing in understanding of God’s expectations for us helps us to live them out in Christ-centered love.
We must look at God’s Word, ask God to give us the right desires, and examine our life circumstances and limitations and see what our service will look like. We may have expectations for ourselves, and others may have them for us, but we also are finite creatures with limitations. And these limitations mean that... Continue Reading
Your Righteousness is NOT Dependent on Your Works
The righteousness that we receive from God is not dependent on our works. Rather, it is dependent on the work of Christ.
By His grace, He clothes us with a robe a righteousness (Isa 61:10), not by our works, but by faith (Rom 4:5). Like Abraham who believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6), so we too place our trust in the Lord who declares us righteous. I want to give... Continue Reading
This is What You Were Made For: Genesis 1 & Your Calling
The cultural mandate, calls all Christians to partner with God in his work.
The idea behind the cultural mandate is that God entrusts us with something and expects us to do something worthwhile with it, something he finds valuable. This mandate implies an expectation of human achievement. “God has created us in his image so that we may carry out a task, fulfill a mission, pursue a calling.” —... Continue Reading
To Preserve a Man from the Pit: God’s Mercy in Ransom
Through the meritorious work of this ransom/mediator this once distraught person’s sin is forgiven and he is made an heir of eternal life according to the righteousness that God requires.
Elihu re-emphasizes the gratuitous nature of what God has provided and indeed accomplished for sinners in the great transaction of redeeming his soul from hell and granting him heaven (verses 29,30). Paul affirms his operation of redemptive intervention in writing, “He has translated us out of the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the... Continue Reading
The Unexpected Blessing of Your Child’s Besetting Sins
Our problem with sin is too big for us to handle on our own—we need a Savior.
Jesus came for the sick, for those who know themselves to be sinners in need of a Savior. He came for those who continue to struggle and repent and hope in him, day after day, year after year. He knew that saving us was not going to be a “one and done” kind of action,... Continue Reading
Statements of Faith
Evangelicals concerned with keeping the whole counsel of God are driving a renewal of interest in confessions.
Pastor Justin Perdue launched Theology Night in 2022, believing that “under the shag carpet of contemporary evangelical teaching lies a beautiful hardwood floor of confessional doctrine and the ancient creeds of the church.” He says the church movements of the 20th century have produced a generation of people who are “frustrated and disenchanted with the... Continue Reading
Finding Freedom in God’s Providence
Comfort and confidence in God’s word and wisdom.
We do not need to be paralyzed by fear of the unknown. Our sovereign Father, who created all things, upholds, directs, disposes, and governs all creatures. Our Lord’s providence covers all actions and things, from the greatest to the least, by His most wise and holy providence. Last week, during our vacation, my family... Continue Reading
True Shepherds Know Their Sheep
The sheep should have access to the shepherd.
Churches that have a true shepherd will be set up well to grow. They will see that their pastor has a hunger for the Scriptures, and this will encourage his congregants to have a hunger for the Scriptures as well. They will see a pastor who truly loves people, and this will encourage them to... Continue Reading
WCF 23: Of the Civil Magistrate
Scripture presents four big truths on the topic of government.
When Israel demanded a king other than God, the Lord warned that human government after the fall tends to overreach; Israel’s king would draft her men into armed service, and force other citizens into hard labor. He would confiscate the people’s land (1 Sam. 8:10–18). So it is today. This is the reality of life... Continue Reading
Everyone has Their Own Facts Now
There is a surplus of information, which makes all information less valuable.
Of course, calling all of this “information” is misleading. Perhaps we should call it content, because it’s not all equal and it’s not all equally true. But that’s part of the problem. What happens when you take a populous whose idea of an informed person is someone capable of juggling massive amounts of incoherent and... Continue Reading
A Roundup of the Final Overtures Heading to the 51st General Assembly
16 additional overtures have been sent to the GA.
Overtures 20, 21, 25, and 26 all call for changes to disciplinary procedures. Tennessee Valley also sent Overture 26, which proposes an amendment to BCO 32-19. Currently, when a person is charged with an offense and tried by his session or, in the case of a minister, by his presbytery, he may be represented before the court... Continue Reading
Living a D’Vine Life in Christ (John 15:1-5)
Staying Tight with Jesus
Life isn’t primarily about evangelization or Bible memorization, or even obedience to Christ’s commands, important as all of those are. Life is, first and foremost, an abiding relationship with a gracious and loving Lord. It is living a D’Vine Life in Christ. Yes, my title has a double meaning: The vine in John 15 is Christ, who... Continue Reading
Christ’s Spotless Bride: On the Marks of the Church (Part Four)
How do we distinguish valid claims to be a true church from invalid claims?
The whole point of the discussion of the “marks of the church” is to help ordinary people make judgments about the church–especially which one they ought to attend. Thus there are three things which should be present: 1). The pure preaching of the gospel 2). The pure administration of the sacraments 3). The practice of church discipline. Reformed... Continue Reading
Fight Political Fear with Kingdom Hope
Scripture encourages us to resist undue fear this year. God’s kingdom can’t be hindered by any president.
As we vote this year, let’s turn down the anxiety and frenzy. Billions of dollars and man-hours are being spent to call this the most important election of your lifetime. I’m 61 years old. I’ve been told this every four years. I no longer buy it. Instead, let’s humbly seek the Lord’s will, consider the issues... Continue Reading
Update on Overtures to the 51st General Assembly
Eight new overtures have been sent to the 51st General Assembly.
The full text of each of these overtures may be found here. For information about how these overtures originate and are brought to the GA floor, click here. This article will be updated regularly to reflect new overtures received by the GA. In the PCA, an overture is a proposal from a lower church body to a... Continue Reading
Book Review: Pastors and Their Critics by Joel Beeke and Nick Thompson
The nature of criticism and how to give and receive criticism graciously.
Pastors and Their Critics begins with a scriptural foundation, allowing the further comments by Beeke and Thompson to stand firm on previously expounded texts. Further concepts explored in this book include: how to receive and respond to pastoral criticism, constructive criticism, coping with criticism, and preparing for criticism while in seminary. These later chapters are a... Continue Reading
If American Institutions were Morally Neutral, Harrison Butker Wouldn’t have Struck a Nerve
The backlash to Harrison Butker’s commencement speech makes it abundantly clear that neutrality within a given political order is a myth.
Threats from the Democrat outrage mob shouldn’t stop American conservative politicians from doing everything they can to repair America’s moral fabric. Now is not the time for conservatives to retreat into the comfort of fictional neutrality. Let Harrison Butker’s example be a call to arms to assertively champion conservative values and reshape our political landscape.... Continue Reading