“The Christians’ choice of a cross as the symbol of their faith is the more surprising when we remember the horror with which crucifixion was regarded in the ancient world. We can understand why Paul’s ‘message of the cross’ was to many of his listeners ‘foolishness’, even ‘madness’ (1 Cor. 1:18, 23). How could any… [Read more…]
December 6, 2011
“The church at large, not only the church at Corinth, never has learnt, and never can learn, this truth in such a way as to be beyond the danger of forgetting it, and the Corinthian letters stand in the New Testament as in some respects its clearest and most urgent reminder of this eminently forgettable… [Read more…]
December 6, 2011
“Wherever authentic, joyful confidence in Christ diminishes, regulations will increase to preserve what once the power of Christ had created.” – John Piper from “Flesh Tanks and Peashooter Regulations.”
November 28, 2011
2 Peter 1:5, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge…” The passage in 2 Peter:3-11 has meant a very great deal to me in the past month, I have drawn much strength from it. There are so many great truths in this passage which sets… [Read more…]
November 27, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKm60OkV0iQ
I don't know how you navigate life from day to day but one thing I have discovered in 2011 is that I simply cannot operate without a deep measure of joy in the living God. If you grew up in a church using the Pentecostal Praises hymnal then probably know what page 202A was: "Joy Unspeakable." We wore that song out, but we loved, I loved it. But my favorite hymn on joy is this classic song, "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee." The melody was taken from the Ode to Joy, the last movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, one of the beautiful pieces of music ever written, and the words are from a poem written in 1907 by Henry Van Dyke. The melody and the words were published together for the first time in The Presbyterian Hymnal of 1911. No other song captures for me the truth that God alone is the source of abiding and lasting joy. And I particularly enjoy this contemporary rendition of it with several new refrains added. It is the most played song on my iPod in 2011. There are many things I can go without, but I tend towards despondency and the one thing I must have is joy in the Lord because joy and hope are two sides of the same coin. Psalm 43:3-5 [ESV] 3 Send our your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! 4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
November 26, 2011
The Ascension is something I have heard precious little about in the preaching and teaching of the church. Below is a masterful exposition of Luke 24:50-53 on the event and meaning of the ascension of the Lord Jesus. Listen and enjoy! A Neglected Essential from Southern Seminary on Vimeo. Here is an outline of… [Read more…]
November 24, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zNEMUZUZhY
"Jesus, Thank You" by Sovereign Grace Music, led by Bob Kauflin.
October 31, 2011
I’ve been working my way through the book of Judges and have come to the Samson narrative. Now I have come to the end of that story, Judges 16. I was blown away as I read the whole story of Samson. How very carnal Samson seems to have been from the very beginning. He surely… [Read more…]
October 6, 2011
Psalm 111:2 – “Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.” I have been thinking about this verse a lot of recent. It motivates me and encourages me as a student of the Lord. Studying is a hobby of mind, as well as reading and collecting good books, so… [Read more…]
September 7, 2011
By my calculations, I have sat in something like 5,900 weekly church services and heard 5,900 sermons. Throw in at least another 500 special services, revival meetings, camp meetings, and conferences, and I’ve heard something on the order of 6,400 sermons. I’ve heard a lot of preaching (and should probably be more sanctified than I am). I’ve… [Read more…]
September 6, 2011
Don Whitney writes: “Discipline without direction is drudgery. But the Spiritual Disciplines are never drudgery as long as we practice them with the goal of Godliness in mind. If your picture of a disciplined Christian is one of a grim, tight-lipped, joyless half-robot, then you’ve missed the point. Jesus was the most disciplined Man who… [Read more…]
September 6, 2011
Don Whitney on the need for spiritual discipline: “I’ve seen Christians who are faithful to the church of God, who frequently demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for the things of God, and who dearly love the Word of God, trivialize their effectiveness for the Kingdom of God through lack of discipline. Spiritually they are a mile wide… [Read more…]
August 23, 2011
I’m a fan of country music. Yes, I am. I enjoy both the old true country and the new pop country. I heard a little quip the other day though, about “new” country. Many consider Rascall Flatts as a key transition moment in country music and many in the business are doing country in that… [Read more…]
August 22, 2011
I’m reading a great book on exegesis of the New Testament and here is just a sample. Student of the Bible (or anything), read and be comforted! Take courage and take up the Bible again in humble pursuit of truth. “We need to get one thing straight before we go any further. Gottfried Wilhem von… [Read more…]
April 23, 2011
“The first Adam was tested in the God-blessed garden and fell. The second Adam was tested in the God-cursed desert, and won.” - Russell Moore, Tempted and Tried
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December 15, 2011
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