Category: Spiritual Formation
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Real Christians SHOULD Dance
I received this quote from my friends at Graced Again. The author, Bob Flayhart, is minister at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, AL. A Gospel-centered life is the Christian Waltz. A waltz is a dance made up of three steps. Christians need to consider the Christian three step when it comes to growth. In the…
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Maundy Thursday Matters
Today is Maundy Thursday. It is a special day on the Christian calendar. But many Christians don’t know what maundy means. I imagine for some this day could easily fall just after Manic Monday, Ruby Tuesday… You get the idea. So if the term Maundy Thursday sounds foreign to you, relax, you are far from alone. The term…
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Worldliness in Prespective
I recently finished reading the short book Worldliness, edited by C.J. Mahaney. Each chapter is written by different men from the Sovereign Grace family. I found it very insightful and practical. I appreciate that the writers did not merely resort to the worn out separatist “Us vs. The World” rhetoric. Instead they wrestled intelligently, theologically,…
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Cats & Dogs and God’s Global Glory
First among the Core Values at Walnut Hill Church is God’s Global Glory. This is the recognition that we do not exist, as a church or as individuals, primarily for ourselves, but for God and for his glory. Expressing this as a platitude is one thing. Getting newcomers to agree with this premise is something else. And getting people to…
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Natural Evangelism
My old friend, and one-time-mentor, Doug Pollock is releasing a new book, expected to be on the bookstore shelves in June. Doug has travelled the world sharing his faith, and has studied evangelism for the better part of two decades now. He’s also penned a number of articles and co-authored other helpful books about evangelism.…
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Looking at Lent With a New Lense
My friend Nathan Lewis has published a post that I think would be beneficial for some who do not come from a church background that observes the litugical calendar. One of the primary emphases of the Season of Lent is repentace. On the ecclesiastical calendar it is a time when Christians are encouraged to fast, sacrifice, and to recognize…
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Grace of Repentance
Today is Ash Wednesday. That does not mean much to many in my theological circles. But for many other Christians it is a day that launches the Season leading to Easter – the Season of Lent. This day is designated Ash Wednesday because of an ancient practice of marking believers with ashes as a symbol…
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Sticks, Stones & Words
Paul Tripp, in this video, offers an interesting, and important, perspective about a problem that has recently effected our youth group and our home: the use of words, or the appropriate use of words. What makes some words acceptable and others “bad”? Tripp offers three distinctions: 1. Some words are condemning and judgmental. The use of these words,…
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Faithfulness vs. Floating Along
Here is a helpful insight from D.A. Carson, in his book For the Love of God, that reminds us that while, as Christians, we are Justified and freely forgiven by God through Faith alone in Christ alone, we grow in Spiritual maturity by God’s grace AND our diligent faithfulness: People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort,…
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The Jesus Pledge
What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ? What does it mean to be Gospel-driven? I think my friend, Paul Miller, expresses it beautifully in The Jesus Pledge: I pledge my life to Jesus and the Gospel. I want Jesus not to be just part of my life or something that…
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Hope for Humility
I’ve heard Steve Brown offer this amusing anecdote: “I was given a pin by my club for being the most humble member. They took it away because I wore it.” I have much to be humble about. But, if I was in Steve Brown’s club, no one would have ever given me a pin in the…
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Dynamics of the Spiritual Life
Christians who are no longer sure that God loves and accepts them in Jesus, apart from their present spiritual achievements, are subconsciously radically insecure persons – much less secure than non-Christians, because they have too much light to rest easily under the constant bulletins they receive from their Christian environment about the holiness of God…
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Enduring Aroma of the Gospel
People don’t earn God’s approval or receive life and salvation because of anything they’ve done. Rather, the only reason they receive life and salvation is because of God’s kindness through Christ. There is no other way. Many Christians are tired of hearing this teaching over and over. They think that they learned it all long…
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Prerequisites for Effective Prayer
In order to have an effective prayer life Scripture teaches that there are certain prerequisites. Among them: 1. Relationship We must have a relationship with God the Father, which comes only through a relationship with Jesus. (John 14.6) The preface to the Lord’s Prayer makes a distinction between those who have a right to call…
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What About Gay Marriage?
Anger at the disproportionate number of African Americans who voted for California’s same-sex marriage ban “has been widely noted”, says Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe. But “for sheer hatefuless” the “hatemongering” directed against Mormons for pushing the ballot measure can’t be beat. (See The Week for full article.) I’ve watched the news with…
