Category: Reformed Spirituality
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Ecstasy & Delight
Ecstasy and delight are essential to the believer’s soul and they promote sanctification. We were not meant to live without spiritual exhilaration, and the Christian who goes for a long time without the experience of heart-warming will soon find himself tempted to have his emotions satisfied from earthly things and not, as he ought, from…
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Grace Will…
I was blown away as I thought about the paradoxes of the Gospel as it was described by Paul Tripp in his book, Broken-Down House. Don’t just read through quickly. Stop and consider the contrasts: Grace is a story and grace is a gift. It is God’s character and it is your hope. Grace is…
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What is the Gospel?
To say that we, as a church, are centered on the gospel, or Gospel-Driven, is realtively easy. It is quite another thing for the typical church member to know what such phrases actually mean. The following post, by C.J. Mahaney, was originally published on the Together for the Gospel blog. I include it here in…
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Calvinist When Calvinism Wasn’t Cool
To paraphrase Barbara Mandrell, “I was a Calvinst when Calvinism wasn’t cool.” Historically Calvinism had a long day of being cool. Then it was cool no more. Now from all appearances it is cool once again. This resurgence of Reformed Spirituality is not new news. Christianity Today, among others, has been talking about it for several…
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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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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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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…
