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I Asked the Lord to Grow in Grace
This song comes from a beautiful poem by John Newton. It is a powerful reminder to me about God’s grace and how God works. Like Newton in the opening lines of this poem, I often ask God to grow me in grace and faith and the fruits of his Spirit. I asked the Lord that I might…
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Fear, Worry, and Our Sovereign God
In preparation for a message on Psalm 27, I began reading Ed Welch‘s book, Running Scared. Penetrating. Convicting. Comforting. All of those words are appropriate, at least for me. For as I have aged I have come to see how fear, often very subtle, effects my thought, actions, and reactions. My fears may not show,…
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Lingering Guilt & Insulting God’s Integrity
What do you do with the person who says: “I’ve asked God to forgive me, but I still feel guilty?” A noted writer (R.C. Sproul, I think) was asked [this] once. [His reply:] “Well, if You still feel guilty, then pray to God again, but this time don’t ask Him to forgive you for the…
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What If We Omitted Gospel, Community, or Mission?
The refrain from an old song says: “Two out of three ain’t bad.” But would this be true for a church, or a Christian, who incorporates 2 out of 3 of the core values: Gospel, Community, Mission? Consider these thoughts, framed as a mathematical equation: Gospel + Community – Mission If we have a Gospel…
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5 Strip Baconist
Are you among those people who find the 5 Points of Calvinism difficult to swallow? Perhaps you might find some bacon a little more tasteful than a TULIP. No, it’s not Kosher, but it is orthodox and Biblical: Bad people Already elected Completely atoned for Overwhelmingly called Never falling away
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Broken-Down House: Living Productively in a World Gone Bad
I began reading Paul Tripp’s Broken Down House earlier this week. I had read it before, or rather I should say I skimmed it before, but did not take the time to allow Tripp’s poignant insights to resonate in my soul. I raced through it last time, getting the general gist, but not digesting much…
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Take a Repentance Tri-p
On a few occasions I have posted some thoughts and things about the concept of Tri-Perspectivalism. Tri-Perspectivalism (or, as some call it, Tri-P) is a fancy word for the simple concept of looking at our spiritual lives, and the ministry of our churches, from three distinct perspectives. Introduced by John Frame and Vern Poythress’ monumental…
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Our Universal Need
“Just so you know, the need for repentance, redemption, and forgiveness is universal. I don’t care if you are a liberal or a conservative, a religious fanatic or a militant atheist, a ‘spiritual’/’religious’ person or someone who runs from all that. It doesn’t matter to me if you listen to Billy Graham or follow Camus…
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Recommended Reading: Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit has garnered a few nicknames through the ages. Among the more appropriate and familiar: The Shy member of the Trinity The Forgotten member of the Trinity When considering the person of the Holy Spirit, there are few things that are vital to remember: The Holy Spirit is a person, a “He” not…
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Embracing the Brokenness of Your Church
This post by Tim Locke of Grace Community Church in Bridgewter NJ so captures the truth of a much needed lesson, I post it here below. *** Embracing the Broken Church! “I don’t feel comfortable inviting people to our church,” he said. “Why not?” I asked. “Our music isn’t upbeat enough, our people don’t sing…
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Gospel-centered Foundation
Tom Wood and Scott Thomas explain the essence and importance of being truly gospel-centered: We are persuaded that the gospel must be the central foundation for effective, God-honoring biblical [leadership]. It is imperative, therefore, that we know what the gospel is and how it informs our practices. Terms like justification, adoption, sanctification, and sin are…
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Recovering the Grand Cosmic Significance
“We need to recover the grand, cosmic significance of Jesus’ saving activity that moves the gospel out of the narrow realm of self-preoccupation. One of the marvelous things about the gospel is that He has saved us so that we can be a part of His redeeming activity. The gospel, properly understood, is much broader…
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How to Spend a Day With God
Richard Baxter wrote: A holy life is inclined to be made easier when we know the usual sequence and method of our duties – with everything falling into its proper place. In other words, our souls flourish most vibrantly when there is a natural rythm to our lives. These rythms include our daily and weekly routines and…
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Two Contents, Two Realities
Francis Schaeffer said: “there are four things which are absolutely necessary if we as Christians are going to meet the need of our age and the overwhelming pressure we are increasingly facing.” These four things are two contents and two realities: The First Content: Sound Doctrine The Second Content: Honest Answers to Honest Questions The First…
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