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Things We Leave Behind
There sits Simon foolish and wise Proudly he’s tending his nets Jesus calls and the boat drifts away All that he owns he forgets More than the nets he abandoned that day He found that his pride was soon fading away It’s hard to imagine the freedom we find From the things we leave behind…
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A Right Definition of Faith
How shall we distinguish a healthy faith from one that is built on more shaky ground? Consider this insight from John Calvin: “Now we shall possess a right definition of faith if we call it a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in…
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Difference Between Faith and Hope
The question may occur to us: What difference is there between faith and hope? We find it difficult to see any difference. Faith and hope are so closely linked that they cannot be separated. Still there is a difference between them. Consider the following distinctions offered by Martin Luther, from his commentary on Galatians: First,…
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Worship is the Proper Response
Worship is the proper response of all moral, sentient beings to God, ascribing all honor and worth to their Creator-God precisely because he is worthy, delightfully so. This side of the Fall, human worship of God properly responds to the redemptive provisions that God has graciously made. While all true worship is God-centered, Christian worship…
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5 Views on Sanctification
Several years ago a book was released attempting to outline and compare the major divergent views about the doctrine of sanctification, Five Views on Sanctification. In this book five respected theologians, each a proponent of one of the respective positions gave an outline explanation of the positions: Wesleyan/Holiness, Reformed/Puritan, Keswick, Dispensational, and Pentecostal. Following the…
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Dealing With Our Differences
Psalm 133 says: How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity! But what about when we differ? Can we still dwell together in unity when we do not have uniformity? Roger Nicole offers insights: How to Deal With Those Who Differ From Us. Or, you can read this essay in sections:…
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Celebrating Gospel-Centeredness
A good article by Trevin Wax illustrating the importance of, not only Gospel-centeredness but, Gospel Celebration. Wax asserts: “What you celebrate as a Church is just as important as what you believe.” I am not sure I fully agree with that statement, but I do see how what is celebrated practically shapes the church, and…
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Lord Save Us
I spent this morning watching the documentary, Lord Save Us From Your Followers. I was prompted by a note from a friend and, despite it not being on my agenda for the day, I was intrigued. Once again, I am not sure where I have been. This film came out over a year ago. Some…
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Counterfeit Gods
In his reletively recent book, Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller explains what a counterfeit god is and describes how to make one – as we are so prone to do: A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. And idol has such…
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Is Church Growth a Biblical Expectation?
I was intrigued by the insights of Jay Childs in an article he wrote for Leadership Journal. The article, titled Church Growth vs. Church Seasons, focuses on the American fascination with large numbers. After telling some of his own story, Jay makes three primary observations: Our Situation is Not Unusual Non-Stop Numerical Growth is NOT…
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13 Letters
There is no stretch of an imagination that would cause anyone to classify where I live as Urban. BUT I still appreciate what the folk at Reach Life have developed. 13 Letters is a curriculum designed with Urban Youth in mind. Taking the substance of the Paul’s letters, this curriculum applies Sound Doctrine to the…
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Questions of Prophets, Priests, and Kings
Some time ago I introduced the concept of Tri-perspectivalism, the recognition that every Church ought to reflect the three offices of Christ: Prophet, Priest, and King. Each person, or Christian leader, has a natural inclination toward one of these perspectives, but all three are equally necessary to reflect Christ in our Body. There are many questions that can…
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Praying for Forgiveness
In the title song of Toby Keith‘s movie and soundtrack, Broken Bridges, the first line of the chorus is: Here I am, prayin’ for forgiveness… If you’ve seen the movie on CMT it makes sense. It is a story of a guy facing up to his past mistakes and the people he has hurt. It is…
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