Tag: Jesus Christ
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God’s Gifts to Us
“When God planned the great work of saving sinners, he provided two gifts. He gave his Son and he gave his Spirit. In fact each person of the Trinity was involved in the great work of salvation. The love, grace and wisdom of the Father planned it; the love, grace and humility of the Son…
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J.C. Ryle on the Incarnation
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ~ John 1.14 Anglican Bishop J.C. Ryle elaborates on these words to deepen our appreciation for the Incarnation of Christ: The plain meaning of these words…
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The Glory of God’s Incarnation
Martin Luther expresses his appreciation of Christmas, not just that Jesus was born, but how and to whom he was born: If Christ had arrived with trumpets and lain in a cradle of gold, His birth would have been a splendid affair. But it would not be a comfort to me. He was, rather, to lie…
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The Christmas Distraction
Jared Wilson counsels: There is a great danger this Christmas season of missing the point. And I’m not referring simply to idolatrous consumption and materialism. I’m talking about Christmas religiosity. It is very easy around this time to set up our Nativity scenes, host our Christmas pageants and cantatas, read the Christmas story with our…
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The Lamb is a Lion
Mark 11.12-18 & Luke 19.45-47 Weak from the journey, the long travelling days/ Hungry to worship, to join in the praise/ Shock mad with anger that burned on His face/ As He entered the wasteland of that barren place Chorus: And the Lamb is a Lion who’s roaring with rage/At the empty religion that’s filling…
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A Word From a VBS Valedictorian
Trekking incognito along the Emmaus Road, shortly after his resurrection, unrecognized even by the few of his own disciples who walked with him, Jesus challenged the groans of perplexity and faithlessness: He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the…
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Lord of Heaven & Earth
Michael Horton, in his book The Gospel Commission, offers this important corrective perspective of Christ: The privatized view of Jesus merely as ‘personal Lord and Savior’ does not really provoke controversy today. After all, our non-Christian neighbors shrug: ‘Whatever works for you’. However, these ascriptions of praise to Jesus Christ were subversive on the lips…
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Why We Need Jesus
According to Michael Horton: “Reason and morality cannot show us a good and gracious God. For that, we need the Incarnation.” *** A passenger on a recent plane trip happily divulged his spiritual views. Raised in a conservative religious home, he proudly dismissed traditional Christianity, with its radical claims about Jesus of Nazareth, because it…
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The Christ of Christmas
The WORD In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Word…
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A Jesus Manifesto
“Christians have made the gospel about so many things… Things other than Christ.” So opens the document, written by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, titled: A Jesus Manifesto. I’ve long been a fan of Leonard Sweet, our theological differences aside. But Sweet’s love for Jesus, his love for God’s people, and his amazing story-telling ability…
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Do You Know…?
Do you know the Christ of the Gospels? Or have you fallen into the trap to which Christians (especially, perhaps, Reformed Christians) who love doctrine and systematic theology are sometimes susceptible (unlike John Calvin, it should be said): fascination with dogmatic formula at the expense of love for the Savior’s person? – Sinclair Ferguson, from Yesterday,…
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What is the Gospel?
Gospel means “good news.” The good news is: you (and I) are more sinful and flawed than you (or I) ever dared believe, yet you (and I) can be more accepted and loved than you (or I) ever dared hope at the same time, because Jesus Christ lived and died in our place. As the…
