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Call to Worship
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! (Psalm 96:1-3)
Recent Posts
God? Who Needs Him?May 31, 2013
Self-sufficient humanism. Paul saw it coming – “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Imago Dei
September 12, 2012
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Why Can't I Pray?
August 18, 2012
The bible gives us several reasons, but according to Jeremy Taylor, a deceitful heart is at the root of prayerlessness.
It's Not Rocket Science
July 23, 2012
To keep in step with the Spirit should be our daily quest. And if we are successful at that, all of life falls into place.
Theological Steak
April 10, 2012
These words by P. T. Forsythe on the magnificence of Christ's work are to theology what Ruth's Chris is to a good steak.
Describing the Indescribable
February 11, 2012
What we have in Christ will take all eternity to describe. But for one segment of one sermon, a great preacher made a mighty attempt.
Making Sense Of It All
January 30, 2012
Where are things headed? Is there rhyme and reason to the endless cycle of summer, fall, winter and spring? Is there a plan in place, or is randomness the explanation?
Where Else Can We Go?
September 2, 2009
When Peter uttered these five words, they modeled the conclusion of every sincere believer - that Jesus alone is Lord, and has no rival - never has and never will. Simply stated, Jesus is the way to God, all other roads are cul-de-sacs.
John Owen, the Puritan of Puritans, preached a sermon in 1646 from Acts 16:9 titled UNCHANGABLE, FREE MERCY. Towards the end of this 35 page sermon, as he began to extol the Lord Jesus Christ, he suddenly seemed to get caught up in the glory of who Christ is. His words are like a spring bubbling up, and they still refresh us now, as they must have done for his hearers 350 years ago.
Jesus Christ is all, and in all; and where he is wanting (lacking, absent, not recognized, desired or honored) there can be no good.
Hunger cannot truly be satisfied without manna, the bread of life, which is Jesus Christ; and what shall a hungry man do that has no bread?
Thirst cannot be quenched without that water or living spring, which is Jesus Christ; and what shall a thirsty soul do without water?
A captive, as we are all, cannot be delivered without redemption, which is Jesus Christ; and what shall the prisoner do without his ransom?
Fools, as we are all, cannot be instructed without wisdom, which is Jesus Christ; without him we perish in our folly.
All building without him is on the sand, which will surely fall.
All working without him is in the fire, where it will be consumed.
All riches without him have wings, and will away.
A dungeon with Christ is a throne; and a throne without Christ is a hell.
The greatest evil in the world is sin, and the greatest sin was the first; and yet Gregory feared not to cry, “O happy fault, which found such a Redeemer!”
All mercies without Christ are bitter; and every cup is sweet that is seasoned but with a drop of his blood; he is truly the love and delight of the sons of men, without whom they must perish eternally; “for there is no other name given unto them, whereby they may be saved."
He is the Way; men without him are Cains, wanderers, vagabonds.
He is the Truth; men without him are liars, like the devil, who was so of old.
He is the Life; without him men are dead, dead in trespasses and sins.
He is the Light, without him men are in darkness, and go they know not whither.
He is the Vine; those that are not grafted in him are withered branches, prepared for the fire.
He is the Rock; men not built on him are carried away with a flood.
He is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the author and the ender, the founder and the finisher of our salvation.
He that does not have him, has neither beginning of good, nor shall have end of misery.
O blessed Jesus! How much better were it not to be, than to be without thee!
It is more desirable never to be born, than to die and not be in thee! A thousand bells come short of this, eternally to want (lack) Jesus Christ, as men do that want (lack) the gospel.
Jesus Christ is all, and in all; and where he is wanting (lacking, absent, not recognized, desired or honored) there can be no good.
Hunger cannot truly be satisfied without manna, the bread of life, which is Jesus Christ; and what shall a hungry man do that has no bread?
Thirst cannot be quenched without that water or living spring, which is Jesus Christ; and what shall a thirsty soul do without water?
A captive, as we are all, cannot be delivered without redemption, which is Jesus Christ; and what shall the prisoner do without his ransom?
Fools, as we are all, cannot be instructed without wisdom, which is Jesus Christ; without him we perish in our folly.
All building without him is on the sand, which will surely fall.
All working without him is in the fire, where it will be consumed.
All riches without him have wings, and will away.
A dungeon with Christ is a throne; and a throne without Christ is a hell.
The greatest evil in the world is sin, and the greatest sin was the first; and yet Gregory feared not to cry, “O happy fault, which found such a Redeemer!”
All mercies without Christ are bitter; and every cup is sweet that is seasoned but with a drop of his blood; he is truly the love and delight of the sons of men, without whom they must perish eternally; “for there is no other name given unto them, whereby they may be saved."
He is the Way; men without him are Cains, wanderers, vagabonds.
He is the Truth; men without him are liars, like the devil, who was so of old.
He is the Life; without him men are dead, dead in trespasses and sins.
He is the Light, without him men are in darkness, and go they know not whither.
He is the Vine; those that are not grafted in him are withered branches, prepared for the fire.
He is the Rock; men not built on him are carried away with a flood.
He is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the author and the ender, the founder and the finisher of our salvation.
He that does not have him, has neither beginning of good, nor shall have end of misery.
O blessed Jesus! How much better were it not to be, than to be without thee!
It is more desirable never to be born, than to die and not be in thee! A thousand bells come short of this, eternally to want (lack) Jesus Christ, as men do that want (lack) the gospel.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
November 6, 2008
The mere presence of these two words on the packaging admits that the product may not deliver. With God, there is no risk. We are offered a relationship of the most magnificent possibility, with the absolute certainty that He will never disappoint.
Taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8
Geerhardus Vos notes in his sermon THE WONDERFUL TREE that God longs for a relationship with Israel that involves "sublime abandon." God gives himself away with "neither restraint nor reserve."
"Using human language, one might say that God enters into this (his enthusiasm to have a relationship with us) heart and soul and mind and strength."
"Since God thus gives himself to his people for fruition, (he is the source of our fruitfulness) and his resources are infinite, there is no possibility of their ever craving more or seeking more of him than it is good for them to receive."
"To deprive religion of this by putting it upon the barren basis of pure disinterestedness (Vos is annoyed here by unnamed critics who assume that God could care less whether we commune with him or not), is not merely a pretence to be wiser than God; it is also an act of robbing God of his own joy through refusing the joy into which he has, as it were, resolved himself for us."
"So, far from being a matter of gloom and depression, religion is its true concept is an exultant state, the supreme feast and sabbath of the soul."
So how about you? Are you ready to say with the Psalmist "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:23-24
Geerhardus Vos notes in his sermon THE WONDERFUL TREE that God longs for a relationship with Israel that involves "sublime abandon." God gives himself away with "neither restraint nor reserve."
"Using human language, one might say that God enters into this (his enthusiasm to have a relationship with us) heart and soul and mind and strength."
"Since God thus gives himself to his people for fruition, (he is the source of our fruitfulness) and his resources are infinite, there is no possibility of their ever craving more or seeking more of him than it is good for them to receive."
"To deprive religion of this by putting it upon the barren basis of pure disinterestedness (Vos is annoyed here by unnamed critics who assume that God could care less whether we commune with him or not), is not merely a pretence to be wiser than God; it is also an act of robbing God of his own joy through refusing the joy into which he has, as it were, resolved himself for us."
"So, far from being a matter of gloom and depression, religion is its true concept is an exultant state, the supreme feast and sabbath of the soul."
So how about you? Are you ready to say with the Psalmist "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:23-24
A Burst of Praise
October 3, 2008
Do you often feel tongue-tied when trying to express devotion to God? Do words fail you? Why not borrow from the best? Here, from the heart of Augustine, a transformed mind expresses the grandest truths in a masterful, gifted outpouring.
The Medicinal Side of Thanksgiving
September 27, 2008
We are told to give thanks. And isn't it just like God to have side benefits built in, so that we are helped as God is honored? Spurgeon tells us how.
C.S. Lewis On Praise
September 27, 2008
Christians are called to praise the Lord. Why? What is that all about? And just what does it "accomplish?
From The Mouth of St. Francis Of Assissi
September 26, 2008
Psalm 119 is a prayer, yes, but it is also a work of art. Occasionally, God anoints his servants to take us higher. Such is the following prayer of that great saint, Francis of Assissi.
