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?
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.Describing the glory that is our God in syllables is an impossible task, but the great wordsmith Jeremy Taylor in a sermon on the Holy Spirit makes a noble attempt:
For what power of human understanding could have found out the incarnation of a God, that two natures - one finite and the other infinite - could have been concentered into one hypostasis or person...
that a virgin should be a mother...
that dead men should live again, that the ashes of dissolved bones should become bright as the sun, blessed as the angels, swift in motion as thought, clear as the purest noon...
that God should love us, as to be willing to be reconciled to us, and yet that himself must die that he might pardon us...
that God's most holy Son should give us his body to eat, and his blood to crown our chalices, and his Spirit to sanctify our souls, to turn our bodies into temperance, our souls into minds, our minds into spirit, our spirit into glory...
that he, who can give us all things, who is Lord of men and angels, and King of all the creatures, should pray to God for us without intermission...
that he, who reigns over all the world, should, at the day of judgment, "give up the kingdom to God the Father," and yet, after this resignation, himself and we with him should for ever reign the more gloriously...
that we should be justified by faith in Christ...
that charity should be a part of faith, and that both should work as acts of duty and as acts of relation...
that God should crown the imperfect endeavors of his saints with glory, and that a human act should be rewarded with an eternal inheritance...
that the wicked, for the transient pleasure of a few minutes, should be tormented with an absolute eternity of pains...
and, after all this, that all Christian people, all that will be saved, will be partakers of the divine nature, of the nature, the infinite nature, of God, and must dwell in Christ, and Christ must dwell in them, and they must be in the Spirit, and the Spirit must be for ever in them?
Be still my beating heart....
Minding Our Own Theological Store
July 9, 2009
The Gospel message gets distorted. That's Church History 101. And we are to be vigilant, for sure. But spotting error and calling it out is dangerous business, and carries with it certain unexpected side effects. John Newton has come good advice.Paul here is telling Timothy to keep his own theological house in order. John Newton (yes, the Amazing Grace John Newton, and a remarkable letter writer) had some thoughts in a correspondence to another pastor, reflecting later in his life on the role of being other people's "theological keeper."
The longer I live, the more I see of the vanity and the sinfulness of our unchristian disputes; they eat up the very vitals of religion.
I grieve to think how often I have lost my time and my temper in that way, in presuming to regulate the vineyards of others, when I have neglected my own; when the beam in my own eye has so contracted my sight tht I could discern nothing but the mote in my neighbor's.
I am now desiroius to choose a better part. Could I speak the publican's words with a proper feeling, I wish not for the tongue of men or angels to fight about notions or sentiments.
I allow that every branch of gospel truth is precious, that errors are abounding, and that it is our duty to bear an honest testimony to what the Lord has enabled us to find comfort in and to instruct with meekness such as are willing to be instructed; but I cannot see it my duty - I believe it would be my sin - to attempt to beat my notions into other people's heads.
Too often I have attempted it in time past; but now I judge that both my zeal and my weapons were carnal. When our dear Lord asked Peter after his fall and recovery, he didn't say, "Are you wise, learned and eloquent?" He didn't say, "Are you clear, sound, and orthodox?" Instead he asked Peter, "Lovest thou me?"
An answer to this was sufficient then; why not now? Any other answer, we may believe, would have been insufficient then. If Peter had made the most pompous confession of his faith and sentiments, still the first question would have been, "Lovest thou me?"
When Spurgeon Saw The Light
March 13, 2009
The story of Gideon amazes us. 300 men accomplished the unthinkable. God loves to do amazing things, especially when there is no other explanation. The conversion of Charles H. Spurgeon is such a wonder. Enjoy this hilarious retelling by the man himself.
Tickling And Hell
February 14, 2009
Itching ears abound in our day - those who want to be stroked and coddled even as their soul remains in a state unprepared to meet its maker. What is a preacher to do?
"Now Where Was I?"
October 27, 2008
No preacher would deliberately set out to confuse the listener. But some sermons wind up doing just that. Once in a cul-de-sac, the only way out is to turn around. How can we avoid that altogether?
Who Needs Theology? We Do!
October 1, 2008
When did doctrine become a dirty word? It smacks of something fixed, and we love our freedom, even when it comes to who God is, and what He is up to. But we will rue the day that we force it to the back of the bus.
In Defense of Piety
July 9, 2008
The meaning of words morphs, and sometimes, as in the case of the word piety, that is sad. What is piety, and why should it be valued?
What Follows The Sermon?
July 8, 2008
The sermon runs long, people are looking at their watches, the parking lot attendents are nervous about getting people in and out, and the temptation is to end the service with a quick benediction. Lancelot Andrewes says that to fail to pray is to fail.
