As you have been taught before, worship is warfare. But over time, there are some in the church who want to be known as warriors, but do not want an actual fight. What is necessary is to exalt what might be called ceremonies of fighting. This gets the blood pumping, but then you can just …
Life From Bodies as Good as Dead
One of the things that a supper does is that it enables a family to gather around, and to do so as a family. One of the things that a family does in such situations is tell the story of the family. A people are shaped by the narrative that the people tell. Part of …
The Place Where Savorless Salt is Trampled
Our Father and God, You have established Your Church as a royal priesthood in this world, and so we intercede for the nations of men now, confessing on their behalf so that the grace of Your forgiveness will soon be extended to them all. Father, as a nation we have despised the relationships that You …
Avoid that Bummer
Many of our prophetic voice brethren are willing, like Jonah, to speak truth to power. They, also like Jonah, would be entirely flummoxed if power listens to them. Jonah’s reluctance to preach to Nineveh was not driven by cowardice, or anything like that. He hated Nineveh, a godless power, an oppressor of Jonah’s people, and …
No Peace Treaties with Amalekites
The notion of Christendom is not just a personal pipe dream. It is not a collection of “wouldn’t it be nice” surmises. A Reformed understanding of the gospel, of worship, of education, of politics, and so on, is incoherent apart from a commitment to Christendom. Christendom is an essential part of a Reformed theology in …
Just Hit It
“When it comes to work, just hit it. Excuses are always plentiful. Too hot. Too cold. Too late” (Joy at the End of the Tether, p. 103).
Which Can, Of Course, Be Taken Wrong
Dr. Lloyd-Jones believed preaching involved communication through personality” (Sargent, The Sacred Anointing, p. 187).
Probably There By Now
“Take life as it comes. There it is. And here you are. I had a delightful picture of the meaning of Ecclesiastes just a few months ago. I was looking at the road which runs by the front of our property, and a fellow in a pick-up truck was headed industriously south. ‘Well,’ I thought. …
Each Sermon Should Be a One-Off
“The summary was especially for the benefit of those for whom the address would be a one-off and not part of a series. Each sermon had to be self-contained and able to stand on its own feet, even though it was part of a prolonged series” (Sargent, The Sacred Anointing, p. 183).
Your Doctrine is Too Small
J.B. Phillips famously wrote the book Your God is Too Small, and I would like to do a little riff off of that. Your doctrine is too small. What is that supposed to mean? Often particular doctrines are set forth in a way that contains enough of the truth to annoy unreasonable people and not …