“Thoughtful planning should be the norm. The minister should not be like a pharmacist who fumbles in the dark for a pot or flask from the shelves to help a patient” (Kuyper, Our Worship, p. 188).
What Didn’t Happen
“No doubt Lazarus told Mary and Martha afterwards about what it felt like to be raised, but we really cannot reconstruct that conversation. However, we can be sure that Lazarus did not say that while Jesus pulled and pulled, he, Lazarus, pushed and pushed, until there he was, alive again” (From Out of Darkness, Light, …
Maturation of Ministry
“No minister will see fruit upon his labors unless he first plows, then sows, harrows, weeds, waters, protects against birds, and then gradually lets the seed grow to full fruition. To build and edify a congregation through the Word takes time and effort, and requires knowledge of human character and a solid method. This means …
Simply a World-Class Dirty Bird
Whereas I will be speaking this coming Friday night on a sexual topic (Sexual By Design), and whereas I will be doing this in Bloomington, Indiana, and whereas Bloomington is the home of the Kinsey Institute, I thought I should say a little brief something about the odd backdrop. It is a little bit like …
Father of All the Living
INTRODUCTION:The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a glorious sermon that was preached by God the Father. When the Father said that He was well-pleased with the Son at His baptism that declaration was not all the Father had to say. In the resurrection, He now declares the entire truth, holding back nothing. In the gospels, …
The Death Specialist
This Table is emblematic of the death of Jesus, and yet it is by this means that God enables us to partake of the living Christ. Christ is risen; He is not dead. And yet here is His body, and here is His blood. These emblems are dead, and yet through them we are being …
The Reason for Soul-Work
The resurrection is all about life, life from the dead. And the most obvious thing about life is how mysterious it is, not to mention how holy it is. The Puritan George Swinnock observed that Adam’s body was made out of the dust of the ground, while his soul was the direct result of the …
Good Friday Invocation
Our Father and God, we worship you now in the name of Jesus, and in the goodness of the Holy Spirit we entrust ourselves to You now, asking Him to make our worship complete before You. Two thousand years ago, when our Lord suffered and died, You were the God who made the land of …
When Wives Say No
Contrary to the prevailing winds of our culture, our ministry has long emphasized the responsible headship of the husband in marriage, and the loyal submission of a wife to her husband. This is God’s pattern for marriage, and this is also quite enough to set some secularists to frothing. You would think they would chalk …
Lazarus Wasn’t Pushing While Christ Pulled
“Now when Jesus performed this miracle, he did not first have to secure the cooperation of Lazarus. Rather, the miracle resulted in the cooperation of Lazarus. After he was raised from the dead, Lazarus did all the hopping and all the mumbling through the grave clothes. But prior to the resurrecting word of authority, Lazarus …