“Evangelical preaching is preaching for a verdict” (W.E. Sangster, as quoted in Murray, How Sermons Work, p. 67).
Ten Theses on Icons of Jesus
1. Those who object to portraits of Jesus should not have various Christological heresies assigned to them. It is as if a ham-fisted painter tried a portrait of my best friend, and I complained the painting had no soul. The painter could not reply that I was saying my friend had no soul. But we …
Let’s Call It Knostic, Shall We?
I recently finished Mark Galli’s book, Beyond Smells and Bells, a book I enjoyed quite a bit. Given the title, I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did, and I found myself agreeing with virtually everything Galli wrote. He writes engagingly, and with a great deal of practical wisdom. He is clearly …
The Treasuries of Grace
INTRODUCTION:Paul concludes this epistle asking for prayer, a request that he would be as bold as he ought to be. He is not, after decades of ministry, wresting with stage fright, or a bad case of butterflies. He knows what happens to him whenever the gospel is declared with power. THE TEXT:“Children, obey your parents …
Decorated Damnation
The apostle Paul speaks of how the Corinthians came together at the Table in such a fashion as to do more harm than good (1 Cor. 11:17). How are we to understand this? How may we prevent falling into this sin ourselves? God has created us as material creatures, and so we cannot worship Him …
For the Fire to Fall
The exhortation this morning will be half announcement and half exhortation. But it is no less spiritual for being practical, and so here goes. You all should recall that beginning next Lord’s Day we will be addressing the topic of Father Hunger, and we will be focused on that for 8 weeks. The HOH meeting …
But Not on the Sinkhole
John Adams once said that our Constitution presupposes a moral and a religious people. It is wholly unfit, he said, for any other. Now how can this help us sort out our discussions of Rick Santorum and Ron Paul? Let us set aside (for a moment) what I think folks in our circles would agree …
The End, Sure, But of What?
“Scoffers have frequently seized on this point, thinking that Christ was obviously wrong about when the end of the world would be. But the problem is that He was not talking about the end of the world at all. He was not asked about the end of the space/time continuum. He was asked about the …
Fetched Up and Useful
“Their fellowship was with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, and they were most acceptable and useful preachers. Their sermons were fetched up from the depths of their souls” (Fish, Power in the Pulpit, p. 21).
A Cistern for the Water
My friend Toby Sumpter, no enemy of robust liturgy, recently posted the following on Facebook. “When people come to our church ‘for the liturgy’ I think I will begin asking how frequently they use porn, yell at their wife, or tell lies.” On a related note, Mark Galli, author of Beyond Smells and Bells, noted …