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 …
Not About the Ducks
[On Eccl. 11:1] “The business of generosity is governed by the Lord with predictable results. Casting your bread on the water is not about feeding the ducks” (Joy at the End of the Tether, p. 102).
Almost an Abomination
“But what of Lloyd-Jones’s system? Here, we must be careful. He eschewed methods and was curtly dismissive of homiletics. Before forty ministerial students, he unveiled his suspicions when he put up the rhetorical question — ‘What can be said for homiletics?’ His revealing reply was ‘Not much’! On another occasion he was to refer to …
More Recent Vintage
This one was recorded within the last year — my one and only basement tape. {audio}Watch_the_Sun_Down.mp3{/audio}