“Every workman knows the necessity of keeping his tools in a good state of repair . . . we shall usually do our Lord’s work best when our gifts and graces are in good order, and we shall do worst when they are most out of trim . . . We are, in a certain …
Hellfire and Damnation
We come now to an element of our Lord’s teaching that many would like to ignore. Unfortunately for them, the Lord taught the doctrine of eternal punishment in many settings and in many ways, and it is impossible to ignore this doctrine of His without ignoring Him. And this is precisely what our modern reinterpreters …
Costly Homiletics
“There are plenty of popular preachers, but not many powerful ones, who preach in the power of the Spirit. Is it because the cost of such preaching is too great? It seems that the only preaching God honours, through which His wisdom and power are expressed, is the preaching of a man who is willing …
Reformed Evangelism
INTRODUCTION: And we need to begin with the strong assertion that the title of this message—Reformed evangelism—is not an oxymoron. Sharing our faith with others is not optional. But at the same time, the way we understand that faith does have an impact on how we go about evangelism. THE TEXT: “Finally, be ye all …
How Jesus Said to Receive Him
In this portion of Scripture, we find the Lord teaching the disciples a lesson of enormous importance, and we find that Mark presents this lesson to us in a series of unforgettable contrasts. “And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them …” (Mark …
Preaching, Not Negotiating
“We are called to proclaim Christ, not to discuss Him” (John Stott, The Preacher’s Portrait, p. 110).
Baptism of Light
Peter has confessed the identify of his master. He has spoken the truth, but has still spoken more than he knew. The Lord is now revealed in His glory to three of his disciples, and the foretaste of glory helps to ameliorate the difficulties of the hard sayings He placed upon them at the end …
Faith Overcomes the World
“God’s plan is to save through the gospel not those who are clever and learned, but those who believe. The condition of salvation is faith, not intellectual brilliance” (John Stott, The Preacher’s Portrait, p. 110).
Like Trees Walking
We find here a passage with great contrasts and comparisons. Peter the Confessor is also Satan, and the blind man who saw men as trees walking provides a good picture of the disciples. “And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him . . .” …
The Only Font of Our Authority
“Granted that only the power of God can make the blind see and the dead live, where is this power to be found? How can preachers become such channels of it as to be ‘servants through whom’ others will believe? There is no clearer exposition in the New Testament of the place of divine power …