Introduction: In one sense, the meaning of Christmas is about much more than “presents” or “gifts.” But in another sense, this is the only thing that Christmas means. Many Christians think they are on safe spiritual ground in sneering at all the “consumerism,” but even here, especially here, it is too easy to strain out …
Then You Will Know
As the people of God grow together in unity, one of the things they incur is the enmity of outsiders. For many believers, this is quite mysterious. They want to be at peace with everyone, and it is easy for them to believe that the difficulties are caused by something that they are doing. Jesus …
Costly Preparation
The feasts of the Old Testament are full of gospel. The promised feasts that were coming were overflowing with gospel (Is. 25:6). The Lord’s Supper, now before us, is gospel. Scripture invites us to think of the Lord’s Table in the category of a feast. Now a feast has many characteristics, but one of them …
Interview With Nate
Really enjoyed our time with the Apologia gang while they were here in Moscow. Here is one interview they conducted (with more to follow). The topic is enjoyment of God, reading the story you are in, moment by moment. Do you really believe what you think you do?
In Our Midst
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and …
Joy to the World
Introduction: A few years ago I preached an annotated version of Hark, the Herald Angels Sing, showing how saturated in Scripture that Christmas carol was. Well, it is not the only one, and so I thought to do the same thing with Joy to the World. While Hark was assembled out of many passages, Joy …
A Ruler of Tens
As our community continues to grow, one of the things that will grow together with it is the need for additional leadership. When a congregation is healthy and happy, as ours is, there is a temptation to sit back and let whoever is running the show to continue to the run the show. But this …
The Eucharist and Imputed Obedience
Through the course of church history, some have wanted to treat the communion of the Lord’s Table as a penitential discipline, instead of what the New Testament sets it out to be, which is that of a Eucharistic celebration. We are not here to get forgiven; we are here because we have been forgiven. This …
In the Spirit on the Lord’s Day
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto …
The Judaizers and Silver Bells
Introduction: The Christmas story is in the Bible, but there is no command given to us to make it a holiday. But now that we have made it a holiday, we have plenty of material to work with because the birth of Jesus is described in such great detail in both Matthew and Luke. But …