“Zeal in a minister is as proper as fire on the altar” (Thomas Watson, in Hughes, Word Pictures, p. 28).
What It Means to Open
“What nobler work than that of ‘opening’ the Scriptures, as Paul did at Thessalonica? (Acts 17:8)” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 146).
How Sin Gets a Beat Down
“St. Paul’s preaching was not with enticing words of wisdom but in the demonstration of the Spirit and power (1 Cor. 2:4). Plainness is ever best in beating down sin. When a wound festers, it is fitter to lance it than to embroider it with silk or lay vermilion upon it” (Thomas Watson, as quoted …
Untying Knots
“Some of the most important doctrines of the Bible are in general very imperfectly understood; those who receive them need clearer views of what they profess to believe, and those who object to them are often in fact objecting to something very different from the real doctrine” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 144).
No Other Custom
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #124 “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For …
Believing One Half of the Wrong End of It
An easy mistake concerning Calvinism is that it somehow must necessarily reduce to a stiff-upper lip Stoicism, particularly in its teaching on contentment. “It is one heart-quieting consideration in all the afflictions that befall us that God has a special hand in them.” This is from the great Thomas Watson, and some might find it …
Joram and Justice
Introduction In this chapter, we have a summary of David’s very public victories before we return to the narrative of David’s life from a closer vantage. We also see the establishment of the blessed height from which David fell through his sin with Bathsheba—how much he tried to throw away. The Text: “And after this …
Becoming More Like the Squirmers
Whenever God’s people take up the adventure that He sends them, there are always troubles that arise in the midst of the adventure that make you want to second guess your initial decision. In the midst of the turmoil that you have gotten yourself into, it is easy to wonder if you read the fine …
The Table of No Comparisons
This is a gospel Table, a good news Table. This is a Table that presents the broken body and shed blood. This means it cannot contain a hard message for anyone who partakes of it in living evangelical faith. This makes it the Table of no condemnation. Because God is here, with no condemnation, this …
Pursuing the One
The calling of a pastor can be a demanding, rigorous, and often thankless calling. For every televangelist with white shoes raking it in, there are a hundred men laboring in obscure corners of the Lord’s vineyard. For those who are aware of this reality — the fact that congregations are sometimes critical, fussy, envious, and …