“The shameful cult of human personalities which tarnished the life of the first century Corinthian church still persists in Christendom, and a most improper and unbecoming regard is paid to some church leaders today” (John Stott, The Preacher’s Portrait, p. 101).
Wilkins the Newt
Let’s make this simple to understand, shall we? Just want to look at the structure of the thing. 1. An accusation was circulated in the PCA, claiming that Steve Wilkins is a newt; 2. The Louisiana Presbytery, understandably concerned, met with him a couple times and determined that in their judgment he was in fact …
All Things Well
Recall that Jesus has just finished a controversy with the theologians of Jerusalem over the meaning of ritual purification. He differed with them utterly over the meaning of the word unclean. This sets the stage for His great kindness shown here to the Syrophonecian woman. “And from thence he arose, and went into the borders …
Preaching, Not Preening
“If we love them, our objective will not be to impress them with our learning but to help them with theirs . . .J.C. Ryle, formerly Bishop of Liverpool, has asserted that one of the secrets of the evangelistic revival in eighteenth century England was that its leaders preached simply. ‘To attain this’ he wrote,’they …
The Chuckle of Faith
This is the last of our exhortations on civic involvement, at least for the present. And so, let me offer a series of final exhortations, as simple bullet points. Regardless of what happens, we do not win or lose at the polls. God is always sovereign, and His position is absolutely unthreatened. He establishes the …
Gentiles Under the Law
In my most recent post responding to Green Baggins’ review of my book, I briefly discussed my understanding of law and gospel. As a result of that, a discussion broke out in the comments section of my blog here, and so I want to follow up on a couple of things that came to mind. …
Spiritual Excrement
NB: For some mysterious reason, I cannot find the notes I had for the second half of Mark 6. Oh, well. On to chapter 7. In this next passage, we find that the Lord Jesus Christ rejects man-made piety in the strongest possible terms, and in a way calculated to offend the devout. “Then came …
The Preacher As Father
“But St. Paul did not hesitate to call himself the ‘father’ of the Corinthians, the Galatians and the Thessalonians, as well as of certain individuals, and there is no doubt that a father’s qualities, particularly of gentleness and love, which the Apostle mentions, are indispensable to the preacher as portrayed in the New Testament . …
And A Slippery One
“Every preacher knows the insidious temptation to vainglory to which the pulpit exposes him. We stand there in a prominent position, lifted above the congregation, the focus of their gaze and the object of their attention. It is a perilous position indeed” (John Stott, The Preacher’s Portrait, p.77).
Living in the Will of God
INTRODUCTION: What Christian does not want to live in the will of God? What an admirable aspiration, and what a difficult thing to figure out. Many Christians have needlessly tied themselves up in knots over this issue. THE TEXTS: “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such …