INTRODUCTION: As we are considering some changes in how we elect and establish the elders of our church, the session has asked me to lay out the scriptural case for the principles we are seeking to honor and observe in this. THE TEXT: And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to …
Jesus Is Lord
As we continue our study of historical optimism, a good thing to keep in mind is the need to constantly turn to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. When we think through these issues carefully, we must recognize that the basic issue is really the view we have of …
God Throws Down the Proud
We cannot have an assembly like this without collecting together great sin and sinfulness. But this is not a function of the size of our church. The same thing would happen if any one of us were to assemble, all by ourselves, in a closet. We are all sinners, and God is in the process …
In Pleasant Places
Father in heaven, You are a gracious God, and You have poured out blessing after blessing upon our heads. You have established the lines for us in pleasant places. We have opened our mouths, and You have filled them. We have turned to You, and You have bestowed Your covenant kindness upon us. We thank …
Fullness and Overflow
Who are you? What are you doing here? How did it come about that you are now here? The instruments used by God are many, but the fundamental answer is that you are here at worship because you have been called, summoned. God wants you to hear His Word. He requires you to worship Him, …
Faithfulness Is Full of Faith
If we do not think about what we are doing here, and if we do not think about it in faith, then we are just so many donkeys gathered in a stable. The New Testament teaches plainly that a Christian gathering, in the name of the Lord Jesus, on the Lord’s Day, can do more …
Heretical Cooties
I recently wrote to Steve Wilkins, saying that it was almost time for him to come up to Moscow again, bringing some of his heretical cooties with him. We were almost out, I said. He wrote back, somewhat too triumphantly I am afraid, with something about him having been declared fully orthodox by the Louisiana …
Preparation for the Word
We are gathered here this morning so that God might govern us, and so that the Lord Jesus Christ might demonstrate His rule among us. There are many ways that this is shown in the service of worship, but one of the central ones is seen in the way we listen to the Word of …
Day of Deliverance
Our Lord and God, we call upon Your name in celebration, as we recall how You bared Your right arm on behalf of our fathers. We are children of liberty because of their gifts to us, and we pray that we would be faithful to the inheritance they have left for us. This is Reformation …
Lord of the Fingertips
Your worldview is not what you think — that is, in another sense, your worldview is not limited to what you are thinking. Your worldview comes out your fingertips, and expresses itself, incarnationally, in what you are doing. In making a salad, spanking a child, caressing your wife, or holding a communion cup, you are …