In my recent conversation with Michael Horton, he raised a question that I did not get a chance to answer in the course of our discussion. He had a problem with the fact that I had said somewhere that “works is the animating principle of faith.” By saying this, I do not mean that faith …
Simultaneous Shame and Confidence/Psalm 25
The twenty-fifth psalm is a sustained plea for help, although it contains some things that we might have trouble reconciling. This again is one of the reasons why we need to be trained to pray as the psalmist prays. This is the second penitential psalm, and it is the first that is composed as an …
God of Times and Seasons
God of our times and seasons, we thank You for our times and seasons. We know that we do not control history, and that yet You are pleased to use us in what You are doing in the course of history. We submit ourselves to You gladly now, and ask that this worship this morning …
Christmas as War
This is now the second Lord’s Day of Advent, and we continue to prepare ourselves for the celebration of one of the most monumental events of all world history—the time when the Second Person of the Creator God assumed a human body in the womb of a virgin, in order to join us in our …
The Central Table
This is the Table, and it has its rightful place at the center of our lives. What we do here sets the tone for what we do at every other table. This Table is the rudder; it guides and directs all our other table fellowship. If we are hypocritical here, we will be hypocritical around …
Grace Upon Grace
Our Father and God, we rest in Your presence now because we come in faith to the day of rest that You have appointed. We rest in Your grace, and the faith that You give to do this is additional grace — grace upon grace. In Your presence we are glad to receive what You …
Peacemaking
Mankind loves to wrangle. It is part of the sinful condition we inherited from Adam. Unfortunately, this is one of the last sins addressed after conversion. In many cases, a professed conversion to Christ “just changes the subject,” but does not change the heart of a man given to quarrels. But “blessed are the peacemakers, …
Foundations of Marriage IV
Introduction: By the grace of God, we have repented of our discontent and want to be teachable. We want to hear the word of truth in truth, and make applications according to the Spirit and not according to the letter. And we want to apply whatever we learn to ourselves first, and not to our …
Foundations of Marriage III
Introduction: We are beginning this series on marriage with a short introductory series on why teaching on marriage frequently does no good at all. The first reason we considered was discontent, because discontented people are unteachable. The second stumbling block is our tendency to trust in the letter of the law, instead of trusting in …
Honoring Parents
Although the message of the Fifth Commandment is clearly a message which is important for children to hear and heed, it is not a message just for children. Everyone who reads this has parents, and everyone who hears has a duty to honor them in the way the Bible describes. “Honor your father and your …