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 …
Trailer Committee
A few days ago, I mentioned Guy Waters’ book on the New Perspective on Paul, and did not heap scorn upon it. Rather, I commended it, all but the last eight pages, which really were unfortunate. When I wrote that review, I did not know that Guy Waters was on the committee for Mississippi Valley …
Horton and Wilson
Yesterday I had a very productive conversation with Michael Horton, arranged by the good folks at St. Anne’s Pub, an audio journal. The proceedings were of course taped, and will be available from them in a week or so. While you are there, please check out the other things being done by that most valuable …
Lift Up Your Heads/Psalm 24
The psalter contains all of human experience. In Psalm 22 we saw faith in agony and conflict. In Psalm 23, we saw pastoral peace and trust. Here in the 24th Psalm, we see the majesty of triumph. “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he …
Grace to God
God of our Fathers, we lift up grace, blessing, and praise to You. We know that we can offer nothing to You that is not being offered back to You, and yet You summon us to this, and delight in us as we offer as gifts to You that which we received as gifts from …
Calendar and Story
This is the first Lord’s Day of Advent, the beginning of the church calendar year. One of the most important things we can learn in our celebration of this is the foundational truth that calendars are not silent—calendars always tell a story. Now just because a calendar tells a different story from ours does not …
The Empty Chair
In their celebration of Passover, the Jews keep an empty chair for Elijah, the forerunner of the Messiah. As Christians, we confess that both Elijah and the Messiah have come, and we mark that coming in faith by our participation here, at this table. And so, in a very real sense, this table has no …