Once a fledgling minister was sitting quietly in the back of presbytery. He had not yet learned all the ropes, and was silently enduring until the time came when he would be called upon to speak. He had made it through three meetings of presbytery this way, and it looked as if it was soon …
Auburn Avenue Hubbub (AAH) Cool Quote #10
This is why God has to stoop down to us, which he does by means of the sacraments. This, then, is how we put on the Lord Jesus Christ at baptism . . . Thus, you see that our baptism becomes precious to us when we use it as a shield to deflect all assailing …
Orange Juice Concentrate
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 14 As we study the world around us, and how that world relates to medical practice, we should study in the light of biblical rules of evidence. But it may be objected that to require biblical principles of verifiability in …
Friends of God/Psalm 15
Who may be considered a friend of God? The question is one of the most important that can be posed in this life. The answer requires development, but an accurate summary requires us to remember that a man is a friend of God only when he is a friend of God’s character and attributes. The …
Greatness Stoops
Our Father God, Your Word proclaims all life, And death has died, the enemy laid low. You have thrown down all pettiness and sin, You have declared that greatness always stoops. The way of life must now embrace the cross, The selfless one emerges from the grave, And we rejoice since Jesus led the way.
Stay, and Believe in Jesus
Several years ago, we began observing the Lord’s Supper on a weekly basis. Quite a bit went into that discussion beforehand, but one of the striking things about our preparations for it was the warning I got from a wise minister. He said that when we went to weekly communion, we should expect a great …
Hard Providence
As a congregation we affirm the exhaustive and complete sovereignty of God. We have done so in an era when many within the church at large dispute it, and so many of us have been in debates on this subject. But men are not the only ones who might test or probe the depth of …
My Sane Baptist Friend
I recently had an email exchange with someone I shall call my “sane Baptist friend,” or SBF for short. He had some questions about the Auburn Avenue deal, and I thought our exchange might prove helpful to others. There are a couple back and forths here. For ease of following, my original words are underlined, …
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
As we consider the context of this next blessing, we must understand that Jesus is not pronouncing an indiscriminate blessing on all forms of sorrow and mourning. Just as the previous blessing was reserved for those who are poor in spirit, so this blessing is for those who spiritually mourn. Christ teaches us: “Blessed are …
Jesus or Aristotle?
I have to begin by saying that it should be self-evident that logical fallacies exist, and that they should be avoided. Having the mind of Christ includes avoiding the kinds of confusions and mistakes in reasoning that are so characteristic of our time. I think it was John Stott who said that fuzzy-mindedness is one …