The gospel is powerful, and the word of God runs free in the world. As a result, the world will be converted. The gospel will accomplish what God commands it to do, and it will do so when and how He declares it. But that refers to God’s decrees and His control over all history. …
Broken Bread
One of God’s great patterns is that of taking apart, and then restoring fully. The restoration, the resurrection, is fuller, deeper, and richer than the original unity ever was. But before God tears, we consistently tend to panic, afraid that this time He will not be able to put anything back together. But He always …
Eric and Micaiah
One of the great scriptural principles in ethics is the one about not kidding yourself. This is particularly important for marriage, for reasons I hope to explain shortly. Here is Paul’s way of putting it: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of …
Membership, Like-mindedness, and Loyalty/State of the Church #3
Introduction: As we build these new city walls in the midst of a ruined and ruinous old order, we will be attacked in ways that seek to divide us. We will be accused of being cultic, in thrall to charismatic “leaders.” But the Scriptures do require us to cultivate like-mindedness, and also require us to …
The Sound the Word of Christ Makes When Poured
One of the things that has characterized our congregational life for several decades now is psalm-singing. We do not hold to what has been called “exclusive psalmody”—where nothing but psalms are sung—but it would be fair to say that we hold to dominant psalmody. We want the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly, …
Rationalism and Superstition
We must always remember the importance of eating. Food is not a consequence of the Fall, and the nourishment of creatures was no afterthought on the part of God. God created us as eating creatures. As we eat, and grow, and mature, and multiply, we find that God is in the process of turning inorganic …
Alternative City Walls/State of the Church #2
Introduction: The need of the hour is for the church to help establish a defined counterculture. This requires much more than defined denominational boundaries, or sectarian carve outs. There needs to be a defined center (worship) and a defined mission field (the world). In order to accomplish this, we need brick and mortar to build …
Not Just the Other Guy
When we are in the grip of the really dangerous sins, we want to think that the other person is the one with the problem. When you lie, or lust, or steal, these things are of course bad, but you usually know that they are. But when you are bitter, or envious, or competitive, or …
Two Questions
There are two great questions that should be answered in your minds as you come to the Lord’s Table. These questions should not just be answered at one point in your life, but rather should be part of your conscious heart and mind each time you approach the Table. The two questions are these: what …
Where Did Demetrius Go?
Part of our church’s long term strategy over the next few decades is to plant a number of churches here on the Palouse. We already have two Reformed churches here in Moscow, one in Lewiston about thirty miles south of us. Pullman is eight miles to the west, and is in need of a Reformed …