Learning to live in genuine community is one of the central goals that we have set for ourselves. And, to be honest, we did not set the goal—it is set before us in Scripture as one of the basic elements of the Christian faith. We are one in Jesus Christ, and this is not to …
No Jiggy Taunts
The Lord has shown great kindness to us as a congregation, and has given us a wonderful piece of property on the south side of our town. If the Lord wills and enables us, it is our intent to build a beautiful sanctuary there. Since we are doing this in the aftermath of several years …
Why Your Arm Fell Off
Last week in the call to worship we considered the self-destructive effects of bitterness. We saw how the bitter person is actually in fundamental agreement with the person who wronged him. Because of what bitterness does – causing us to fall short of the g race of God – we should consider it a bit …
Confession of Sin
INTRODUCTION: Confession of sin is a basic activity that all Christians need to understand and practice. It is the most fundamental form of spiritual housekeeping. THE TEXT: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just …
Walk the Other Way
Resentment is one of the most confused and confusing sins that we commit. Another person has wronged you and hurt you, or you believe that he has, and so you store up bitterness in your heart. But this bitterness pollutes and eats away at your own soul, not the soul of the one who wronged …
Greed, Guilt, or Gratitude by Grace
You are Americans, most of you, and trying to speak to you about wealth is like addressing a congregation of fish on the nature of water. When we consider how the vast majority of the human race has lived up to this generation, and indeed, how most of the world still lives today, your wealth …
Cultivate That Soil
This week and next we are going to be talking a good deal about money, and there is no subject on which Americans deceive themselves more easily than this one. We careen between two extremes. The first is to plunge headlong into the cascading waterfall of material goods that our economy produces, whooping and hollering …
Liturgicide
For those who want to do it, one of the best devices for hiding from God is something called liturgy. I say this as one advocating liturgical reform in the Church, and as one who has taught repeatedly that liturgy is inescapable. But developed liturgy, researched liturgy, biblical liturgy, remains a snare. A certain kind …
Avoiding the Precipice
The law of the Lord is perfect, the psalmist says, converting the soul. For the one who receives the word of God in faith, the law teaches us to stay away from the precipice of sin, apostasy, and damnation. The law of God makes the simple wise. Hear then, this warning from the law. The …
Mutual Indwelling
Jesus explicitly prays for His followers to be one, just as He and the Father are one. This is the basis for the likemindedness that we find frequently commended in the pages of the New Testament. But too often we just glide over this, thinking that the unity we are to have is a mere …