Martin Luther once observed that young men are tempted by girls. When they are thirty, they are tempted by gold. When they are forty, they are lured and enticed by glory and honor. And when they are sixty, they think, “What a pious fellow I have become!” We too readily confuse the natural waning of …
Really Catty
The kingdom of God is not a way of being good in the first place. It is a way of forgiveness, which means that other things, far less respectable, have to be addressed first. Once there was a young girl in junior high school who approached her mother one night about a problem she had …
The Kingdom of God is a Fine Automobile
The doctrine of the kingdom of God is like a fine automobile. Some parts of it are lush, and polished, and comfortable, with climate control, and windows that go up and down with the press of a button. Other parts of it are cold and metallic, greasy, heavy and far too . . . doctrinal. …
Everything But His Reason
Chesterton once commented that a madman is not someone who has lost his reason; he is a man who has lost everything but his reason. Once there was a man who was driven by emotional forces, largely invisible to him. He was deeply insecure, and so he went from one fractured relationship to another. He …
Story Telling as Subversion
Story telling is a subversive activity. Every culture, every society, has a story to tell of itself. Idolatrous societies tell stories that vindicate their idols, presenting them in the best possible light. You, as Christians, will always be allowed to worship as you please, just so long as you do not do anything to subvert …
Not Nearly Scrupulous Enough
God pronounces a blessing for those who do not lean on their own understanding. Of course, in one sense, our own understanding is the only thing we have. The proverb does not mean that God somehow requires us to think with someone else’s mind, to look out at the world with someone else’s eyes. This …
Another Blast from the Past
Within the last week or so, we have seen the removal of the Ten Commandments from an Alabama courthouse, a removal done on the tyrannical insistence of our federal government, over the courageous protest of Chief Justice Moore. My point here is not to praise or blame Moore, although if it were, I would praise …
Why the World Limps
The world used to be a pleasant place. Occasionally trouble would arise—a plague, or a disaster, or an invasion. But men instinctively knew how to deal with all such events—they would find the one responsible, whether he was responsible or not, take him outside the city limits, and stone him there. The pile of stones …
The Metaphorical Bonnet
The exhortation last Lord’s Day spoke to austere fathers. Today I want to address women who tear down their households with their own hands, and with their own tongues. Scripture has a great deal to say to us in our particular stations and callings. Men are addressed one way, and women another. In a community …
Your Temper is a Doctrine of God
As we come to worship the Lord this morning, I want to deliver a particular exhortation to a particular part of our congregation. I want to speak to fathers about the dangers of austerity. Austere fathers are often attracted to certain elements of the Reformed faith, and by emphasizing that faith partially, they often stumble …