One of the characteristics of modern assumptions about the Bible is that in the Old Testament God dealt with His people in more physical or earthy ways, and that in the New Testament His promises and deliverances are of a more spiritual (meaning ethereal) nature. Thus, we don’t expect God to actually deliver us from …
The Rest That Works
We are discovering that celebration is hard work. We are in the middle of a great season of personal and corporate celebrations—graduations from high school, from college, weddings, and so forth. This is a time of great joy, and joy naturally calls us to work so that we might give fuller expression to that joy. …
Inescapable Imprecation
The message today is on Psalm 35, one of the psalms of imprecation. These psalms have given many Christians many difficulties, and we don’t quite know what to do with them. Let us grant at the outset that they can be abused by people who pretend to embrace them. We can want to “destroy the …
Holy Hands
We assemble as God’s holy ones, as those who are called to be saints. We do not gather on one day simply to think certain thoughts about God, and that is the end of it. We come to present our bodies, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him. This means that we cannot detach …
The Wine Is Better
We gather together now, in accordance with the will of God, and under the protections provided by His Spirit, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that at the conclusion of our service of worship we gather at the table of the Lord. All baptized Christians are welcome at this table, and …
Easter All the Time
He is risen. He is risen indeed! On this day, two thousand years ago, the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, conquering it forever, throwing down the collected might of all the principalities and powers, releasing the redeemed human race from its fear of death, and reversing the power of death that had dominated our …
Start With Prayer
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 95 “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established” (Prov. 16:3). It is important for us to dedicate our business to God. Unless the Lord builds the house, the one who builds it labors in vain. …
Colliding Cultural Disciplines
We are not just entertained by our amusements, we are shaped by them. If those entertainments are worldly, the world behind them is working energetically to press us into its mold, and to make us conform to its wisdom. At the same time, the worship of God is shaping us, and is recreating us so …
Real Fellowship
We sometimes like our fellowship in small doses. We love being around other Christians if we can only arrange to have them available on tap. Turn it on when we want, and turn it off when we want. This is why weekend retreats are sometimes attractive. We get a good dose of other people, but …
Confessing the Crass
James tells us that fresh water and brackish water should not flow from the same spring. The apostle Paul forbids a particular form of coarse jesting, and says that every word that proceeds from our mouths should be for the edification of the hearer. Our worship this morning is the fresh water. What has the …