We are coming into the presence of our triune God, and we do so in order to worship Him. We are coming to worship Him, and we have not come here to define Him. The Latin word for boundary, or limit, is finis. And so when we define something, we set the boundaries of it. …
Learning from Scandal
Some of the lessons that God appoints for His people to learn from time to time are the lessons that come with scandal. Whenever a situation arises within the Christian community that shocks, grieves, angers, or scandalizes the people generally, we have to remember that this also is from the hand of God. And because …
Making the World New
A central feature of proper Christian worship is a right understanding of the promised presence of God. But too often we assent to such phrases with a superficial and glib understanding — of course God is present with us in worship because He is omnipresent, and this leads us to think nothing unique happens here …
Smoke in the Eyes
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 63 “As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him” (Prov. 10:26). Vinegar to the teeth provokes a strong reaction. Smoke in the eyes is a guaranteed irritant. And …
Straight Line Power
When Jesus came as the long awaited Messiah, He did not play it out according to the anticipated script. Of course, He fulfilled the prophecies that had been given about Him, but over the centuries those prophecies had been gradually turned into something consistent with something that the religious heart of man dearly loves—straight-line power …
No Sorrow With It
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 62 “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty . . . The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it” (Prov. 10:15, 22). Everyone with …
Full Deliverance
We confess that Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man. But we deny that He was any kind of mish mash of the two. The union of the two natures was found in one man, the Lord Jesus Christ, and this point of union was not a theological abstraction, but rather our Savior, Jesus. …
Evil Suspicions
We are continuing to discuss the origins of verbal strife. The Bible teaches that there is a close correlation between strife and a certain kind of evil suspicion. Speaking of some who were proud and had ungodly attitudes, the apostle Paul warned Timothy about those who dote “about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh …
Word and Sacrament Alone
You, like the Jews in the wilderness, are assembled on the edge of battle. You, like the Jews, are tempted to be distracted by the size of the enemy. You, like them, are all too aware of your own shortcomings and failings. You know your own sin, you know the doctrine of depravity, and you …
In the Short Run
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 61 “The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot” (Prov. 10:7) A very important part of doing business is the matter of reputation. And reputations vary-good reputations go from okay to stellar, and …