One of the mysteries of our relationship to God and our relationship to the world is the inverse demeanor that exists between humbling and boldness. When God is great and man is small, the result is humility before God and boldness before men. But when man is great and God is small, the thing goes …
Peter and His Daughter
Peter was a tall, intelligent and gregarious member of the church. He was a family man, and his family also seemed pretty interested and engaged in the life of the community. He was always there on the premises when expected, but when it came to theology he was never one for questions. He always looked …
The Flameout and Slow Fade
Hank and his wife Suzanne were one of the most active couples in the church. They were leaders in their home-schooling circle, and had been instrumental in getting many parents in the congregation to take their educational responsibilities seriously. In addition to being charismatic and hard-working, they were attractive people, and their young family would …
Just Not When It Mattered
Jack was in many ways an ideal parishioner. He was married, gainfully employed, and with two young children in upper elementary school. He was happily married, and conscientious in church attendance. In addition to this, he was the kind of church member who would diligently seek out pastoral counsel. If he had a situation with …
Think for a Moment
In answer to the question of whether or not Jesus was going to reign over a particular part of the earth or not, the answer that Isaac Watts suggested is an apt one. Well, he asks, does the sun shine on it? Jesus shall reign where’re the sunDoes his successive journeys run. This is a …
#SamePageSummer Guest Post
For more info, go here . . . For as long as I can remember we have been praying for reformation and revival in the church. While I have longed to see the Lord answer that prayer I have also felt the distant and intangible nature of the request. What could we actually do to …
Learning Our Lines
You have been exhorted as a people numerous times to remember who you are in the story you are in. You have been asked to think about what kind of character you are. If the day you are having were a movie, what character would you be? And would it be a sympathetic character or …
Calling It Something Else
The Bible instructs us on how we are to live together. When we do not follow those instructions, there are two kinds of disobedience. One is flagrant, and knows that it is disobedient. When professing Christians give way to these sorts of temptations, the results are called theft, adultery, fornication, sodomy, false witness and so …
Loving Your Creditors
When we live in tight community the way we do, it is not possible for this to happen without some of us becoming indebted to others of us. Scripture says we are to owe no one anything except the debt of love, and this either means no debt or no debt but what is fully …
The Mountain Behind
As Christians who live in history, as believers who occupy time, we want to make sure we understand the tenses of the verbs that describe our salvation. Before the foundation of the world, He has chosen us. That is in the past. His past choice concerns our future—that we should be holy and blameless. Because …