Once there was a woman who lived for the holidays. She absolutely loved the time of year, and the decorations, and the role she had in shopping, and pretty much everything else about Christmas. The only thing that was an irritant to her was the fact that the others in her extended family did not …
New Songs, Both New and Old
This exhortation concerns something we do in every worship service, and consequently it is possible for the whole thing to start becoming “old hat.” I am referring to the practice of psalm singing, and want to urge you to not do it in a way that we can simply check off our list. “Sang my …
No Tight Little Circles
In the colonial era, ministers used to preach what were called artillery sermons—messages leading up to elections in order to teach and inform the saints on their duties in the civil realm. The message today is an artillery sermon to prepare you for the election, and for what comes after, regardless of what that is. …
Little Foxes
One of the ways we lose our grip on the truth is by allowing it to become commonplace in our minds and hearts, in our families, and in our circles. We take it for granted. The truth remains the truth, of course, but we often live in such a clichéd way that our grip on …
True Communion of Saints
Every Lord’s Day, we confess that we believe in the communion of saints. This precious doctrine means that Christ’s Church is genuinely and really one, and that when we gather in worship, we are gathering together with all true saints everywhere, and we are doing so in the heavenly places, as we assemble in the …
Always a Good Investment
Our nation is in the midst of significant financial upheaval, along with many other nations, and because of this we have to remember certain things as we approach God with our worship. Lord willing, we will address this in greater detail in next week’s message, but it is important to say a few things about …
The Magistrates of Vanity Fair
We are in the thick of a political campaign—you have seen yard signs sprouting everywhere like they were mushrooms, and those who do not know God are evidencing their faith in democracy. But we have faith in Jesus, not democracy. We believe in Jesus, not the Republicans and not the Democrats. C.S. Lewis once said …
Hypocrisy and the Young
This exhortation is directed to the young people in our midst, to those who have grown up in the covenant. Here is the charge. Our unbelieving culture around us likes to pretend that hypocrisy, particularly religious hypocrisy, is the special province of elderly and crotchety Christians. But as one who has spent my entire life …
Twin Errors
The Church of Jesus Christ is a corporate body, a covenanted reality. Together, we are the bride of Christ, organically connected to all who love Jesus Christ all over the world and throughout history. We are the Church. We are also individual Christians. And we know that, while the elect are saved, not everyone who …
Honesty in Academics
We are a few weeks into a new school year, and we have a congregation that contains many students. Not only are there many students here, but there are many students here who are enrolled in very challenging programs—programs where failure is often a real possibility. Now in every demanding circumstance, when you have a …