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 …
Quick Lies
God is the God of all truth, and so of course, we as His people should be careful to speak the truth. One area where we sometimes neglect this duty is in the area that might be called “quick lies.” They don’t even seem like lies at all unless you take them out in the …
Together, But Not Lockstep
Last week at this time I mentioned that ritual actions are important to us. They are significant in the Bible, and we don’t ever want to fall into the trap of relegating them to the status of being insignificant. But there is another important element in all of this. We are gathered together as an …
Present Your Bodies as Spiritual Worship
Over the years we have emphasized the importance of ritual. Rituals are significant in the Bible, and they ought to be significant to us. We have also emphasized the importance of worshipping God with our bodies and not just with our minds. We have sought to resist the temptation that many Reformed Christians deal with, …
Centurions As Alms-Givers
Karl Marx famously said that religion was the opiate of the masses. Although his taunt misses true religion, there are many forms of religion in the world that his arrow hits dead center. One of them would be the Pharisaism of Jesus’ day. We often miss the import of the Lord’s teaching, his cryptic sayings, …
Grace and Mercy Both
Our God is a God of both grace and mercy. In the English language, grace is generally unearned, unmerited favor. Mercy is demerited favor that we receive anyway. When we have forfeited goodness, and God gives it to us anyway, He is showing mercy. When Adam was first created, he had obviously done nothing to …
Standing on a High Rock Next to the Devil
Struggling with temptations of the flesh can certainly keep us busy. When we finally feel like we are getting mastery over them, and we are starting to feel that secure feeling of superiority over others, we think it is because we have been making real progress in our sanctification. But in reality, we are moving …
Teeny Idols
There are two kinds of loyalty, one good and one bad. If you are fiercely loyal to your family, to your nation, to your church, or doctrinal traditions, and that loyalty results in you maintaining (emotionally, if not actually) that the object of your loyalty could never do wrong, or be in the wrong, then …
Adversarial Fathers
When a son is out of control, this is because the parents have often made the mistake of slipping into an adversarial role, instead of what they ought to be occupying, which is a watchful and parental role. The first unfortunate step in becoming an adversary to your child is that of taking it personally. …
Noodles and Twigs
As parents, teachers, elders, pastors, and as those in authority, we tend to fall into one of two errors as we seek to guide those who have been placed under our authority. One error is to be far too easily pleased. The other is to become impossible to please. For the former, not only is …