In the book of Ephesians (4:3), Paul tells us that we should endeavor to the keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. He tells us to endeavor to do this because if we don’t, unity is not the kind of thing that can be put on auto-pilot. Unity unattended is disunity …
Let’s Be Reasonable
God created us as reasonable creatures. To adopt rationalism is to make an idol out of reason, but for all that, we should still seek to be reasonable. The word alogos represents a failure at this place. In one place it is translated as unreasonable (Acts. 25:27). This is in the mouth of the pagan …
No Countermeasures
When we gather to worship the Lord, when the call to worship is uttered, the Holy Spirit gathers us up, and ushers us all into the heavenly places where we then worship God in the name of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. We have not come to a mountain that can be …
Why Is This Sin Privileged?
Once two men were talking about spiritual things and they finally came to an open disagreement. They had been friends for many years, but this was an area they had never talked about—not because they hadn’t been aware of the difference between them, but because they had been. It was, as you might guess, a …
I Take Your Point
Once there were two women, next door neighbors, who were on pretty good terms. One was a Christian and the other was not, but still they got on decently enough. This lasted for several years, until one day the Christian woman noticed that her friend was becoming irritable and easily annoyed. This increased over a …
Comparisons Are Odious
Once there was a mother who always compared her two sons. The eldest was obviously her favorite, and was no secret to anyone. Her comments, particularly when she was displeased, usually came out to the advantage of her favorite, sometimes in striking ways. When she rebuked the younger, it was by wondering why he could …
Cattiness at the Christian School
Once there were two headmasters of two Christian schools who were good friends. They lived in different cities, and didn’t see one another very often, but they did make a point of catching up a couple times a year. One time they got together for lunch when their schools were competing in a regional spelling …
Push Back
One evening a father was sitting in front of the television, watching the evening news. His teenage son happened to walk through, and stopped for a moment. A commercial came on, and so the son said, “Dad, how can you bear to watch that stuff?” His father looked up. “Well, otherwise I would not know …
Forgiveness of Sin
INTRODUCTION: The Lord Jesus was born into a sinful world. His advent was not designed as an inspirational moment to crown all the others, but rather He was sent as a Savior. He came to bring forgiveness, and consequently if there is anything His followers should understand and practice, it is forgiveness. THE TEXT: “Then …
Sinning Against Thoughtfulness
We are living in a generation of great upheaval and change. One of the results of this is that many Christians have found themselves in a slippery place, not knowing quite how to behave. As the gospel works through a culture, that culture is transformed, and many external cultural aids to godliness are developed. This …