We are gathered here as the people of God, summoned to be citizens of new polis, a new city, a new kingdom. This kingdom is not intended to function as a sort of shadow government until the end of the world, constantly out of touch, constantly impotent. No, this kingdom was designed to grow and …
Say It Again
You know that God is the only Lord. You know that He is to be worshiped in accordance with His holy Word. You know that the gospel is the only life to be had in this wretched world. But remember also that this gospel proclaims a new creation, a new heaven and new earth. This …
Our Life
You are the covenant people of God, and You have gathered in faith today around the declaration of God’s holy gospel, and in humble reliance on the means of grace which He has given. This is your life, and your only life. What is our life? We have no life in ourselves, and our life …
Understanding Your Own Story
All of us, every day, all day long, are constructing a story. In this story that we construct, we are the hero and protagonist—sometimes rightly and sometimes wrongly. Accordingly, we interpret the actions of others, weaving them into the story of our lives. If we are the protagonist rightly, then we approach those around us …
Let the Taproot Go Down
You are gathered here as an assembly of those who have been washed in the Word of the Lord, in the waters of baptism. You are the congregation of the saints, the assembly of the righteousness. You have gathered here, not from habit or custom, but rather to hear the same Word that washed you, …
Holy Impatience
You are here in part to learn a holy impatience. By this I do not mean susceptibility to annoyance or irritability, but rather an impatience with every false thing that tricks itself out as something worthy of admiration. You may be assured that behind every such false claim is an idol, carved from some man’s …
Covenant Renewal
When we worship the Lord, we are renewing the covenant with Him. He knows our frailty, and how easily we flatter ourselves, and so He seeks to bring us up short – every week. But we might mistake this language. We might begin to assume that God expects us to be constantly and consistently defeated. …
The Next Christendom
As we have said numerous times, we here at Christ Church do not have a political agenda. By this we mean that we do not intend to embrace the idea that the Christian faith is just another player in the marketplace of ideas, and that we need to agitate in various ways to make our …
Acquiring A Taste
Music is very important to our God, and He requires us to come before Him with congregational music. As we do, we want to take care not to insult Him with false assumptions about what He wants. Beware of a false humility: you may believe you do not have a good voice, and in some …
A Chemical Reaction
Jesus said that He did not come to bring peace, but rather a sword. He taught that He Himself was the embodiment of scandal, the stone of stumbling, the rock of offense. This should not be taken as though the Lord Jesus brought scandal with Him in the same way that He brought holiness or …