We cannot have an assembly like this without collecting together great sin and sinfulness. But this is not a function of the size of our church. The same thing would happen if any one of us were to assemble, all by ourselves, in a closet. We are all sinners, and God is in the process …
Fullness and Overflow
Who are you? What are you doing here? How did it come about that you are now here? The instruments used by God are many, but the fundamental answer is that you are here at worship because you have been called, summoned. God wants you to hear His Word. He requires you to worship Him, …
Faithfulness Is Full of Faith
If we do not think about what we are doing here, and if we do not think about it in faith, then we are just so many donkeys gathered in a stable. The New Testament teaches plainly that a Christian gathering, in the name of the Lord Jesus, on the Lord’s Day, can do more …
Preparation for the Word
We are gathered here this morning so that God might govern us, and so that the Lord Jesus Christ might demonstrate His rule among us. There are many ways that this is shown in the service of worship, but one of the central ones is seen in the way we listen to the Word of …
Lord of the Fingertips
Your worldview is not what you think — that is, in another sense, your worldview is not limited to what you are thinking. Your worldview comes out your fingertips, and expresses itself, incarnationally, in what you are doing. In making a salad, spanking a child, caressing your wife, or holding a communion cup, you are …
God Restores All His People
God delights to restore His people, and we are convinced that He is in the process of doing so. At the same time, be aware that the enemy of our souls does not leave such restorations unopposed. We will be attacked, and we will be attacked where we are the weakest. When God restores His …
Arranged On The Altar
The Word of God is like a very sharp sword, and the Bible teaches us that preparation for worship is actually preparation to be cut in pieces so that God might place us on His altar. As He does this, we ascend before Him in the smoke of the burnt offering. Our prayers, our psalms, …
God in Battles
The Lord Jesus taught us to be confident in God when He said that not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from the will of the Father. God’s sovereignty is not concerned with generalities—for example, He does not look at a battle from a middle distance, determining only the large issues, such as which …
And the Walls Come Down
Religious claims, by their very nature, are total. Whenever someone advances a religious claim that is partial, they are not disproving this claim, but rather demonstrating that they are dishonest or confused. If they are dishonest, they recognize that their religious claims really are total, but also that those people who are not adherents are …
Holy Warfare
Worship is warfare. Throughout the Bible we learn the lesson that when the people of God worship rightly, their enemies give way before them. When they worship according to their own wisdom, they are prevailed against. Look around, and consider the condition of the church today. Nothing is more apparent than the fact that we …