In the name of the Father, who sent His Son to occupy the womb of a virgin, rejoice. In the name of the Son who gladly went, sing and be glad. And in the name of the Spirit, who enabled that virgin to miraculously conceive, bow down and worship. May the Father, Son, and Holy …
What the Angels Said
Introduction: Grace is one of the most difficult things in the world for sinners to grasp. And as soon as we gather that it is difficult, we turn the “grasping of it” into a contest and a work, with the right answer earning the “best in show” award. But of course, grace means that some …
Born to Die
Introduction: As we continue meditating on the meaning of Advent, we are not really resisting attempts to make Christmas meaningless as we are fighting with alternative meanings. There is no such thing (in the last analysis) as a vacuum holiday, a celebration without a point. Attempts to neutralize Christmas are simply an intermediate step—and the …
The Critical Chapter
Introduction: We are in the season of Advent, and we are going to spend our time considering the profound reality of the Incarnation. We have added a bunch of cultural additions to the celebration of the Christmas season, which is absolutely fine, but at the same time we want to take care not to obscure …
God Rest Ye Merry
We are now entering the season of Advent. And just as St. Paul told the Corinthians to observe the festival of Passover—which they did coming to the Lord’s Supper—by getting rid of the yeast of malice and wickedness, so you should take care to observe Christmas in the same fashion. This is the season of …
Just Plain Grateful
We have just finished celebrating Thanksgiving, and we are on the threshold of Advent. Every worship service, every Lord’s Day, culminates in our celebration of the Eucharist, which is the table of Thanksgiving. In contrast, those who rebel against God in the first chapter of Romans are described as having two signature positions—their refusal to …
Telling the Whole Christmas Story
As we continue to celebrate Advent, a central part of our task is to avoid the common idols of this time of year, and sentimentalism is chief among them. The Christmas story is told in Scripture in some detail, and as we celebrate this story, some of our lapses into idolatry can be identified by …
Pentecost Sunday 2006
Introduction: It is characteristic of the Holy Spirit that He draws attention away from Himself. Sometimes, the Spirit of God is neglected because of a deficiency in theology. But other times this happens precisely because He is active and doing His work. The Text: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will …
Ascension Sunday 2006
Introduction: One of the great difficulties that modern Christians have is that we do not let the two testament inform one another. Because of this neglect on our part, we miss many visions of coming glory that the Old Testament prophets set before us. The Text: I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one …
The Holy Spirit Is Not Your Private Satan: Easter 2006
We gladly testify to the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was crucified, died, and was buried. He came back from the dead on the third day, raised in the power of the Spirit, and He did so in full accordance with the Scriptures. This we confess, and confess with staggered joy. But …