God’s saints are not made out of simple and discrete blocks of wood. We are complex beings to begin with, and our sinfulness only complicates matters. As we approach the table of the Lord this morning, take special care not to abuse it through tenaciously clutching to your own opinions about others. Too many Christians …
Canadians and Kurds
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! O praise the Lord, all you nations, You Gentiles and tribes to the end of the earth. Praise Him, all you people, Canadians and Kurds, Americans and Armenians, Brazilians and Englishmen, Chinese and Russians, Poles and Japanese, Praise Him all you people. …
Let It Go
Understanding Scripture is not just a question of understanding a particular passage, but also of understanding its place in all Scripture, and the balance we are called to have in the face of what might appear to be conflicting instructions. In Matthew 18, Jesus teaches us how to confront sin in our midst (and the …
Eating the World
When we consider the image of the loaf before us, we need to remember the imagery that is brought to bear by all of Scripture, and not just the passages that deal with the Lord’s Supper directly. For example, in Corinthians, the apostle Paul teaches us that we are the one loaf of bread, and …
Marriage As Manifest Glory XXXVII
Introduction What does it mean to be pro-marriage or pro-family, or pro-life? In common parlance, we know what such phrases refer to but even here we must be careful. The basic Christian duty is to be pro-God, and align everything else in accordance with this. When we absolutize things like “life,” “marriage,” or “family,” we …
Marriage As Manifest Glory XXXVI
INTRODUCTION: So we are now considering the question of respect, submission and authority. We have looked at love, sacrifice and authority with regard to husbands, and now we need to reflect on the other side of the coin. Remember that authority in the Christian framework is a Trinitarian thing. Authority gladly surrendered is the foundation …
God Among the Gods
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! You, O God, stand up in the great congregation, You stand among the mighty ones, And judge the gods themselves. You chide them— “How long will you rule unjustly? How long will you accept wasters into your councils? Think for a moment. …
Worship of the Undefined
We are coming into the presence of our triune God, and we do so in order to worship Him. We are coming to worship Him, and we have not come here to define Him. The Latin word for boundary, or limit, is finis. And so when we define something, we set the boundaries of it. …
God the Killjoy
Many of our liturgical practices and beliefs rest upon a slander of God’s character. We say things about Him that are certainly true in the abstract, but in context they are completely out of whack. For example, in the course of Israel’s religious calendar, God appointed for them one fast day, the Day of Atonement. …
Let Israel Say
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! If You, our God, had not been on our side . . . We would not live to sing Your praise. But now, alive, let Israel say If it had not been for the Lord on our side, When men rose up …