As you know, next Lord’s Day, we will be moving to two services. The first will be at 8:00 am and the second at 10:30. We will try that out for a few weeks, and it is possible that we will move them both back to 8:30 am and 11:00. Let us know what you …
Stones for Bread?
When we ask God for bread, will He give us a stone? No, of course not. And when He has promised us bread, and we asked because of that promise, will that change anything? Still less. And when He has promised the bread of Christ, offered to every sinner who understands he needs salvation from …
Children in Worship
The topic of children in the worship service is, in some respects, a very mundane one. What does the Bible say about nursery, children’s church or Sunday School, or keeping your children with you during the service? This is something which we all deal with every week; what light if any does the Bible shed …
Amos for Americans (Part Two)/Amos XII
INTRODUCTION: We have made the distinction between direct and indirect obedience. In the realms of indirect obedience, we noted the importance of starting close to home, and starting with the obvious. As God gives more grace, we may move out from the center. We will be able to see to do this because the beam …
Amos for Americans (Part One)/Amos XI
INTRODUCTION: We have spent a good bit of time considering the applications of the prophet’s words to his original audience, to the Israelites in the northern kingdom of Israel. Lord willing, we will spend two weeks considering how those words may legitimately be applied to us as Americans. This is not a topical sermon so …
Teeny Idols
There are two kinds of loyalty, one good and one bad. If you are fiercely loyal to your family, to your nation, to your church, or doctrinal traditions, and that loyalty results in you maintaining (emotionally, if not actually) that the object of your loyalty could never do wrong, or be in the wrong, then …
Providence and Covenant
We live in community, which means in part that we feed one another. We live in community under God, which means that we are dependent upon God—He feeds us. If He did not give the rain, if He did not make the crops grow, we would all of us starve. We want a strong doctrine …
Two Kinds of Light/Amos 10
INTRODUCTION: We have finished working through the book of Amos passage by passage, and we need to take a week to look at the structure and message of the book as a whole. Next week, Lord willing, we will come to some detailed applications. THE TEXT: “Hear ye this word which I take up against …
Noodles and Twigs
As parents, teachers, elders, pastors, and as those in authority, we tend to fall into one of two errors as we seek to guide those who have been placed under our authority. One error is to be far too easily pleased. The other is to become impossible to please. For the former, not only is …
And the Spirit is the Car
Last week I mentioned the very common problem of father hunger. With reference to this meal, there are still a few things that need to be said about this. Jesus teaches us, plainly and explicitly, that He is the only way to God the Father. I am the way, the truth and the life, He …