Life is a mystery that turns inanimate matter into animate matter. Death is a disruption of this glorious gift, turning animate matter back into inanimate. But life is always God’s default option. He is the God of all life; He is the living God. Death entered this world only through sin and rebellion. When God …
Comparisons Are Odious
Once there was a mother who always compared her two sons. The eldest was obviously her favorite, and was no secret to anyone. Her comments, particularly when she was displeased, usually came out to the advantage of her favorite, sometimes in striking ways. When she rebuked the younger, it was by wondering why he could …
Restoring Our Frame
When our first parents fell, the occasion of their grief and ours was food. Not only was it food, it was food that was good. The prohibition of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was clearly a temporary restriction. God did not create an evil, and place it in the midst of the …
Loving Little Ones 2
INTRODUCTION: We have considered the fact that child nurture, if it is to be healthy, has to occur in a particular kind of soil—and that is the soil of grace, mercy, and kindness. This is not indulgence or relativism, but rather is the only real basis for bringing up children who will love and worship …
Loving Little Ones 1
INTRODUCTION: The duties of a godly parent are profound and challenging. This is particularly the case when you are dealing with little ones who cannot explain anything to you. They don’t know their own heart, and they could not tell you about if they did. We have to get our guidance from Scripture. And like …
Stealing Ones and Zeroes
Once there was a pastor who preached a sermon on restitution and inexplicably left out any reference to electronic stealing—downloading music illegally, copying software, and all that. He was asked various questions about this after the message, and as a result he learned his lesson, and will never do that again. There’s the story part …
His Mercy Endures Forever
God is the God of food. He created food, and He created it in order to bestow it on his people. He made a world full of food, and has invited us to partake of all that He has set before us. This is His character; this is what He is like. As it says …
Friendship Evangelism
INTRODUCTION: For various reasons, evangelism is a difficult subject for many Reformed Christians. Some die-hard Calvinists may have glanced at the title of this message—friendship evangelism—and asked, “What’s evangelism?” Or, if they are really die-hard Calvinists, perhaps they asked, “What’s friendship?” But this attitude is not what the Bible teaches, not what the tradition of …
He’s Right Here
Once there were two girls, the best of friends. They played together, went to school together, and grew up together. They even made a point of attending the same college together. Nothing could separate them, or so they thought. One day, when they were juniors, a young man in their class began showing one of …
Life to the World
In the gospel of John, Jesus feeds the five thousand in a staggering miracle—a rare miracle that is mentioned in all four gospels. He immediately follows this up by teaching His disciples that He is the bread of heaven, and that his flesh is life for the world. Now what this means is that the …