Friday, November 30, 2007

The Damning Peril of the Catholic Church - Part 1

I noted yesterday that the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) is attacking seven crucial doctrines found in the Bible.The Roman Catholic Church is attacking:1. The Supremacy of God’s Words in the Bible2. The Sufficiency of God’s Son3. The Singularity of God’s Gospel4. The Sovereign Grace of God5. The Security...

Thursday, November 29, 2007

The Peril of the Roman Catholic Church

The Peril of the Roman Catholic ChurchThis week in chapel at seminary I have been exposed to and learned about the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and the doctrine that it teaches. I have been burdened and disheartened and discouraged by the false and deceiving doctrine that is being taught in this religion....

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Preach the gospel more than ever

I need to say thank you to Colin Adams at Unashamed Workman who linked this magnificent quote from Spurgeon:“Today there is not very much gospel about; the church has given it up; a great many preachers preach everything but living truth. This is sad; but it is a strong reason why you and I should teach...

The Identification of a Man of God

The Identification of a Man of God I just want to bring one verse to our attention as we consider what it is that identifies a true man of God as revealed in God’s Word. God’s Word is absolutely clear and lucid. It is not ambiguous or unclear. Perhaps we have one of the clearest examples of this...

Sunday, November 25, 2007

A message for us today

Call me crazy but recently I have found joy in reading commentaries for pleasure. Crazy huh. But it's true. I love just picking up a commentary and reading it. So, this afternoon in my free time before youth group to relax, I picked up MacArthur's commentary on 2 Corinthians. What a marvelous quote here for you to chew on from as he deals with chapter 12:1-4:"The true measure of a man of God does...

Saturday, November 24, 2007

The glories of the gospel

I am preaching tomorrow morning on Ephesians 2:1-10. I don’t think I have ever prepared a sermon before where I have had as much joy and excitement as I have experienced with this one. The text in Ephesians two is so rich, so abundant, so filled with jewels, pearls, diamonds and riches that I am bursting...

Friday, November 23, 2007

The superiority of Jesus Christ

A good quote summarizing the book of Hebrews:"Believers in Jesus Christ, as God's perfect sacrifice for sin, have the perfectHigh-Priest through whose ministry everything is new and better than under thecovenant of law" (see MacArthur Study Bible, p.189...

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Is this Christianity?

Did you know? That in many places around the world there are three main religions. No one is excluded. You are either Muslim, Jewish or Christian. I know there are exceptions to this (such as India), but I'm generalizing to make a point. When I was studying in Israel for those two semesters one of the realities that I had to come to grips with is that, to the Israeli mind, Catholics are Christians....

Sex scandal in the "Church"? -- Again

If this is what the world sees as "Christianity," then no wonder the secular world wants nothing to do with what we are offering them. If what they see is the "church" falling into these sex scandals - and the leaders, at that - repeatedly, we are no different than the world. Why then would they want to deny self, take up cross daily and follow Jesus? Why would they want to live life differently and...

Monday, November 19, 2007

Jesus is the Lord of lords

I heard this song this morning at The Master's College Chapel and was taken away in worship to the very throneroom of heaven by these lyrics. I encourage you to watch the video of Hillsong leading others in worship with this song. As you do, follow along in the lyrics here below:Lord of Lords by HillsongBeholding...

Sunday, November 18, 2007

The joy of being a youth pastor

Tonight for our game time at youth group we are playing:1. Everybody’s “IT” – It is the same as regular “tag,” except now everyone is “it.” So, when a person is tagged, he has to sit down and the last person who is “IT” wins! Should get them sweaty and tired after the first few minutes.2. “Knots” –...

Friday, November 16, 2007

Piper on Justification

Justification - "An instantaneous legal act of God in whcih he 1) thinks of our sin as forgiven and Christ's righteousnes as belonging to us, and 2) declares us to be righteous in his sight" (Grudem, Systematic Theology, 723).Here is the link to Piper's great sermon at Evangelical Theological Society...

A Good Day

Today has just been one of those days when you think back on it and wish it could be that way every day.This morning I woke up (late) and had a wonderful time in the Word. I found a verse and meditated on it as if I had never seen it before. Psalm 119:130 130 The unfolding of Thy words gives light;...

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

No more Bibles in hotel rooms?

Yes, Newsweek has an article entitled: "So Long, Gideons." The subtitle is: "The one thing travelers could reliably count on in their hotel rooms: a Bible in the bedside table. But like many traditions, this one may be dying.."In the rooms of Manhattan's trendy Soho Grand Hotel guests can enjoy aneclectic...

Is the church being "too" relevant?

Mark Dever, one of my great pastoral models, has a great article in the Baptist Press on being too relevant in our churches today. Here's a clip of the article:"I would like to suggest that the most fundamental problem in the church is not that we are not relevant enough in relation to the world, but...

Monday, November 12, 2007

Friday, November 9, 2007

Preaching with Passion -- Marvelous Quote

I gotta tell you, it’s not too often that I quote introductions from books. I am the kind of guy who likes to get right to the meat of the steak, or better yet, right to the heart of the issue. But I can’t pass up this introduction by Phil Ryken, Senior Minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church (that is,...

A Nurse Loving Her Children -- An Insight from 1 Thessalonians

Do we love our flocks like this?I learned something new yesterday. I was listening to a sermon in my preaching class on 1 Thessalonians 2. He was referring to verse 6 which says:1 Thessalonians 2:7 7 But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.Now Paul,...

Thursday, November 8, 2007

The use of the Old Testament for the church

As I've been reading lately studying for an exam I'll be taking in a few weeks, I have come to appreciate, yet again, the profundity of the Old Testament. Longman and Dillard has an Introduction to the Old Testament with this as the last phrase of his introductory statement for Leviticus: The book of...

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

What is it to become a Christian?

“Becoming a Christian means being sick of your sin, longing for forgiveness and rescue from present evil and future hell, and affirming your commitment to the lordship of Christ to the point where you are willing to forsake everything… it isn’t just holding up your hand or walking down an aisle and saying, “I love Jesus.” It is not easy, it is not user-friendly or seeker-sensitive; it isn’t a rosy,...

God… Are you sure?

I am convinced that I have the greatest wife God ever could have given to me. Permit me to boast for a minute…Not only is she working full-time for a Christian company so that her husband can study and go to seminary, but she also is counseling three women currently. This counseling also includes preparing...

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Time magazine on Biblical Divorce...

So Time magazine has now picked up on an ongoing recent dialogue between John Piper and David Instone-Brewer. Here's a clip and here is the link to the TIME article so you can read the whole thing: Instone-Brewer radically reinterprets the first passage using, of all things, quotation marks. The Greek...

Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Knox and M'Cheyne

What do all these men have in common? Well, probably many things. But one thing I am certain of is that they are all hanging on a wall in front of my desk where I study and prepare sermons. It is as if they are hovering over me as I prepare. I have the years and centuries of Godly expositors and exegetes...

Monday, November 5, 2007

Pastors Worldwide Pledge Not to 'Short Circuit' Sermons

It’s sad when this has become a “Pledge” among pastors across the land. If you’re wondering what I’m referring to, just take a look at this new pledge that pastors across the globe are signing to:• I will make the Bible my primary resource in sermon preparation and preaching.• I may use other resources such as commentaries and web sites to enhance, not replace, my personal interaction with Scripture.•...

Friday, November 2, 2007

The marks of a healthy church

Kenneth Gangel has an article entitled, The marks of a healthy church.From the beginning, he noted that “Churches must face the future with total dependence on the sovereignty of God and the power of His Word, while being careful to avoid marrying the spirit of this age and becoming a widow in the next”...

Predestination and Evangelism

Good quote by John Calvin here:Calvin's doctrine of predestination did not make the preaching of thegospel unnecessary; instead, it made preaching necessary because it was by thepreaching of the gospel that God had chosen to save the predestin...

Longing After God

My dear Lord, I can but tell Thee that Thou knowest I long for nothing but Thyself, nothing but holiness, nothing but union with Thy will.Thou hast given me these desires, and thou alone canst give me the thing desired. My soul longs for communion with Thee, for mortification of indwelling corruption,...

Thursday, November 1, 2007

A pastor who needs to get his gospel straight...

Folks, I'm not sure why I have been thinking much on this issue lately... well, actually, I do - I am passionate about the gospel. And when there are those out in our culture who are missing the whole point of the biblical gospel, that disturbs me. Moreover, when there is a pastor of a "Christian church"...
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)