Why did Jesus have to die? He is your substitute. He took the punishment you deserved so that you can receive the blessing he deserved, all for the glory of God. Here it is in black and white. The most important paragraph in the Bible. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart… Read More The Most Important Paragraph in the Bible
With sermons for tonight, tomorrow night and Easter Sunday done, my thoughts and prayer turn to those whom our heavenly Father draws to hear the gospel this year – those who only come to church on Christmas and Easter. Do you know what is true about folks who only come to church on Christmas and… Read More Holy Week, Easter, Prayer and Preaching
Sometimes I am able to negotiate a combined Christmas/birthday expense to gain a significant collection or set of books. Last year it was a 50% off sale of the New Studies in Biblical Theology Series (edited by D.A. Carson) offered by Westminster Seminary bookstore. My advice is to read as many of these as you… Read More The Clarity of Scripture
2013 is the year the Episcopal Church, well, The Diocese of New Jersey anyway, has discovered reading the Bible. I was thrilled to hear the presentation in our minister’s meeting of last September because the reading and particularly the hearing of the Bible preached is God’s primary means of grace. The cycle of local ministry… Read More Robert M. McCheyne and The B-I-B, L-E
Ever met an evangelist? I met one recently in the pages of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. He is simply called “Evangelist” but it would be wrong to impose upon Bunyan’s character a modern understanding of an itinerant, American-style preacher. Rather, Evangelist here represents an important facet of the office of pastor which remains connected… Read More Seeker, Seeking, Sought
This is a tale of two Richards: George Richards and Richard Rohr. George Richards was a minister in the Reformed Church in the USA in the late teens/early twenties of the last century. He was the chairman of the American Council on Organic Union, what became the twentieth-century ecumenical movement. Richard Rohr is a present-day… Read More A Tale of Two Richards
January 31, 2013 is the 121 anniversary of the death of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers. It seems fitting today to honor the witness of such a godly man by reading the account of his own conversion. God had blessed Spurgeon with so many gifts for the preaching and teaching ministry of the… Read More Remembering C.H. Spurgeon
I do not usually remember my dreams and I don’t usually put much stock in them but I had a dream the other night that was very vivid. I was standing before a crowd of people and it obvious by their stance and facial expressions that I was being interviewed and evaluated by them. It… Read More I had a dream.
One of the most glorious joys of the pastorate is in the conversion of the lost and one of the saddest is the falling away of one who professed faith in Christ and his work to save them. You continue to preach the Word of God in the Scriptures and watch as their hearts are… Read More The Early-Warning System
The third phase in the renewal of my prayer life was how the past met the present. It was the way in which all I had been taught yet never valued in bible college and Westminster Seminary, I suddenly understood. I understood the “why” of the gospel. I understood grace. It all became real to… Read More This Praying Life, Phase 3