This month we are approaching Easter Sunday which we often call Resurrection Sunday, for it is a remembrance of that first Easter Sunday on which Jesus Christ our Lord rose from the grave. While it is good and right for us to celebrate Easter each year, perhaps we also need reminding that every Sunday is a resurrection Sunday. Indeed, each Sunday that we gather is a continued celebration of the Risen King and of our expectation of His return to rule and to reign forevermore.
On Counterfeit Quotations and Habits of Excellence
I love pithy quotes. They ring in the ears in a way that helps us to remember something important. They summarize a truth with brevity and brilliance in such a way that they stick firmly in the mind. In fact, this is one of the reasons that I love C. H. Spurgeon. He was a master of language and always seemed to know how to turn a phrase with ingenuity and acuity. The problem with quotations, especially in the age of social media, is that they are often misattributed.
From Advent to Mission
The Real Joy of Christmas
How to Identify Your Idol
6 Core Pieces of Financial Wisdom
I recently had a conversion that caused me to reflect on some simple statements that reflect a biblical worldview of wisely using money especially as it relates to obtaining and maintaining financial stability. These 6 statements aren’t all that could be said about money and certainly don’t address a variety of issues that are often part of our financial picture. However, they get at the core elements of wisdom in finances and give folks a starting point towards stewarding what God has given in a faithful way. I'm certainly not saying anything here that hasn’t been said before, but I hope that you find it faithful to the Scripture and helpful to your soul.
When Sin Corrupts Love
“Feeling loved” and “being loved” are not always the same. If a perfect world, we would feel loved when we are being loved, but sin corrupts both our perceptions of love and our displays of love. We can often feel loved without actually being loved. Conversely, we can often be loved without feeling loved. This is the confusion over love and its perversion that erupts in our culture over and over again.
When Virtues become Vices
What an odd thing it is that virtues can become vices when misused or misapplied. Of course, this is the story of the history of the world. What God has designed for good, man perverts to evil. Recently, Andy Nesalli has published some great articles on how various virtues can be exercised sinfully if we are not careful to tie them to truth and wisdom. I recommend these articles heartily to you and also to trace down the great compendium of resources that he cites or recommends within each article. Happy reading!
Oh Soul, Be Not Downcast
The Puritans have often given us great writings to help us as we walk the pilgrim way of the Christian life. I recently came across a brief passage that encouraged me greatly. Justin Taylor’s blog over at The Gospel Coalition cited the following section from English Puritan William Bridge’s A Lifting Up for the Downcast (Banner of Truth, 61-63). May it lift up your soul today!
Not Left Wanting
Resurrection Doctrine for the Head, the Heart, and the Hands
Christians are sometimes accused of having a head in the clouds or pie in the sky sort of theology, especially when it comes to the future and our hope of bodily resurrection. A belief in a future, bodily resurrection may seem somewhat impractical to the here and now. How does believing that one day I will raise from the dead make any difference to me today? All theology should inform my head, my heart, and my hands. It should transform what we think, believe, and do in the here and now. To that end, professor and pastor Mitchell Chase has written an excellent short article to help connect the doctrine of the resurrection to this present life and the nature of the local church.
Beware the Drift
Slow and often unnoticed changes in our decisions and habits can have astounding accumulative effects over time. We rarely notice the progress and impact of these changes because they happen over weeks, months, and sometimes years instead of over minutes and days. We drift into them. Drift is the unintentional effect of slow changes over time. We don’t mean to drift. We do it because we aren’t paying enough attention and exercising enough self-discipline. Before we know it, we look up to find ourselves way off course.
At Graduation Get Wisdom
Graduation season is upon us! For students, this is an exciting time of transition and possibility. You are looking forward to college, careers, and the newfound freedom of (almost?) adulthood. For parents, this is often stressful, scary, and sorrowful while also being fun, exciting, and relieving (among a whole host of other sentiments). You have, by God’s grace, managed to get your child through school and are about to send them out into a world full of possibility and peril.
Last Words are Important Words
For seven weeks leading up to Easter this year, I preached on the seven last sayings of Christ from the Cross. The goal of this series was to help people understand the true nature of the Cross, the seriousness of sin, the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice. I wanted people to be impressed by the love and glory of God. I have linked to the videos of these sermon if you would like to hear this series too.
"Be True to Yourself" is a lie that leads to hopelessness
The unfortunate reality is that the cure of our ills is ultimately its cause. Expressive individualism is the cause of our hopelessness not the solution to it. If indeed the highest goal in life is happiness (as this worldview asserts) then “be true to yourself” becomes self-defeating. It does not grant what it promises because it cannot grant what it promises. According to the Apostle Paul, hopelessness is a product of godlessness. Ephesians 2:11-12 tells us that before we come to know Christ in faith we have “no hope and without God in the world.” Again, apart from God there can be no hope and no happiness. You cannot have those things if you are cut off from their Source. If you start with the wrong foundation you can only get the wrong results. This is a basic truth that the world is unwilling to believe. The answer to the world’s hopelessness has nothing to do with the expression of our “true selves” but everything to do with us finding God by faith in Christ.
Invite Someone to Church
Did you know that a majority of people would respond positively to an invitation from a friend or family member to attend church? In fact, a personal invitation is by and far the most effective means of getting someone to attend a church service. Additionally, Easter is one of the top three times during the year that people are willing to go to church (with Christmas and Mother’s Day).
My challenge to YOU: take a chance and invite someone to church this Sunday.
There Blooms a Rose in Bethlehem
There are so many poignant and moving songs on Prepare Him Room, but I wanted to highlight one that I find particularly beautiful to listen to. “There Blooms a Rose in Bethlehem” is a magnificent song that is subtle in sound yet powerful in message. As with the other songs on the album there is a great effort to show the movement from prophecy to fulfillment to salvation. But in addition, this song brings out the future hope of resurrection that we have in Christ.
Advent Resources for You and Your Family
This Christmas I would love for you to behold the wonder and mystery of Christ’s love and work for you by coming into the world to save you from sin and death. The true meaning of Christmas is found in the person of Christ rather than in presents under the tree. We all know this to be true, but it can be hard to find tangible and practical ways to look beyond the presents to the Person. Using an Advent resource that can guide you and your family through the various passages and themes that make up the Christmas story of Christ come to save people from sin. To that end, I have curated a list of resources that you can use for this very purpose. Some of these are freely available online while you can purchase others from a bookstore or online store. I hope that these resources will be a blessing to you and that they will guide you in worshiping Christ this Christmas.
Spurgeon on Celebrity Preachers and the Need for Humility
Celebrity culture is a problem for Christianity just as it is for the wider society. We have a tendency to esteem some men and women above others and fall into the faulty notion that somehow they are better than everyone else. Without doubt, God has granted to some singular and spectacular gifts, and those to whom He has entrusted such things should use them powerfully and wholly for His glory. But we must resist the temptation to think that some person is the source of power and therefore should receive the honor due to God alone.
A Preacher's Core Responsibility
This past Sunday, I mentioned in my sermon about an interaction that people sometimes have with the preacher after church. The interaction is well-meaning, and folks are generally trying to tell you, “Good job preacher!” However, if we really think about the comment that is said, we may want to rephrase our praise for the preacher.