All those who have come to Christ in faith should take time this Thanksgiving to celebrate the victory we have in Christ by verbally recognizing His power in our lives to save and sanctify us. When Thanksgiving comes around, we truly have something to celebrate as Christians, because our God, the God of Israel, has... Continue Reading

The goodness of God should stir us to grateful worship. For, in God, “infinite cheerfulness attends infinite goodness” (to quote Charnock one more time). “Who will show us some good?” the Psalmist asks. The answer is the Lord who shines the light of his face upon us. “You have put more joy in my heart... Continue Reading

Every Lord’s Day we go to heaven to be with the Lord. Most of the time we then return in order to carry on the work and battle here below. One day we will ascend and remain with the Lord, carried by angels to join Abraham and the saints who have fallen asleep before. We... Continue Reading

Why is it vital to maintain that the woman’s forgiveness in this story was the result of God’s good pleasure and not the result of her love for Christ? Because if we don’t maintain this truth, we lose the gospel. The good news is that God forgives us of our sin on the basis of... Continue Reading

Our responses matter, but only Jesus saves people. We all need to recall and rest in these familiar words from Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Love, prayerfulness, humility, and other Christlike traits matter infinitely more than appearing to know all the answers.... Continue Reading

God chooses whether our lives will be full of troubles or ease; this is not a reflection of how faithful we happen to be. Good King Hezekiah had to rule through a siege of Jerusalem, while evil King Manasseh lived a long and peaceful life, dying at a good old age. All of us will... Continue Reading

Think of the many ways in which God has been good to His people. Review His kindnesses to [y]our church. Recall the kindnesses that He has shown specifically to you, and then share these blessings with others so that they can bless God with you.   Thanksgiving comes every year, and giving thanks to God... Continue Reading

Tough times can make us better. If we lament well, if we process pain effectively, if we opt for thorough wrestling instead of shallow dismissals, we can be transformed into more compassionate, more trusting, more mature disciples of the One who chose to endure the ultimate suffering “for the joy set before him” (Hebrews 12:2).... Continue Reading

Because functional liberalism detests claims to authority that do not leave the ultimacy of the individual intact, they turn gospel-centered theology into “gospel-only theology.” The technical term for this is antinomianism. They forget that sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4) and that Christ came to save us from lawlessness (Titus 2:14) and for the obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5;... Continue Reading

Though we had people who attended regularly and who were positive about the ministry of the church, that’s where the commitment of many ended. We needed a few more couples or families, committed to throwing in their weight 100%—with the mindset that they would give themselves to the plant, no matter what.   A pastor friend... Continue Reading