God made marriage to reflect the holy, eternal, loving, intimate, joyful, and sacrificial love He has always cherished among the members of the Godhead. In that sense, marriage is not about you but is certainly for you. God has invited you to participate in and imitate His triune love. Perhaps this is why Scripture calls... Continue Reading

We are, as Christians, to pursue humility. We do that in any number of ways – by serving in such a way that we know we won’t be recognized, by reminding ourselves of our own sin and condemnation apart from Jesus, and simply by praying for it. We are, in other words, to take a... Continue Reading

Be AGITATED, GRIEVED, MOVED by the way poverty assaults the dignity of every poor image-bearer of God. We cannot be Christ-like and be apathetic. We cannot be Jesus-followers and be passive about the plight of the poor. Cherishing every human being is required of anyone who claims to love God—because there is a direct link... Continue Reading

The Bible is clear.  In the opening account of the beginnings of human history we learn that our earliest forbears disobeyed their Creator and suffered punishment, as they had been warned.  That punishment is death – cruel, ugly, horrible, unnatural death.  That is our inheritance from that beginning to this day. Death is the consequence... Continue Reading

Among the many kinds of restlessness the psalmists bring to their beds, the restlessness of sorrow may be the most common. Throughout the Psalms, we read of midnight weepers (Psalm 30:5), of wakeful, comfortless souls (Psalm 77:1–2), of saints whose tears stain their sheets (Psalm 6:6). Sorrow often makes for a sleepless heart. In such moments,... Continue Reading

Preachers, therefore, have the responsibility to preach both indicatives and imperatives, but we must always be mindful of their logical order. Indicatives (what Christ has done for us) always serve as the foundation for the imperatives (our Christian conduct). We can never reverse this logical order. Christ, through the work of the Spirit, is the... Continue Reading

I would offer four elements for formal family worship: (1) Bible (reading, instruction/information, formation, transformation); (2) Prayer; (3) Singing; and (4) Supplemental Elements, which may consist of catechizing through creeds or confessions, devotionals, biographies, and other books and writings.[1] One does not need a revolutionary plan, or a new curriculum to begin or continue with... Continue Reading

Humility is a gift from God. We are unable to humble ourselves without the Lord’s work in our lives. If we could, we would quickly boast about it. If we recognize our dependence upon him, it is because the Holy Spirit has humbled us by bringing us to salvation. What a precious gift this is.... Continue Reading

Scripture speaks of the salvation of believers in three tenses. Christians have been saved, they are being saved, and they will be saved. In redemption accomplished, Christ truly and really saved His people when He died and rose again. In the application of redemption, believers are being saved as Christ intercedes for them, sustaining them through their pilgrimage... Continue Reading

It is important for ministers of the gospel to, at one and the same time, avoid that theological dilution by which we fail to bring up children “until they are farther advanced” while rejecting that ecclesiastical elitism that refuses to “accommodate to the capacity” of those we are instructing.   “We keep our preaching basic... Continue Reading