“There is within the human heart a tough, fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets things with a deep and fierce passion. The pronouns my and mine look innocent enough in print, but their constant and universal use is significant. They express the real nature of the old Adamic man better than a thousand volumes of theology could do. They are verbal […]
We break from our regularly scheduled pastoral musings for an economics lesson. I have no agenda except to vent my frustration of being considered an idiot by our political elite. “They” have made our electoral process a circus and forced us to buy tickets to it. I’m afraid the accountant I’d long buried in my soul has resurrected this election season. I can’t take it anymore! I hereby remove my […]
Over the last couple of months at our church we’ve been examining the biblical, historical and practical defense for having a plurality of elders (pastors) in a local church. Trusting God to convince and convict us rightly, we hope to commit ourselves to biblical church polity over the next year. Among some of the practical benefits of a plurality of elders I submitted that it best provides accountability and support […]
No earthly father loves like thee, No mother half so mild Bears and forbears, as thou hast done With me, thy sinful child. (Frederick Faber, 1848) My soon-to-be three-year-old son is learning how to dress himself. He’s doing so consistently well now with only an occasional “tag in the back” sermon. I do confess, however, that I’ve been less than patient in this process (read: sinfully exasperating). How many times […]
Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. Now, therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name. . . . For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on earth are like a shadow, and […]
Don Whitney wrote a great book entitled Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health. I’ve used it often devotionally and in small group settings. In Practical Religion, J.C. Ryle had “ten questions” of his own over a century earlier than Whitney. I thought I’d provide them here for contemplation. In the first chapter, entitled “Self-Inquiry,” Ryle suggested these ten questions to examine the validity of one’s Christian faith. (1) Do […]
For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors. Consider the work of God, for who is able to straighten what He has bent? In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other so that man will not discover anything that […]
I highly commend to you my co-pastor Preston G. Atkinson’s website New Wine, Old Skins. He enjoys a poetic gift that provides new lyrics to familiar hymns and tunes. Last Sunday we sang the following re-write to the same tune as How Firm a Foundation: We give thanks to our God Who from wrath he hath saved We give thanks for his grace We from sin who wert slaves. I’ll […]
In the recent issue of Touchstone Magazine, Eleanor Donlon wrote an article entitled “No Plain Jane.” In the article Donlon decries the Hollywood movie Becoming Jane. Becoming Jane is a biographical depiction of Jane Austen, author of the famous Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Rather than present the period piece according to period propriety (“Regency style” in Donlon’s words), the director “sexed up” or “grunged up” Jane’s life […]
The doctrine of election is easier to understand than it is to stomach. God has chosen from eternity past those who will enter heaven (Acts 13.48; Eph 1.3-6). To state it negatively, no one will enter heaven who has not been chosen from eternity (Jn 10.26). These are simple enough statements, on which both Calvinists and Arminians agree, but are convictions hard to come by. Arminians and Calvinists love Scripture […]