Well, I’ve had it up to here (about 5’7″) with the mainstream “Christian” bookstores. Actually, they’ve frustrated me for many years. Once you tiptoe past all the crystal nativities, gold-plated crosses and ceramic Jesuses, you might find a book. But don’t blink because you’ll be quickly surrounded by stuffed animals, CDs, and wall plaques. The actual book section of a typical Christian “bookstore” is two aisles’ worth of fiction, an […]

Jonathan Edwards preached at Robert Abercrombie’s ordination ceremony in 1744 (Works, Hendricksen, vol. 2, 955-60). Can you imagine having Edwards preach your ordination charge? I feel silly thinking about it. Preaching from John 5.35, his message was entitled “The True Excellency of a Gospel Minister.” Ministers, says Edwards, are to be both burning (passionate) and shining (doctrinally clear) lights. At one point he provided this convicting insight: If a minister […]

I thought this ‘rule’ of Edward Payson’s would provide some food for thought: My rule, in regard to visiting, is to visit as much as time and health will permit. I make none but pastoral visits. I gave my people to understand, when I was settled (as their minister), that they must not invite me to dine or sup when they did not wish to have the conversation turn wholly […]

We now come to the last installment of our 3-part series (cheeky-tongued, mind you): those things I do not do well in sermon preparation. 1. I rarely have a catchy introduction and conclusion. Oh, the horrors! Some guys are masters at parlaying an experience into a perfect sermon introduction (Swindoll, Begg, Ferguson, and everyone else who is not me). They leave the “catch” until the end, where they tie the […]

Now, the specifics (I would skip this part and read other guys). Incidentally, this is all based on a commitment to expositional preaching. Mondays are for me what the day after the Tour de France was for Lance Armstrong. I’m spent. So, I tend to do less soul-demanding things on Mondays. If we are in the NT, I usually translate at least next Sunday’s passage. (We are in the Minor […]

In the cloak of e-darkness I’ve been asked to provide my approach to sermon preparation. Like Abraham, I fell on my face and laughed (Gen 17.17). And like a true daughter of Sarah (1 Pt 3.1-6), my wife also laughed to herself (Gen 18.12). I can think of fewer things more comical than me providing any edifying material on sermon preparation. But, I did promise and so I’ll give you […]

Wow, I didn’t realize how long it had been since updating the blog. Frankly, I think I OB’d (overblogged) and needed to back away from the table. It’s amazing how unnecessary we really are! My wife has enjoyed reading about and from Elizabeth Prentiss this summer. This has caused me to take interest in Prentiss’ father, Edward Payson (1783-1827). After Harvard, Payson was a pastor in Portland, Maine for 20 […]

Last Sunday we made our way through Joel 2.1-27 in our congregational worship. In so doing, we addressed the nature of biblical repentance (specifically, vv12-17). Perhaps you may benefit from a particular aspect of repentance that reverberates through my soul. Repentance is a corporate responsibility (vv15-17). So important is this that God said it twice (cf. Joel 1.14). For Joel, the act of repentance was not primarily an individual call […]

Bruce Demarest’s book Satisfy Your Soul (NavPress: 1999) continues to be a regular part of my spiritual diet. It’ll make you squirm in some places, but we all need to wriggle out of the craters our souls make when we get lazy. One quote won’t stop buzzing in my ear: “Many Christians are jaded and spiritless because they lack fascination with God. Churches that attempt to relieve spiritual boredom with […]

Football is king in Texas. And last night our local high school introduced the new season with a showcase of all the school bands. Along with the bands the various cheerleading/dance squads wowed the crowd with their award-winning routines. At least I think they did. I hardly watched, but the crowd seemed impressed. I did not have to see much in order to be outright appalled, disgusted and burdened. It […]