I'm sure this never happens to you when you're studying God's Word during your quiet time. It must only happen to me from time-to-time, I'll get distracted. I'm not talking about being distracted by something life-threatening with the kids or a personal medical emergency or something of that nature. I'm just talking about my mind traveling to the things that I've got to d...

This past week, I had the privilege of sharing the gospel with a very thoughtful Jew, who unfortunately doesn't believe that Jesus is the Messiah. As I reflect back on our conversation, I realize that too often we were talking about differences between Christians and Jews without talking enough about who is the main difference (Jesus). I think that this must happen to a lo...

There is a difference between confessional knowledge and functional knowledge. There are truths that we know in our hearts and confess with our mouths (that's confessional knowledge) and then there are truths which we know in our hearts and live out in our lives (that's functional knowledge). Too often, there's a gap between the two. Lately I've been thinking about this as...

How often do you meditate on the gospel? How often do you unpack the deep truths of the gospel? How often do you stand back in wonder at the work of redemption by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? It would be good for your soul to take some time this week and unpack the gospel. Consider what R.C. Sproul says about the gospel. "A Substitute has appeared...

It is sometimes funny how the Lord teaches us. After having preached a sermon this past Sunday on how we're to count it all joy amidst trials of various kinds, the Lord seems to be intent on teaching me just how to do that this week. Has that been happening to you? I don't think that the trials that I've been facing are of the severe kind, but they're trials nonetheless. A...

Many today think little of the Church (universal and local), but the New Testament and theologians throughout church history have spoken of the Church in some of the most elevated terms. In Acts 20:28, Luke exhorts pastors to care for the flock entrusted to them because the church has been purchased by God "with his own blood." Paul teaches in Ephesians 3:10 that it is thr...

In our discipleship hour this past Sunday, we dove into a thrilling discussion on God's gracious work in the salvation of sinners. I've been in the midst of doing some reading for school and I came across this helpful excerpt on the subject from J. Gresham Machen's classic work, Christianity Liberalism. "The beginning of the Christian life is an act of God. It is an act ...

This past Sunday I began the sermon by talking about vindication. I said, "Everyone wants to be vindicated, proven to be in the right. Too often the desire for vindication comes in midst of conflict. One person sees things one way, the other person sees things another way and they both think they're right. They both want to be proven right and more than that, they often w...

From time to time I've mentioned the need to "preach to yourself." That idea and concept comes from D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in his book Spiritual Depression (see pages 20-21). In that work, Lloyd-Jones identifies that we often have the problem of listening to ourselves instead of preaching to ourselves. We listen to our thoughts of bitterness and resentment, and so we're tem...

On Sunday I mentioned a few things about prayer, and I thought that I'd take this opportunity to circle back, remind us of them, and throw in a great Paul Miller quote for good measure. God is honored when we pray. Prayer honors God because it is an expression of faith that he exists. It is an expression of faith that says, "God, you're powerful." And it is an expressi...