Brothers Sisters, As we studied Deuteronomy 14 together recently, we learned that the ancient people of God were not to grieve and mourn like the peoples of Canaan and the surrounding nations. God's people have always grieved with hope. What is more, in the last couple of weeks, a few members of our congregation have been touched by the death of close family members. ...

Brothers Sisters, One of the things that I appreciate about Rico Tice's book, Honest Evangelism, is that he is, well, honest. He is honest with the good newsnot watering it down or seeking to make the hard bits more palatable. He is also honest about what we might encounter when seeking to evangelize. So he writes: For all the hostility there is to Christ, there is...

Brothers Sisters, Have you ever considered that the first sin comprehends and encompasses all subsequent sins? Consider that the first sin comprehends and encompasses the sins of antinomianism and legalism. Here is how Sinclair Ferguson put it: What was injected into Eve's mind and affections during the conversation with the serpent was a deep-seated suspicion of G...

Brothers Sisters, As this new year rolls on, perhaps you are persevering in a new goal. Many make a resolution to read through the whole Bible in a year, or at least to read more of the Bible than they read last year. If that's you, keep going! As you keep going, keep in mind that what you are reading is real and relevant to you. Here is how Stephen Nichols put it: ...

Brothers Sisters, When we think of the priesthood of Jesus Christ our minds are often inclined to remember his sacrifice. This is good and right, but we must not forget Jesus' intercession for us. Our Savior prays for us. This is his present ministry in heavenly glory. He is even now interceding for us, and oh how we need his prayers. Thomas Watson in his book All Things...

Brothers Sisters, Too often we forget that Christ lived for us. We remember that he died for us and for our salvation. We remember that he was raised in victory over the grave for our justification. But we forget that he lived for us and what that means. It would be hard to put it better than Donald Macleod. He writes: Once [Jesus'] public ministry commences, the p...

Brothers Sisters, Did you realize that to be a Christian is to be Trinitarian? To know Jesus is to have access to the Father and be indwelt by the Spirit. We can't separate Jesus from his Father and the Spirit he sends. This is how Michael Reeves puts it: To honor Jesus is to honor the triune God. For if we are to speak of Jesus, we must speak of him as the Son of ...

Brothers Sisters, Are there certain things we should prioritize in our prayer lives? In other words, are there things that we should pray about first? Can I confess something to you? I've been at the top of my prayer list for a long time. In other words, I've been praying for my soul first. Recently, I've been challenged to reconsider my prayer priorities. In his little...

Brothers Sisters, Just how dangerous is sin? Have you asked yourself that lately? When tempted to sin, we don't generally stop and think to ourselves, "This could be really dangerous." That's part of sin's great deception. Our temptations present themselves as safe, but this is really a deception of the highest order. What is more, sin has a compounding effect. Once com...

Brothers Sisters, Sometimes when we sing, we preach. Take, for example, the hauntingly beautiful hymn, "Be Still My Soul" by Kathrina von Schlegel. In that hymn, we preach and quiet our hearts with the truth of Psalm 46:10. In the final verse, we even preach to ourselves the hope of glory when we sing: Be still, my soul: the hour is hast'ning on when we shall be fore...