In this message I'm writing a short sermon to myself disguised as a letter to you. Brothers and Sisters, Our culture esteems those who speak their minds, as if doing so is virtuous. Is it? Perhaps your gut reaction is, "No." Maybe "be slow to speak" from James 1:19 comes to mind. Even better, "The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among ou...

Brothers and Sisters, On Sunday I shared with you 12 lessons on love that I have learned in 12 years of marriage. I thought that it might be useful to reprint those lessons here, for those who were either unable to attend or who be helped to consider them again. I hope and pray that they are beneficial to your faith in Christ. Before we dive into our study of Psalm 100, ...

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Every year someone asks me about New Year's resolutions, and I generally have the same reply. I normally say something like, "Personally, I don't really make resolutions." Looking back on the last several years, I'm starting to come to the conclusion that actually I kind of do make resolutions. I mean, I wrote 16 resolutions for our co...

Brothers and Sisters, We should pray for one another. I know that you've heard this from me a thousand times. "Pray through the directory." "Just pray for a page a day." "Pray Scripture for your fellow church members." You've heard it again and again, and now you're hearing it again. In the words of Peter, "I intend always to remind you of these" things (2 Peter 1:12). W...

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, If you're like me then you love the Christmas season. There are so many reasons to love the Christmas season, but as a Christian this time of year is where the fullness and depth of our theology is in bloom (That's right, a springtime metaphor in winter!). The fullness and depth of our theology is bloom this time of year because we are...

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Thanksgiving can be wonderful and awkward all at the same time. How do we talk about giving thanks with our unbelieving family and friends? Doesn't that automatically launch us into a conversation about God? Well, yes it does. And that's quite alright! As believers, we know that the very nature of thanksgiving is rooted in believing th...

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I've really enjoyed studying early church history over the past few months. It has been a great encouragement to me, and if you'll indulge me, I'd like to share with you the three things that stand out to me about the first three hundred years of the Christian Church. As I reflect back on the reading I've been doing, it strikes me that...

Dear Brothers and Sisters, You may be surprised to hear me say that heresy has been useful to the Church. Now, let me explain what I mean. Throughout the history of the Church, heresy has certainly damaged the Church, that cannot be denied, but heresy has also been useful to the church in that it shaped the faith of the Church in at least three ways doctrine, discipline,...

Brothers and Sisters, For school I've been studying through the early church creeds and councils. Those creeds and councils, for the most part, were mainly focused on describing and defining the person and work of Jesus Christ, as well as his relationship to the Father and the Holy Spirit. One main component of this study has been to return to Scripture and read passages ...

Brothers and Sisters, Last week, in reflecting on discipleship, I suggested that discipleship means conformity to another person. By that I mean that discipleship first and foremost means conformity to Jesus, and then very often it means conformity to the life of another believer (remember 1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1, and Philippians 3:17). This week, I've been reflecting on...