A few months ago while in class a professor of mine went off on a tangent. I must confess that I love it when seminary professors go off on tangents in class. Not that seminary is boring, it just that tangents can get really interesting. The professors are often showing their true interests and pet peeves on those occasions. Anyway, he went off on a short diatribe on the s...

Brothers Sisters, When I think of being refreshed I often think of a cool glass of water on a hot day or swimming in the shade in a cool pool of water... a sense of rest, a calming of spirit and body, a peaceful respite in a world of constant action. I also think of deep time in the Word of God where I feel rejuvenated and excited to go back out and serve him more. Afte...

In October I have the privilege of preaching at a Sunday prayer gathering of a handful of Southern Baptist churches here in Northern Virginia. I have been asked to preach on the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." During my time with the Lord this morning, I spent some time reflecting on this petition, and I thought that I'd share one ...

Being in the midst of a sermon series in the book of James has had me reading a lot of Proverbs. As you may know, James is sometimes called the "Proverbs of the New Testament." There is some truth in that. James has much to say that is wise and for that matter he has much to say about wisdom. Also like Proverbs, James' letter has also provided many ideas and practical sugg...

Recently I've been dipping in and out of Matthew Henry's wonderful book, A Method for Prayer. If you ever have difficulty getting going in your prayer life, then I highly recommend reading over the prayers of other brothers and sisters in Christ. It's good and right for us to learn how to pray from other faithful saints who know how to plead and petition our Heavenly Fathe...

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 expression o...

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...

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...