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...

In our discipleship hour this past week, we thought about worship, both public and private. We thought about how worship is an all-of-life activity and that it is to ascribe the proper worth to God, to magnify his worthiness of praise, and to approach and address God as he is worthy. We worship God by the Spirit in connection with his Word. Our primary connection with God...

As we meditated on James 3:13-18 this past Sunday, we thought a lot about humility. As I look forward to the text that we'll study, Lord willing, this coming Sunday (James 4:1-12), it is clear that humility is going to be something that we're considering again. As I've prayerfully read over the text these last couple of days, I've been thinking again about Jonathan Edwards...

As many of you may know this coming Sunday we'll conclude our series in James by considering James 5:19-20. I'm looking forward to reflecting on Christ's redemptive work and how we minister to others. I'm also looking forward to what we'll be thinking about after we finish our study of the book of James. I'll be out for a few weeks due to some travel, but Lord willing, whe...

This past Sunday we focused in on a number of exhortations from James 5:7-12. One of those exhortations was to not grumble against our brothers and sisters in Christ. There is surely a reason James gave this command he gave it because the Lord knows that we struggle with it. I simply want to remind us of one way that we can guard against such grumbling, and if you haven't...

There is a reason that the Scriptures call the Christian life a race (1 Cor. 9:24 and 2 Tim. 4:7). Races require preparation and endurance, but more than that they require a knowledge of the prize. In the Bible that which motivates us to run the race is that which we already possess and will yet possess in complete fullness. As Thomas Schreiner and Ardel Caneday wrote, "B...

Christians often take great comfort and joy in God's words of love to them in Scripture, and rightly so. What child of God is not comforted by Paul's reminder, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)? Or what adopted son or daughter is not enamored with the Savior who says, "I am the good shepherd. I know my own ...

As I was praying for my children, during my quiet time earlier in the week, I reflected on how valuable moments with my children are and how sadly, in my pride, I don't value them enough. Moments are those brief spans of time in which relationships are built. You see, I often take a task oriented perspective on life, and while God has certainly called me to be task-oriente...