Posts Tagged with "Article"

"In faith, let us read the Word, preach the Word, pray the Word, sing the Word, and see and taste and touch the Word. As we do, surely the grace promised in the Word will be ours to the glory of the Triune God." - David Strain You have often heard from your pastors and session the term, ordinary means of grace.We believe that these means of grace are the primary ways that...

As I have written before, the great hymns of our faith have a way of bringing God's Word and promises to bear on my heart and mind in the timeliest ways. Because these songs are able to root so deeply into our psyche, our middle schoolers are using Sunday school to better understand their meaning, including where their lyrics are backed by scripture. From time to time, I...

This title sounds very academic, doesn't it? But if you were challenged to defend it, could you? It is one of many things that is so commonly accepted by Christ-followers that we are seldom ready to show the truth of this statement. Recently I had a very sad conversation with a close friend about this topic. He strongly claims to be a Christian yet was quite aggressive in...

One of the most fundamental understandings of the Christian Faith is that the world we see is not all there is. In fact, because we believe that this world will be burned up in the judgment of God and transformed into the New Heavens and the New Earth, one might even say that the world we see isn't the most important thing there is. Paul reminds us of this when he says,...

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."Ephesians 5:1516 ESV Paul gives this instruction in this middle of a passage in which he is calling the Ephesians to holy living and warning them against sin and foolishness. Look at how he ties the first three clauses together. How you walkPaul i...

My next two weeks are reserved each Monday through Friday. It will be His time and my heart is full of praise to the Father for the open door to teach into Rwanda and the DR Congo. Twenty of the top pastors are traveling now throughout early morning to gather to focus on God's Word once again. The lockdowns were recently lifted by the government allowing 20 to gather for t...

Our relationship with God is both an objective and a subjective thing. On the one hand, God graciously brings us from death to life, grants us faith and repentance, declares us to be righteous, adopts us to himself, sanctifies us, keeps and preserves us, and will one day make us perfect. These are all objective realities. They are true regardless of how we feel on a given ...

In the last three verses of Sunday's text Christ speaks of being a eunuch. His comments are in response to the disciples who have reacted to his difficult teaching on marriage with the (comical? exasperated?) observation that it would be better to remain single. It's an extreme observation, since voluntarily remaining single was culturally very unusual and suggested a refu...

"Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits . . . A person who . . . does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God . . . does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs." - Martin Luth...

Early last year (even before we knew it was going to be "2020"), I struggled with both my devotions and prayer life. I frequently found my mind wandering as I read the Scriptures in the morning. While I rarely missed my weekday readings, I frequently had to restart them because I hadn't focused on what I was reading. Similarly, my prayers suffered, being brief or repetitiv...

While we may agree that these are unprecedented times, the roots beneath our current societal brokenness run deep and are terribly familiar. For many years, we have witnessed an increasing breakdown in societal norms. Some believe thisbreakdown to be progress, while others view it as the path to destruction. In various ways, both are correct, and that shouldn't surprise us...

We are entering that storm season that gives my children the most anxiety.Whenever it is going to rain, or a storm is forecast, my children ask the same questions over and over again.Is it going to lightning?Will trees fall down?Ruth and I have to be careful how we talk about a storm that has warned severity.It is inevitable; a storm will come, and we should be prepared. I...

As I sit in my office wondering what I should write this week for our blog, I am drawn to all the things that are upcoming.A blog can often feel like another busy thing that must be done in a week full of tasks. I feel somewhat ashamed.My calling in the ministry is no mere task or checklist. Of course, there are things that must be accomplished, and I love clearing a check...

As most of you know, we will be moving into the Martin Center for worship on Sunday mornings starting March 7. We are very excited about this transition! Some things will be staying the same and some things will be very differentStaying the same We will keep our current schedule on Sunday mornings. Worship will begin at 9am. There will not be any Sunday school initiall...

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church..."Colossians 1:24 ESVIn Sunday's sermon I made reference to several reasons we suffer as Christians. One reason is to fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.On its face such an assertion seems no...

Two difficulties in Sunday's passage deserve more attention. As I mentioned in the sermon, some believe that Christ made Peter the head of the Church in these verses (specifically Matthew 16:18). I suggested instead that we should understand Christ to be saying that it is upon Peter as he makes this confession that Christ is building his Church, and not just Peter, but all...

We're approaching one year since worship services were suddenly canceled due to our entire leadership being exposed to COVID and the school simultaneously shutting us out of the property. It has indeed been a strange year and we've all had to learn to make hard choices and unusual ones. One of those choices is the decision whether or not to attend weekly worship in person....

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forge...

Have you ever been deceived?Most of us have.Sometimes it's about a minor issue; other times it is more significant and costly.As we look back on those more impactful deceptions, we get uncomfortable remembering how much we trusted what we heard.It sounded so good, but in the end, it was unreliable and led us in a harmful direction.As we engage in the Church's mission of gl...

We Finished an Amazing Week Teaching Hebrews to Rwandan Pastors!What a week!From Monday, Nov 30 - Friday, Dec 4, I team taught with Dave Forbes and Todd Bradly. We got up by3:15AM each morning(Todd rose at 2AM Nashville time) to begin team teaching at 4AM.My body screamed for more sleep but serving Jesus is worth infinitely more than a warm bed.The conferences went extreme...

It wasn't that long ago that a powerful wind came through in a matter of minutes; as a result of that wind, we lost four trees in our yard!I thought it was quite exciting to see the power of the wind as I stood at the front stoop with the door open.I yelled out with excitementand was astonishment at the power, but I didn't know that behind me, Mackie and Jonah were absorbi...

Children tend to say exactly what they are feeling.Sometimes this means they say something in public that embarrasses you.Sometimes it is a little too personal.But I find it to almost always be genuine, especially when it comes to their fears.It is often in those moments that there is an opportunity to draw out a spiritual lesson.And more often than not, it is an exercise ...

"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,whose hope is in the LORD his God"Psalm 146:5As all of us wait to find out who our next president will be, I want to remind you of the simple truth that we are subjects of the King in heaven; our King who laughs in derision at the nations while they rage against him and against his Messiah, Jesus (Psalm 2). This doesn't mean th...

Finally Middle Tennessee is getting some cool weather as we officially pass into Autumn. Autumn is absolutely my favorite time of year. I love the cool weather and the beautiful colors. Some of my favorite childhood memories of annual rituals are associated with Autumn and into the Advent season, when Autumn officially ends. Watching Charlie Brown Specials and bundling up ...

Beginning in a few weeks, we are going to shift in Sunday School from working our way through the Psalms to a focus on what we call Biblical Theology. This approach to theology is focused on interpreting Scripture as it unfolds from beginning to end, keeping Christ's person and work at the center of the unfolding narrative.In a way, this is lifting the hood to show you wha...

This question and how you answer it are of utmost importance. In fact, your eternal destiny depends upon you answering it well.Over the next few Sundays, as we work through Matthew 11 and 12, we will be confronted with the identity of Jesus and the response of the people to his claims. This section of Matthew opens with John that Baptist, of all people, wondering if Jesus ...

I want to close this series out with one last reminder abouthowthe Session needs to go about its work in church discipline.Because the Session is motivated by lovelove for Christ, love for the Church, and love for the sinnerlove must punctuate all that the Session says and does. Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 13that"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; ...

Last week we considered what church discipline is. This week I want to answer "Why do we do it?" The truth is, our motives in discipline matter! If the Session is motivated by a desire to wield power,to get retribution for perceived personal offenses, orto punish behavior, then their motives are not godly motives. There are several proper motives, however, that when combin...

I just opened Facebook on my phone. Another building on fire. Another minister talking about the need for a new denomination. Another murderous slaughter of Christians in Nigeria. Another plague sweeping Africa. Another marchin another cityhijacked by looters. Another Supreme Court ruling. And another storm coming tomorrow. Another rant from friends concerning masks on bot...