Life is full of decision-making, and if you are like me, you have struggled in your decision-making from time to time. Undoubtedly, when you’ve had a big decision to make you’ve asked the question, “What is God’s will?” When you have three job offers before you, you want to know, what job does God want… Continue reading How to Know God’s Will
Category: Life in the World
rightly heeding the Gospel as God’s messengers to a lost world
Manic Heights. Welcome to the Neighborhood
In his prophetic book The Secular City (Macmillan Company; New York: 1965) liberal Harvard Divinity School professor and theologian Harvey Cox predicted that the city of the future would be characterized by anonymity and mobility. As a seminary student years ago, my strongly conservative worldview and high view of Scripture found little resonance with Cox’s… Continue reading Manic Heights. Welcome to the Neighborhood
No Turning Back
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should… Continue reading No Turning Back
The Language of Faith
The Apostle Paul’s advice to the Corinthian church about the disruption of glossolalia can extend beyond that particular controversy. Yes, I know applying those truths to issues other than the confusion speaking in tongues created in the early church is somewhat out of context. Still, biblical truth is biblical truth and what he communicated to… Continue reading The Language of Faith
Sermons You Could Be Preaching in Your Sleep
Last fall I read David Murray’s Reset: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture (Wheaton: Crossway, 2017). As the title and subtitle express, Murray writes with a pastoral agenda to call men to reset the burnout tempo their lives to the rhythm of God’s grace (see his and his wife Shona’s co-authored companion volume… Continue reading Sermons You Could Be Preaching in Your Sleep
He May Quake the Earth
“But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, ‘These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for… Continue reading He May Quake the Earth
The Gospel of Forgiveness
We are about to celebrate America’s 242nd year of independence. July 4th, Independence Day, reminds us of the various freedoms God graciously provided us as a nation. We are free to vote for whom we wish. We are free to live wherever we wish. We are free to worship how we wish. We have a… Continue reading The Gospel of Forgiveness
Defeating Envy
While I was in seminary, I had the opportunity to pastor two great churches. I was twenty-four when I pastored my first church, and twenty-six when I started pastoring my second church. Both of the churches took a risk when they hired me. I was young, single, and I had little experience. But, both churches… Continue reading Defeating Envy
The Rest of Us
Rest is something that seems to be evading us today. Our days and lives are filled up with tasks that are often too large to overcome given the time we have. I know many who come into work early, work all day, leave work late and yet they are still not able to get everything… Continue reading The Rest of Us
Crucifying a Complaining Heart
I complain way too much, and if you are like me, you complain way too much as well. We complain about the weather, politics, our jobs, and anything else that doesn’t go our way. Unfortunately, we also complain way too much about the church. We complain when we don’t like the music, when the preaching… Continue reading Crucifying a Complaining Heart