This morning, I had the privilege of joining the radio show Kurt and Kate Mornings on Moody Radio in Florida. They asked me to discuss a recent post titled, It is a Weakness of Faith to Refuse to Mourn the Death of Loved Ones. If they release the segment as a podcast, I will link … Continue reading The Importance of Funerals
I am often troubled when I attend a funeral, and the leader refuses to let the people mourn. Those in charge of funeral arrangements, and often the families themselves, put so much effort into making the occasion a celebration of life, a graduation to heaven, that those in attendance might feel like their faith is … Continue reading It is a Weakness of Faith to Refuse to Mourn the Death of Loved Ones
"Why art thou cast down, O my soul?" -Psalm 43:5 It is one source of the eternal freshness of the Psalms that they tell the story of a struggling soul. They open a window on to that battlefield with which no other battle can be compared, the moral struggle of the individual with himself. And … Continue reading The Poetry of the Disheartened Soul
This morning I awoke to heartbreaking news. I opened my email and saw Tim Challies’ newest post titled, My Son, My Dear Son, Has Gone To Be With the Lord. I always look to see what Tim has written, so he tends to be part of my morning routine; a daily companion. I never expected … Continue reading Pray for the Challies Family: Their Son Has Gone to Be with the Lord.
What does God think about you? How we answer that question tends to reveal what we think about him. Most people tend to imagine God as barely able to endure his children. As if he looks down from on high with his arms crossed, thinking, “Once they stop being so prone to wander, I will … Continue reading What Does God Think About You?
Contrary to popular opinion, you will never find freedom living for yourself. Since many people believe a self-centered life of unrestrained desires is the only way to freedom, they then postulate that Jesus’ teaching about the narrow way indicates a life of oppression. This idea could not be further from the truth. The narrow road … Continue reading The Narrow Road is a Wide Place
The Lord is my present help and salvation. Though we are troubled with poverty, shame, or any other affliction, God is our salvation and help. If you are in trouble, God is deliverance; if you are persecuted by malicious enemies, God is your castle. Who is a rock, except our God? I call upon the … Continue reading If You Are in Trouble, God is Deliverance
Exegesis and exposition, the work of understanding a biblical text, are foundational to understand scripture’s application to our lives. The problem is many churchgoers want to hear the application without doing the work of the exegete. In many cases, preachers have accommodated their preaching to scratch the hearers' itching ears. To keep congregants happy, preachers … Continue reading The Danger of Neglecting Expository Preaching
To borrow language from John Calvin, both “useless drones and faithful ministers” find their way into pulpits, and we must be careful to distinguish between them. As believers, we are to find faithful ministers and place ourselves under their ministry, but we must be aware that there are others out there who have a form … Continue reading Useless Drones and Faithful Ministers
The world considers preaching to be foolishness, but God has ordained that preaching be the primary way of proclaiming his word. There has never been a great awakening of the people of God that was not preceded and accompanied by great preaching. By it, he confounds the wise. In this short clip from a sermon … Continue reading The Foolishness of Preaching
