I Feel God’s Pleasure When I…
The classic movie Chariots of Fire is based on the 1924 Olympics and two prominent runners—Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. Both were gifted and successful athletes who carried the hopes of their respective nations on their backs when they raced. Eric Liddell was a devout Christian who represented Scotland. He was a missionary, and some […]
God’s Gracious Mocking
Because “the sorrows of those who take another god for themselves will multiply,” God is gracious to show us the futility of pursuing something other than Him. He is good if He mocks us in our attempts to find life outside of Him. Augustine captures this beautifully: I was still eagerly aspiring to honors, money, […]
Don’t Return to the Corpse
According to Galatians 5, there is an ongoing and internal battle occurring in believers. The Lord has graciously caused His Spirit to live in our hearts, yet at the same time, we are still plagued with our flesh, our unredeemed humanness. And though in our inner being we desire Him and His ways, our flesh […]
Christians and Our Idols
The apostle John wrote, “Little children, guard yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). In a loving and pastoral way, John encouraged us not to ruin ourselves by replacing God on the thrones of our lives with something else, something less. In our sinfulness, we are prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love, […]
How People Grow…in Groups
In Transformational Discipleship, we unpacked the important relationship between truth, posture, and leaders. God brings about transformation as godly leaders apply the truth to our hearts while we are in a teachable posture. Truth: The Lord transforms us, sanctifies us, through His truth—and His Word is truth (John 17:17). The truth of the gospel and […]
Do You Want a People Filled with Gratitude?
Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16). Most church leaders long to see the people they serve become a people who teach and encourage one another in the Christian […]
The Trinity of Sin Is Overcome
In Psalms 32:1-2 and 51:2-3, David used three different words to describe the fullness of our sin: transgression (pesha‘), iniquity (‘avon), and sin (chatta’ah). As transgressors, we willfully disobey the One to whom we owe our allegiance. In our iniquity, our hearts have been twisted. And as sinners, we woefully miss the mark of God’s […]
Augustine: The Word Became Flesh
All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever ~ 1 Peter 1:24-25 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ~ John 1:1 The […]
Becoming Baal
The psalmist declared, “those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them” (Psalm 115:8). In his great book, We Become What We Worship, G. K. Beale articulates, “What we revere we resemble, either for ruin or restoration.” If we worship a lesser god, a god other than the God […]
The Heretic Within
History is filled with people who used the Bible to justify their desires and plans. For example, Adolf Hitler once declared, “Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.” Cult leader […]