Gospel-Driven Awe
In reference to the gospel of our salvation, the apostle Peter wrote: Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated. They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when He testified in advance to the messianic […]
Consistent Confession
Don’t be misled into thinking that the more you confess the further away from God you must be. The opposite is true. As your relationship with God becomes more intimate, confession is more prevalent. When Jesus gave us an example of prayer, He encouraged us to seek forgiveness: Therefore, you should pray like this: Our […]
What Jesus Wants
People have always been attracted to unity. Following a tragedy or disaster, the stories of people responding in unity often grab our hearts. Sports enthusiasts love the tales of a team coming together as a true team and not merely a collection of individuals. People long to belong, to be a part of something bigger […]
Gospel Continually Forms
Though the believers in Philippi had been brought together only because of the gospel, Paul knew that the gospel must continually form community. The Christian faith is and has always been an interdependent grouping of people rescued by Christ. But because of our sinfulness, we tend to drift away from that, toward either dependence or […]
Confessing Sin: Repairing our Connection with God
While we should seek to remove sin from our lives, we will still sin. While Christ has declared us perfect, practically we still live in our old and fallen bodies. While God’s righteousness has been credited to us, we will not be without sin until heaven. But what we do when we blow it is […]
The Gates of Hell Will Not Prevail
So that my in-laws would be somewhat comfortable with their daughter living in Miami, we bought a house in a gated community. After all, Miami is not known as the safest place to live. Miami Vice and CSI Miami do not help the perception. So I was excited to tell my in-laws that I was […]
Gospel Forms Community
The church in Philippi was home to people like this: a wealthy, upscale businesswoman whose material success could never satisfy her; a slave girl with a deep, dark, wounded past; a tough-nosed jailer and his family, just to mention the few we know. So ask yourself: What else did these people have in common but […]
View Sin as Spiritual Adultery
Sin is cheating on God. When I served as a pastor, I counseled several couples struggling with the pain of infidelity. I have seen the hurt and despair in husbands and wives who are crushed because their spouses pursued excitement or intimacy with another. I have also seen the pain and regret in those who […]
A Snapshot of the Gospel
Entire lifetimes of study on the nature and comprehensiveness of the gospel fall short of its beauty and significance, but we want to offer a simple snapshot. The apostle Paul clearly stated that the gospel brings salvation and is the core message of the Christian faith on which we stand. How does the gospel bring […]
Three Lessons Learned from a Season of Idolatry
Last week, I shared the story about how God graciously rescued me from ministry idolatry. For a season, I placed ministry above my relationship with Him and my relationship with my wife. Here are some of the lessons I learned: 1 – I am the one responsible. Godly people in the church surrounded me, but […]