I Will Meditate on All Your Work and Muse on Your Deeds …
Moment by moment, our vital union with Christ is sustained, shaped, and carried by the Word of God.
The Sons Are Free …
Palm Sunday
A Service of Sorrow, Self-Humbling, and Steady Hope in Our Savior and King, Jesus Christ …
A Response to the Attack on the World Trade Center
How can our hope be steady on days like 9-11?
Hold Fast to the Word and Pray for Us …
How the Spirit and the Word Produce Change
Prayer and meditation are as inseparable in the Christian life as the Spirit and the Word of God.
The Spirit Helps Us in Our Weakness, Part 2 …
How does the Holy Spirit pray for us?
Bethlehem, Break Forth Like the Dawn …
The people of Christ should not be known primarily for what we don’t do, but for what we do do.
For God's Sake, Let Grace Be Grace! …
No one's obstinance can stop them from being saved, because God can remove the hardness.
Israel, Palestine and the Middle East …
What does Scripture say about the Promised Land and Israel's rights to it today?
Build Your Life on the Mercies of God …
Of all the things Paul could have chosen as the foundation of your life in Christ, he picks the mercies of God. Why?
Doing Mercy to the Brothers of Jesus and the Broken Neighbor …
If we are true Christians we will want to show mercy to suffering people.
Consider How to Stir Up One Another to Love …
Don’t be a loner in the Christian life. God did not design it that way.
Life Is Not Trivial …
Sunday Evening Message
The world is hungry for people filled with life because they see a reflection of eternity in everything.
The Shepherd, the Host, and the Highway Patrol …
Summer Psalms
Sunday Evening Message
I feel myself drawn with David not so much to love the green pastures but the good shepherd, not so much to love the lavish banquet but the bountiful host, and not so much to love the trip to Miami or the bungalow but to love the highway patrolman.
I Will Magnify God with Thanksgiving! …
What does an all-sufficient God, who owns and controls all things, demand from the creature he has made? That we cease to be great in our own eyes and become small that he might appear great.
For Our People and for the Cities of God …
Installation Service for Glenn Ogren
There are six things that should characterize every effort at team ministry in the church.
Today You Will Be with Me in Paradise …
Good Friday
Both thieves wanted to be saved from death. But O how differently they sought their salvation.
Do Not Labor for the Food Which Perishes …
Labor to feast on Jesus. Satisfy yourself with his beauty and his hope-filled fellowship.
The Evil Origin of a Good King …
The way we seek to have something may be wrong, when the having, itself, may not be wrong.
The Third Word from the Cross …
Good Friday
When Jesus commits his mother to John's care, he is showing us how our needs will be met when we leave everything to follow him.
Fear Not, You Worm Jacob! …
The good news of the Bible is not that we are not worms, but that God helps worms who trust him.
From Bethlehem in the Majesty of the Name of the Lord …
God uses little towns and youngest sons and slingshots to magnify his glory by contrast, to show that he is not the least dependent on human glory or greatness or achievement.
Worship the Risen Christ …
Easter Sunday
If your life is flat, empty, without exhilaration, without significance, without a single and fulfilling orientation, it is because you do not see the risen Christ for who he really is.
Only a New Creation Counts …
The mindset of the new creation does not just agree that Christ died for sinners; it glories in the cross.
Prayer: the Power of Christian Hedonism …
Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing.
The Holy Spirit: Author of Scripture …
Bible confirms its divine origin again and again as it makes sense out of our experience in the real world and points the way to harmony.
The Spirit Wants the World for Christ …
The Spirit wants the world for Christ, but the goal is not yet reached.
The Holy Spirit Will Help You Die …
In their hour of greatest trial God gives his children courage and faith.
I Am Alpha and Omega …
At the end of every road is God. You will meet him as light and life or as fire and torment.
The Lofty One Whose Name Is Holy …
The lofty One whose name is Holy dwells with crushed and humble saints.
My Heart's Desire: That They Might Be Saved …
It is fitting for those who believe in the sovereignty of God to feel a deep sorrow and for the lost and a deep longing for their conversion.
Ambushing Satan with Song …
Singing to God is not a nice little emotional trip to spice up a worship service—it is a matter of life and death.
Job: Rebuked in Suffering …
The suffering of the righteous is not a token of God's enmity but of his love. It is not a punishment of their sins but a refinement of their righteousness.
Mission: The Gladness of God …
God's invitation to the banquet of his eternal joy is sent through the church indiscriminately to all people.
Far More Than You Think …
When the massive weather front of God's love meets the massive weather front of God's power in the heart of a believer, it produces a hurricane of doxology.
God Glorified in Good Resolves …
It is the duty of Christians to seek God's power to fulfill good resolves.
My Prayer to God Is That They Might Be Saved …
Paul does not pray for ineffectual influences, but for effectual influences. And that is how we should pray too.
How Can I Hope? New Birth! …
To get well from the disease of sin, and to have a living hope, you have to undergo surgery.
How Can I Keep on Hoping? The Scriptures! …
The strength to endure comes from the hope before us. And the hope before us comes from the Scriptures.
The Enthronement of Desire …
Success in morality without the gospel is suicide.
Let All the Peoples Praise Thee …
Missions Week
God's purpose is to be known and praised and enjoyed and feared among all the nations of the earth.
The Pleasure of God in His Name …
God's first love is his name and not his people. And because it is, there is hope for his sinful people.
Good Deeds and the Glory of God …
Sunday Evening Message
God has given us the joy of spiritual sight so that we might spread the reputation of our eye doctor.
The Age of Ignorance Is Over …
Today is a day of repentance and salvation, of missions and evangelism, and of loving and sending.
The Curse of Careless Worship …
If you turn your back on the greatness and majesty of God, you'll fall in love with a world of shadows and short-lived pleasures.
The Present Power of Christ Crucified …
The cross is not a mere event in history; it's a way of life!
Walk in Wisdom Toward Those Outside …
Every hour of your life brings a situation that can be bought up for eternity or missed.
Believing God on Election Day …
The only person who does justice to the sovereignty of God is the person who sings about it.
Irrevocable Joy …
Easter Sunday
Jesus offers irrevocable joy. It cannot be destroyed. It cannot be lost.
Affirming the Goodness of Manhood and Womanhood in All of Life …
Life is more beautiful and more exciting because we are so different as male and female.
A Burning Witness to the Light …
John the Baptist came so that we might believe in Jesus and have life like we never had it before.
Why the Gift of Prophecy Is Not the Usual Way of Knowing God's Will …
God doesn't tell us to forsake thinking and just listen for messages. He tells us to be changed in the way we think.
Thanksgiving in Suffering …
Celebration of Thanksgiving at Maranatha Hall
Jesus, the Son of God, is alive today, and stands ready to serve you as your advocate with God the Father.
If It Is of God, It Will Not Be Overthrown …
Commitment Sunday Service At Maranatha Hall
What does building a new worship building have to do with real worship?
Forget Not All His Benefits …
The steadfast love of the Lord has been the same through all the changes of the last 120 years.
Exalting Jesus so the Spirit Falls …
If you want the Spirit's power in your life, make Jesus the center of your life.
God Called Us into Life and Hope …
The call of God is effective; it creates what it commands.
Idolatry, the Lord's Supper, and the Body of Christ …
The Lord's Supper exists to deepen and strengthen our participation in the benefits of the cross and to nourish our fellowship with Christ.
Why a Church Covenant? …
We must seek a better understanding of the covenantal meaning of the local church.
Things Are Worse Than and Better Than They Seem …
Christ has the last word. You will receive from him the crown of life. He will not let you be hurt by the second death.
The Lust of Ignorance and the Life of Holiness …
The grace of God is the source of your hope and the holiness of God is the standard of your holiness.
Who Shall Shepherd the Flock? …
Elders must lead the church in times of blessing and of refinement.
God in Everything at the End of the Age …
What did Peter mean when he wrote that the end of all things is at hand?
Fasting for the Father's Reward …
Jesus is not teaching on whether we should fast or not. He assumes we will and teaches us how to do it and especially how not to do it.
Dying as a Means of Loving, Part 1 …
Is there something in your life that is hindering your fruitfulness in Christ—something that you need to die to?
Urban-Suburban Partnership …
Unfolding Bethlehem's Fresh Initiative #2
Our mission is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in everything, including choosing where we live.
When God Says, "Not Now" …
What are God's purposes when he says "No" to his praying people?
Sustained by Sovereign Grace—Forever …
How can you be sure that grace will sustain you to the end?
The Full Assurance of Hope to the End …
Bank your hope on the justice of God to uphold the honor of his name by offering faith to his unworthy people.
How the Called Receive an Eternal Inheritance …
How is the New Covenant like a last will and testament?
It's All the Work of God …
Christians are secure, not because they are strong, but because God is sovereign and faithful to his new covenant promises.
Every Race to Reign and Worship …
Racial Harmony Sunday
By gathering his redeemed from all the races of the earth, God undercuts ethnocentric pride and throws us back on free grace.
The Treasure of Faith in the Life of the Church …
The great aim of our ministry should be the same as Paul's: to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of God's glory.
The Perils of Disapproving God …
Every form of evil ultimately comes from failing to know, approve, and love God above all things.
God Does Not Repent Like a Man …
God is able to feel sorrow for something he has predestined, in view of foreknown evil and pain, and yet still will to do it for wise reasons.
Embracing the Pain of Shame …
There is a kind of shame that you should not be ashamed of.
Does God "Visit the Sins of the Fathers on the Children"? …
Getting Serious about Education for Exultation
Great and lasting things are at stake for future generations not only because of what we teach, but also because of what we are.
Why I Do Not Say, "God Did Not Cause the Calamity, but He Can Use It for Good" …
We surrender our hope if we sacrifice our belief in the sovereignty of God over evil.
The Ripple Effect of the Word …
More Thoughts on Reading and Writing
Fresh statements of old truth are always needed, because without them people will read error.
"Fact! Faith! Feeling!" …
Testing a Common Slogan
Don't Play the Lottery for Me! …
Why Christians should never knowingly take money won by gambling.
When to Be Merciful and When to Demand Justice …
Consider three criteria for deciding when to love others with mercy and when to love them with justice.
Surrendering and Demanding Rights: Two Kinds of Love …
Thoughts on Mercy and Justice in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
Thoughts on mercy and justice in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15.
What Is Good and Acceptable and Perfect …
Thoughts on Romans 12:2
No one can receive mercy at the cross and still be casual about the will of God.
How Christ Fulfilled and Ended the Old Testament Regime …
Five statements that summarize the magnificent relationship of Jesus Christ to every part of the Scriptures.
