The Risen Christ: Satisfied with His Suffering …
Easter Sunday
Jesus' delight in dying and rising was to enable others to rise from the dead and enjoy his majesty forever.
Glorification: Conformed to Christ for the Supremacy of Christ …
God's work to save and sanctify you is not so that you can enjoy yourself more. It's so that you might be free and fit to enjoy Christ forever.
God's Word Stands: Not All Israel Is Israel, Part 1 …
Every person who trusts in Christ becomes part of the true Israel of God.
Christ Overcame Evil with Good—Do the Same …
Palm Sunday
How to Welcome a Weak Brother …
How can a church hold together when some of its members are so different from one another?
The Kingdom of Heaven Is a Treasure …
The kingdom of God is so valuable that losing everything on earth, but getting the kingdom, is a happy trade-off.
Restful Words for Labor Day …
Summer Psalms
Sunday Evening Message
It seems that with this passage of Scripture, more than any other, to recite it is also to experience its reality. The psalm itself is green pasture, the psalm itself is still water, the psalm itself restores my soul.
Christ Did Not Send Me to Baptize …
Baptism is an act of obedience to the command of Jesus (Matthew 28:19, 20). And for that very reason it should never divert our attention away from Christ onto a man. It should express our desire to rely on Christ alone for salvation and to boast only in him.
Pray for Kings and All in High Positions …
Let your prayers embrace all kinds of people: high and low, white and black, democrats and republicans, Soviet premiers and Iranian Ayatollahs. Enlarge your heart until it embraces the world.
O, That You Knew the Terms of Peace! …
Palm Sunday
Jesus Christ is always eager and willing to make peace with anyone who will accept the terms of peace he offers.
Rivers From the Heart …
We are afflicted and blessed with a chronic restlessness, an insatiable soul-thirst, for this reason: that we might keep looking until we find Christ.
Grace, Gratitude, and the Glory of God …
Thanksgiving Day
Gratitude is not an act of will power but the glad response of one who acknowledges grace.
Jesus Is Precious Because We Yearn for Beauty …
We crave to be moved by some rare glimpse of greatness. We yearn for a vision of glory.
Who Made Man's Mouth? …
How different, how wonderful the use of our mouths would be if we lived by faith in the God who made the mouth and not by sight—by looking at our own clumsy tongue.
Take Courage: You Build More Than You See …
Nothing you do is a trifle if you do it in the name of God. He will shake heaven and earth to fill your labor with splendor.
Hosanna! …
Palm Sunday
Our English word "hosanna" comes from a Greek word "hosanna" which comes from a Hebrew phrase hoshiya na.
The Law of Christ …
Bearing Each Other's Burdens
If we really care about a person's ultimate welfare, we will confront them with their sin as well as comfort them in their trouble.
Creation, Fall, Redemption, and the Holy Spirit …
If I'm so depraved that I can't do anything good, what do you expect me to do?
Maintain the Unity of the Spirit …
What is the kind of unity that will bring honor and credit to our high calling?
The Lord, a God Merciful and Gracious …
God's self-sufficiency and sovereign freedom are the very sources from which his mighty mercy overflows.
A New Year's Plea: Plan! …
Jesus planned for our joy; we ought to plan for his glory.
Job: Reversal in Suffering …
What God is after in all his dealings with his children is a brokenhearted joy that trusts like a little child in God and returns good for evil.
Called According to His Purpose …
No promise in all the world surpasses the height and breadth and weight of Romans 8:28.
The Beatitudes and the Gospel of the Kingdom …
The powerful mercy of the kingdom has already come in Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our Hope: The Appearing of Jesus Christ …
The blessed hope of all who believe is the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Do you eagerly await the coming of Christ?
Preparing to Receive Christ: Something More Than Flesh and Blood …
To recognize and receive Christ for who he really is, God the Father must reveal it to you.
The Pleasure of God in the Good of His People …
God does not do you good out of some constraint or coercion. He is free! And in his freedom he overflows in joy to do you good.
Barnabas: The Goodness of Great Faith …
Consider the outcome of Barnabas' life and imitate his faith.
Let None Be Faithless to the Wife of His Youth …
Don't back out on your commitments, don't marry an unbeliever, and don't divorce your covenant wife.
Let God Be All in This Building! …
It's the absence of the centrality of the biblical God in all of life that is leading to the collapse of our civilization.
The Great Invitation: Call Others Too! …
Will we be satisfied that God has made a covenant with us? Or will be dissatisfied until is spreads to all the nations and peoples of the world?
Three Meditations on "The Messiah" …
Christmas Festival
The high noon of God's glory will be the second coming of Christ. And that is where the sun will stay forever.
Faithfulness Is Better Than Life …
Faithfulness means that you trust God and obey, no matter what impact it has on your safety or standard of living.
Old and Young Shall Dream Together …
God is calling young and old to dream new dreams of reaching the whole world for Christ.
Compassion, Power, and the Kingdom of God: An Introduction …
What is the nature of the kingdom of God? And what is the "power" that the kingdom exerts now in the church?
The Lord Stood by Me …
God causes us to persevere in the fight of faith. Therefore he gets the glory.
Times of Refreshing and the Restoration of All Things …
God will one day establish the kingdom of Christ on the earth.
The Story of a Stiff-Necked People …
God is not eager to punish; he is eager to forgive. But there is an end to his patience.
Let Marriage Be Held in Honor Among All …
Be in sync with God about marriage and out of sync with secular western culture.
The Straight Paths of the Lord …
God is not aloof or passive or indecisive. He is a searching and saving God, a God on a mission.
History Is God's Story …
Everything, without exception, has to do with God, and gets its main meaning from God.
Behold, I Make All Things New …
God wants us to have assurance that no matter how much evil and suffering and futility we see now, he will make all things new.
Should Not I Pity That Great City...Minneapolis? …
The Day of Praise Procession
God has made the cities of this world, and he cares for them. So should we.
How the Saints Minister to the Body …
Love abounding in knowledge and discernment is what builds Christ's body.
One Lord, One Spirit, One Body for All Time and All Peoples …
The truth that there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, is a truth for inside the church and outside the church.
A Model of Covenant Exhortation …
Don't get into people's lives only when things are falling apart; get in when things are going well and help each other keep that course.
Preserving the Covenant Community In Spite of Sickness and Sin …
How do you preserve the covenant community in spite of sickness and sin?
Fear Not, I Am with You, I Am Your God …
God is over you, by you, inside you, around you, underneath you. Therefore do not fear.
The Prayers of the Saints and the End of the World …
No believing prayer is in vain. Ever.
What Is Man? …
Reflections on Abortion and Racial Reconciliation
You cannot worship and glorify the majesty of God while treating his supreme creation with contempt.
The War Against the Soul and the Glory of God …
The two greatest issues in life are how the soul of man might not be destroyed and how the glory of God might not be belittled.
Slaves of God: Free from All to Honor All …
The aim of life—including our social and political life—is to live to God.
How Elder-Shepherds Prepare to Meet the Chief Shepherd …
When the Chief Shepherd comes, he is going to call elders to account and say, "Did you feed my sheep?"
Are You Humble Enough to Be Care-Free? …
Humility is what we need if we hope to find rest in the promises of God.
The Greatest of These Is Love: An Introduction to the Series …
God is love. The implications of this for the way we live are big.
Who Shall Separate Us from the Love of Christ? …
If we are to grow in our love to one another, we must first experience being loved by Christ with a deep, unshakable love.
The Happiest Days of Heaven …
Jesus is the seeking heart of God going out after sinners and winning our repentance.
Coming to Yourself and Coming to The Father …
When sinners turn from their sin and accept Jesus' fellowship as the joy of their lives, they have come home to God. And God is glad.
The Son of Man Came to Serve …
At the end of this season, receive the best present imaginable: Jesus giving himself to die for you and serve you.
The Son of Man Came to Give His Life a Ransom for Many …
Christmas Eve Day
Were you ransomed when Christ died? Are you still under the guilt and power of sin when you might be free?
He Sat Down at the Right Hand of Majesty …
Easter Sunday
We owe our purification to Jesus and we owe our being to him.
Jesus Christ: Infinitely Superior to Angels …
Angels were created for Christ's everlasting glory and for our everlasting joy.
When Does God Swear? …
God swears by his own name in order to give his people unwavering confidence in his promises.
Hope Anchored in Heaven …
There are at least five practical things you can do to move your heart toward "laying hold of your hope."
The Faith of Noah, Abraham, and Sarah …
Installation of Chuck Steddom As Minister of Worship and Music
Saving faith isn't merely the one-time act of receiving Jesus. It goes on trusting him.
The Place of Preaching in Worship …
Why is the proclamation of the Word so prominent in corporate worship?
The Children of Abraham Are Heirs of the World …
What does it mean to be an heir of the world?
By What Death Will You Glorify God? …
Will the pain of losing all that you have on earth fade at the prospect of seeing and being with Christ?
Dorothy Sayers on Why Hell Is a Non-Negotiable …
It is not out of antiquarian allegiance that we love the truth—even the hard ones. It is out of love to Christ and to the people who need his truth.
The Solution Is Closer Than You Think …
Three Ways of Seeing
Sometimes we are prepared to see what we see and sometimes our minds have to be changed before we can accept reality.
Do Jews Have a Divine Right in the Promised Land? …
Those who break covenant with God forfeit any claim on his promises.
Boasting in Man Is Doubly Excluded …
There are two reasons (at least) why God hates for man to boast in man.
What Unites Us in Worship at Bethlehem? …
What are the essentials of worship that go deeper than style and form?
Why Vote If You Are Disillusioned? …
Our calling in this world is not to wait for the arrival of the perfect, but to pick our way through the thicket of flaws.
How to Pray for the Pastoral Staff …
Eight gifts to ask God to give to your church's leadership.
What Is the "Bad Eye" in Matthew 6:23? …
If your emotions are drawn more by material things than by Christ then you probably aren't seeing the beauty of grace.
