This is a challenging word from Zwingli. He roots this in 2 Timothy 2:23. “[Those] who bring hatred upon the gospel are those who are more inflated with knowledge of the gospel than ignited with love. They exercise themselves more with quarreling than with gentle Christian living. They see in others what is lacking in …
Earlier this year I mentioned The Call conference for pastors to be held at Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh, Scotland. I was blessed to be apart and benefited from all the messages. I have mentioned some of them along the way but just recently noticed that video of all the messages has been posted online. So, …
Continue reading ‘Video of Messages at Charlotte Chapel Conference’ »
This past week I taught a week-long course for the Sovereign Grace Pastors’ College in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It was an invigorating and particularly blessed time. Over three and a half days I walked through Hebrews through Revelation with 23 guys from a wide range of ages, and experience both practical and academic- some fairly new, …
Continue reading ‘My Week at the Sovereign Grace Pastors’ College’ »
“Finally, if 1-3 John leave the disciple who studies them with any single lasting impression, it is the grandeur and centrality of God. Part of this is the sheer volume of references to him. There is hardly a verse or even clause anywhere that does not name a person of the Godhead (Trinity), a divine …
Continue reading ‘John’s Letters as Highest-Proof Grain Alcohol’ »
In a technical article on the Greek word for “false teacher” used in 2 Peter 2:1, K. Rengstorf says this term shows their teaching was false and “in every respect they are a perversion of the Christian διδασκολος [teacher], since they reject the claim of Jesus to domination over their whole lives.”[1] This is an …
“In our daily reading of Scripture we come upon many obscure passages that convict us of ignorance” – John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 3.2.4 This statement from Calvin is striking. At the time Calvin is writing this he is widely regarded as the leading theologian of the Reformation. No one else had produced …
I am in the midst of the last proofreading of the forthcoming book, Forgotten Songs: Reclaiming the Psalms for Christian Worship and am really enjoying the essays even though I’ve been through them several times already. In Jack Collins’ essay on the liturgical purpose of the Psalms in their Old Testament context he helpfully discusses …
Here is another excerpt from Brueggemann’s sermon on Psalm 100 [“Psalm 100,” Interpretation 39 (1985): 65-69]. In this section he is making the point that worship along the lines called for in Psalm 100 is a summons to reorient life in light of the reality that God is our Creator and Shepherd. To sing in …
I have plenty of differences with Walter Brueggemann, but his sermon on Psalm 100 is very rich [“Psalm 100,” Interpretation 39 (1985): 65-69]. The following quote makes a profound point about praise and has helped me see more of the importance of praise. To praise is to reject alternative loyalties and false definitions of reality. …
The New Testament is clear about the duty of church members in watching out for one another and helping one another persevere (see esp. Heb 3:12-14; 4:1-2, 11; 12:15-16; James 5:19-20). Too often Christians have not learned to think this way. I also often find myself trying to help people see that evangelistic labors, properly …