Is jesting a virtue?

Thomas Manton wisely said,
“The praise of a Christian is not in the wittiness, but in the graciousness of his conversation. That which is Aristotle’s virtue is made a sin with Paul* (foolish jesting). You should rather be refreshing one another with what experiences you have had of the Lord’s grace; that is [...]

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How the Reformation was won…

I openned our Reformation Sunday sermon with this great quote from Iain H Murray (from a paper presented back in the 1960’s at the Westminster Puritan Conference)….
At the price of great suffering Protestantism won its way … not because of the superior numbers or learning of its adherents, but because through the Scriptures rivers of [...]

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Basketball Hall of Fame lessons

“Be like David, not like Mike,” writes Voddie Bauchman as he contrasts the recent Basketball Hall of Fame acceptance speeches of David Robinson and Michael Jordan. More:
Modern American sports serve as an incubator for the self-centeredness that resides in each of us. The better one performs, the harder it is to avoid “the big-head.”
I [...]

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Little exhortations from dads to sons

It’s Monday morning again, and I’ve just spent an hour of my day-off writing letters – by hand – to my two oldest kids away at college. And on top of that, I have been texting them each day with a verse from my devotional reading of the Scriptures! Today’s verse was from 1st [...]

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For sale?

The gospel cannot be a product that the church sells because there are no consumers for it. When we find consumers, we will find that what they are interested in buying, on their own terms, is not the gospel.

– David Wells, author of ABOVE ALL EARTHLY POWERS

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Worship without God?

Some secular groups like the Boy Scouts are still “religion friendly” and allow for various degrees of religious expression. That can be a good thing, and I’m glad for it, but culture’s view of ‘pluralism’ and demand for tolerance(!) typically overrule any biblically-faithful practices (such as preaching or praying or explicitly speaking of ‘Jesus’). [...]

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A quiet soul… (updated)

All too often, when I am waiting for something, or doing a simple task, I try to add another activity (reading something, or making notes, etc.). Multitasking may seem to be a virtue in today’s culture, but it cannot profit you spiritually. To properly approach God, requires a right attitude and sense of [...]

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Thoughts on Death

The recent deaths of American celebrities (Farrah Fawcett‎, Michael Jackson, and even TV pitch-man, Billy Mays) have brought many to think (albeit briefly) about death. Oh, that the Lord would awaken many dying souls to their condition, and then graciously bring them to life by the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Some the best words from [...]

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Worship at the center…

A great comment was made by someone at CPCC the other day, reminding us that whatever we do as a church — including evangelism and outreach — must flow out of worship. He had just read the following (from an OPC publication, available online), where author Larry Wilson quotes John Piper. It is [...]

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Unfashionable…

Pastor Tullian Tchividjian’s new book UNFASHIONABLE, Making A Difference in the World by Being Different, is good reading so far. Let drop some quotes in the blog for you to chew on…
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…our culture is growing weary of slick production and whatever’s new and is growing hungry for authentic presence and historical rootedness. Younger [...]

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