Think About It: We are the Bride of Christ!

God does things on purpose. Nothing is haphazard or accidental with God. That’s obvious enough. What, then, was God’s intention in ordaining marriage? What were His goals? Why did He design it as He did? Why headship? Why intimacy? Why pleasure? Have you ever wondered?
The Bible [...]

Sermon Summaries (7/30/06)

You know the drill. What are you preaching or hearing preached?
I continued my series on Worship yesterday morning, focusing on “Worship in All of Life.” I managed to cover 1.5 of 5 points. (ugh)
I was more encouraged–and convicted–by last night’s message. It was the 2nd on a 5-week series on [...]

Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting

This hymn has become a great delight for me as I have meditated upon it. I count it among my favorites. Though you may know it well, I encourage you to read it again–only think this time. Concentrate on the rich text that urges you to gaze on Christ, to find delight [...]

Drying Out

Well, the flood waters are seeping back to their rightful place. Considering that we just endured the storm of the century (3 months’ worth in 24 hours), we’re amazingly well.
Nevertheless, I’m investigating a contingency plan with this flood in mind. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. This one is my personal [...]

Gulp

This picture tells the bad news. The sign which is barely dry is actually about 4 feet off the ground. That’s a lot of water.
The good news?

Our actual building site is high & dry. We just need canoes for the driveway.
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Lord willing. A “100-year storm” is defined [...]

I Needed That

Tonight I received a spiritual “body blow” from a Bible study on the humility which Christ both taught and exemplified in the gospels. The fact is, I’m too rarely like the selfless and serving Christ. And I’m too often like the competing and bickering disciples who jockeyed for position in the Kingdom even as Christ [...]

Dan Phillips Just Cracks Me Up

DJP waxes eloquent on cessationism here and here. You may find other resources as thorough as these articles, but you won’t find any that are as fun to read.
Dan’s a nut. A smart nut, but a nut.

Is Ministry Pain or Gain?

Which of the following perspectives captures the reality of ministry more accurately?
This from Margaret Clarkson?
So send I you to labor unrewarded,
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown,
To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing-
So send I you to toil for me alone.
So send I you to bind the bruised and broken,
O’er wand’ring souls to work, to [...]

Doran & McAllister on Progressive Sanctification

I preached this week from II Corinthians 3:18 on “The Sanctifying Effect of Worship. As part of my preparation I listened to several sermon mp3’s, two of which I found particularly helpful.
The first is this sermon by Dr. Dave Doran. It is an exposition of II Corinthians 3:18, along with a number of [...]

I’ve Been Dissed, Part 2

Dissidens has me defending Kirk Franklin.
(sigh)