Quick Hits (7/28/08)

Here are some miscellaneous links, thoughts, and resources I’ve been collecting for a while. Some (like the sermon and a few outreach ideas) are quite serious. Another (the Wordle of Ephesians) is fascinating, I think. And others (including a shocking article about a Florida friend, a thought about HomeSat, and a “you might be a [...]

Borrowing Brains: How Can We Make the Lord’s Supper a Spiritual Feast?

Christ gave the Lord’s Supper to the church as a great gift—a perpetual reminder of Himself, the greatest gift. It’s inclusion in Acts 2:42 as one of the four basic practices of the Jerusalem church (along with apostolic teaching, fellowship, and prayer) indicates that it was considered precious by the New Testament church. The attitude [...]

Sound Words: Lest We Forget

Scripture’s description of Christ’s establishment of the Lord’s Table on the night before His crucifixion is full of dramatic truths. By tying the ordinance to the Old Testament Passover (Matt 26:17, 26), He signified His redemption of mankind from sin’s bondage and equated Himself with the Passover’s sacrificial lamb, demonstrating that His death would turn [...]

Chime In: Conviction vs. Condemnation

I had another early morning Bible study with some men from church today. We went over chapter 12 of CJ Mahaney’s excellent little book Living the Cross Centered Life, a chapter entitled “Unloading Condemnation.” The friend leading the study (we take turns) started a profitable discussion on the difference between conviction and condemnation—a difference which [...]

START Your Prayers “In Jesus’ Name” (2 of 2)

In the previous post (which you should read prior to this one), I touched on the wonderful theology that is encapsulated in the phrase “in Jesus’ name.” I urged you (a) to understand what the phrase means and (b) to practice applying it by opening your prayers by reviewing and confessing the truths it communicates. [...]

START Your Prayers “In Jesus’ Name” (1 of 2)

Somehow, over the almost 2 millennia since the Lord Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, most Christians have come to understand the phrase “in Jesus’ name” merely as a sanctified sign-off. The phrase as we use it might rightly be translated in a number of ways:

“Sincerely,”
“Ten-four. Over-and-out.”
“Thanks for listening.”
“I’m done now. It’s someone else’s [...]

New Hymn: Praise Our Savior, Jesus Christ

I recently collaborated with Dr. Paul S. Jones (church bio/company site) on a new hymn entitled “Praise Our Savior, Jesus Christ.” I prepared (and repaired and re-prepared) the text over a number of months, then at the recommendation of Scott Aniol I ran it by Dr. Jones. He agreed to look at it, then agreed [...]

Mahaney on Christ’s Forsakenness

I’ve mentioned before that I’m working through CJ Mahaney’s Living the Cross Centered Life with a couple men from our church. This morning we worked through chapters 7-8, the latter of which is entitled “The Scream of the Damned” and focuses on Christ’s forsakenness. What an amazing thought—that Jesus, who ever pleased the Father, was [...]

Quick Hits (5/14/08)

Several links to articles and sermons to pass on…
_____
Here are two great links on educational choices and the local church. As a pastor of a church which has something like 1/3 public school kids, 1/3 Christian school kids, and 1/3 home school kids, I heartily agree with the Harris’ perspective and the need for churches [...]

Dever Sounds Like Doran

During Dever’s lecture at T4G on the folly of trying to “improve the gospel,” I wrote in my notes that he “sounds like Doran.” The first point of Dever’s message has now been posted at the T4G blog. Give it a read (or give the whole message a listen), and tell me if you can [...]