Some quotes on God’s providence

by | Oct 17, 2024 | Uncategorized

Sunday morning sermons are focused on looking at and unpacking God’s word, which is entirely true and trustworthy, and so I try to keep quotes from other sources at a minimum. But there are a number of statements on God’s providence from pastors and...

God’s providence and some cautions

by | Oct 16, 2024 | Uncategorized

We dove in to the deep end of God’s providence on Sunday, considering what Scripture has to say about this massive and important and practical doctrine. One of the things that is clear is that Scripture does not present God’s overarching providence as a doctrine to...

You are a counselor

by | Oct 7, 2024 | Uncategorized

I have said on numerous occasions that there is a huge need for solid, Christian counselors. For individuals trained to address specific areas of the human condition, who are grounded in and led by God’s word and Spirit as the ultimate cure. At the same time, I am...

Some reflections on sabbaticals

by | Aug 28, 2024 | Uncategorized

Now that I’m on this side of my first sabbatical, I have some reflections on sabbaticals, both from my vantage point as a pastor, and from the vantage point of a church whose pastor is on a sabbatical. And I want to help you think through these last few months,...

Some reflections on church membership

by | Mar 5, 2024 | Uncategorized

This past weekend, five of us went down to Portland for the 9Marks Northwest Conference. 9Marks is a ministry based out of Capital Hill Baptist Church in DC, that grew out of Mark Dever’s (pastor of CHBC) book, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. This is an annual...

He gives us what we need

by | Jan 16, 2024 | Uncategorized

And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:11-12 As we’ve covered Hebrews 6 the...

Idols of the heart and counseling

by | Jan 9, 2024 | Uncategorized

I recently was reminded of an influential article David Powlison wrote for The Journal of Biblical Counseling almost 30 years ago, titled “Idols of the Heart and ‘Vanity Fair.’” The article proposes that the biblical category of idolatry is a more thorough, more...

Salvation is connected to judgment

by | Dec 21, 2023 | Uncategorized

We’ve been going through Revelation 21-22 these last few weeks, considering the future hope and home of God’s people, the renewed creation where God will dwell among his people, “wipe away every ear from their eyes, and death shall be no more” (21:4), and satisfy them...

How to test our view of God’s kindness

by | Nov 21, 2023 | Uncategorized

I began this Sunday’s sermon by asking everyone to consider their view of God’s attitude towards them in their sin. How does God see and receive us in our sin, guilt and shame? Is he shaking his head in frustration? Throwing up his hands in disbelief that you failed...

Relational division and the deception of sin

by | Nov 8, 2023 | Uncategorized

Part of the reason we experience relational division is that we do not have a biblical understanding of ourselves and how sin affects us. To this end, there are two biblical passages that we could use to always keep in mind. The first, we covered this past Sunday: But...