Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which has to be asked for, the door at which one has to knock. It is costly, because it calls to discipleship; it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly, because it costs people their …
I am currently preaching on the gospel through the book of Romans. For those who might be interested, here is a list of very helpful commentaries I am using. I’ve listed them in order of helpfulness to me. You may be interested to know that the first two commentaries listed are Carson’s #1 and #2 …
Sobering Reminder from R.C. Sproul: We have to be very careful when we read the New Testament to try to read it with virgin ears. We do not want to bring to the text all the baggage from the secular culture around us. One of the most destructive ideas we tend to bring is the …
In one of his recent books, William Willimon, offers some sound counsel concerning preaching with the aid of a manuscript in our current culture. The point is this I believe: don’t be bound to your manuscript, be bound and determined to communicate God’s Word clearly! Here is how Willimon describes the task for us preachers: …
I’ve been asked to review Transformational Churches by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer. It’s laying on my desk, and I plan to work through it this morning, but before I do, I’ve been struck by the subtitle: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations. I’ve got some ideas about what Stetzer and Rainer may recommend, but …
“Use prayer as a boring rod, and wells of living water will leap up from the bowels of the Word….Prayer will singularly assist you in the delivery of your sermon; in fact, nothing can so gloriously fit you to preach as descending flesh from the mount of communion with God to speak with men. None …
“You and I, as preachers, are dealers in words. Words are all that we have to do any important work. Like some of the psalms of lament, I want both to thank God for speech and to blame God for speech being so difficult. And I want to fall in love with language, over and …
Yesterday was a big day, I celebrated the 30th anniversary of my birth. Somehow that sounds better to me than to say that I turned thirty. Either way, regardless of how you slice it, I’ve been on this earth for thirty years and have thirty less years to go than I did on February 3, …
Pastors as you prepare and study to deliver God’s Word to God’s people this coming Lord’s Day, ponder the words below from Dietrich Bonhoeffer concerning preaching. “A truly evangelical sermon must be like offering a child a fine red apple or offering a thirsty man a cool glass of water, and then saying, Do you …