A view of Christian Hedonism in Church History. Augustine: “Man is one of your creatures, Lord, and his instinct is to praise you…he wishes to praise you. The thought of you stirs him so deep that he cannot be content unless he praises you, because you made us for yourself and our hearts find no rest until they rest in you.” (Confessions Book 1.1)...
"Bryson, what are you thinking? Why would you do that? Stop tackling your sister; she obviously doesn’t like it! Amaya, STOP whining! Use your words!” I don’t want to admit how often my parenting looks something like this and has been void of any real parenting. I naturally approach discipline attempting to achieve behavior modification; often this is accomplished through bribing, pleading, or threatening consequence A, B, or C, all administered with a lack of self-control (on my part). The end goal: getting my child to act like a well-behaved human with a great mother. ...
Children are sponges. Research has proven it, and we know this by experience. We all have songs, chants, and facts we learned as children that are forever imprinted on our brains. As faulty as our memories become as we age, those imprints from youth remain. This is why catechism is such a powerful tool for our children’s instruction!...
In the little years of our parenting, my husband worked especially long hours. He would get up for some Bible time and exercise in the wee hours, and then he was out the door for work well before the kids woke up. In the evenings, he was often home just in time for a late a dinner. This meant the kids typically had about an hour of his time before they went to bed. I was grateful, because after a season of tears and heartache in which I longed to stay home but couldn’t, it was his long-houred job that allowed me now to stay home with them. However, it made a family worship routine difficult. At the end of a long day in those little years, the kids had barely enough attention span to sit through dinner let alone through a Bible lesson. And to be honest, neither did I. By the time my husband got home, I was absolutely exhausted from taking care of toddlers all day. After dinner, I would collapse on the couch staring at the pile of dirty dishes in the sink, while he took them upstairs to read a Bible story and put them to bed....
First and foremost, to be without spot or blemish is a foundational attitude of the heart. It’s the heart that says, “My life is not my own, I belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.” Everything flows from that attitude of the heart....
My children thrive in routine. For us, that means after a weekend full of irregularity, Mondays are always full of madness. It seems that on Mondays, more than any other day of the week, my children need constant correction. And this on a day when I’m trying to get my house back in order from the same busy weekend, can often make for some explosions as my kids interrupt the plan I have for making my own little kingdom tidy again....
Peter said that in both of his letters, "I am stirring you up." In other words, Peter is saying, "the reason I have written you, is so that I can stir you up to remember…” This is Peter’s purpose statement. His aim is not to give new truth. One commentator has said, “Peter was not endeavoring so much to open up new vistas of truth [but] to stir up the minds of the saints to the tremendous importance of keeping in in memory what they had learned already.” (1) What is interesting here is the sheer number of times that Peter seeks to remind Christians of things they already know. He did it in his first letter, and now in his second letter. In 2 Peter 1:12 he says, “Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have.” And in verse 13, “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder.” And again in verse 15, “And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.” Four times in this short letter, Peter is reminding us....
I am so grateful that the Lord put me in a home where my dad regularly led us in family worship growing up. I know that this is not the norm for most people today. The family is being more and more torn apart. Not only in terms of redefining what the family is, but also in terms of the growing demands for our time, and the endless onslaught of entertainment that seem to crowd out the things that matter most. Therefore, I want to argue briefly for what family worship is, why it is important, and some practical “how to’s” when it comes to implementing it....
True Christianity is the miracle of new life. We can’t earn this life. We can’t obtain this life by our own performance or sincerity. It comes completely by a gift of free grace. That’s how Peter opens his letter in 1:1, “To those who have obtained a faith.” In other words, True Christianity is something that happens to you, just like birth. ...
My husband makes fun of me because I hate instruction manuals. “Just let me figure it out; I learn better that way!” I insist. Besides the fact I may ruin (have ruined?) a project before I even begin, he tells me that I miss out on so much by not reading the manual and thus not understanding the maker’s intentions for and capabilities of a device....
This weekend’s sermon really broke my heart. I’ll commend it to you here in its entirety. In briefest summary, we see from John 18:12-27 the account of the split screen drama of Peter’s unfaithfulness and three time denial of Jesus, all the while Jesus is standing as the faithful groom to his bride. If Peter, Jesus’ special disciple, can do this, how much worse am I? In our application, Pastor Josh had words to say to both the self-righteous and the doubting heart, but I am not either one of those, I am both. I feel like the person in James 1:8: double minded and unstable in all her ways....
Many of us have never thought of stubbornness as a positive quality. In fact, the first definition listed for "stubborn" in Merriam-Webster is "unreasonably or perversely unyielding: MULISH" Yikes! But the second listed definition is this: "justifiably unyielding: RESOLUTE." Now that is a different case all together. That is the kind of stubborn our God is. Justifyably unyielding in displaying his glory. Resolute in saving His people. Would we want anything less?...
When my husband and I first came to understand Reformed Theology, we were in what I call our “Little Years.” My oldest son was a year old, I was pregnant with our second, and a couple years later I would have our third. I’m grateful for God’s timing in this, because as my husband and I were growing in our theology and knowledge of God, our children were too little to understand all of the trial and error in how we applied this to our parenting. We understood that the gospel changes everything. We understood that the gospel should be applied to our discipline, to our meal times, to our bed times, to our play times, indeed to all of our time (Deut. 6:7). But what exactly was that supposed to look like? To that, we had no idea....
This gets to the very heart of the gospel. The reason why the gospel is good is not because of the benefits that we receive from it. The gospel is not good primarily because we gain freedom, or peace, or forgiveness of sins. The gospel is good because we gain Jesus Christ Himself. Christ himself is the gospel. The false teachers were treating Christ as a means to an end. The main question they asked was this: “How can I get these benefits into my life?” The question they should have been asking is “How do I gain Christ Himself?” ...
It is a strange time of year, Christmas. For some it awakens feelings of joy and comfort, for some it brings the nostalgia of days past, and for others it is a harsh reminder of loss that stirs fresh grief and pain in our hearts. Sometimes it is a mixture of them all. Either way, one can hardly enter this season without being forced to face some sort of depth of emotion and introspection....
But there is another view of the Bible. This view affirms the Bible’s own testimony of itself, namely that this book it is not a product of man but has been breathed out by God Himself (2 Timothy 3:16). It claims that if this Word is believed...
Advent simply means “a coming.” The lights come out, the decorations appear, the music plays… This year my oldest said, “I just love the feeling that comes with this time of year.” And he is right. The world will try to steal the glory replacing the manger with images of Santa, replacing giving with consumerism, replacing O Holy Night with Jingle Bell Rock, but we want to instill in our children the nostalgia of something greater: the anticipation of the coming of the glory of the Lord in human form....
Last time, we observed God’s continued faithfulness to his people in his overseeing of Solomon’s construction of the temple at Jerusalem, a place wherein his presence would dwell and where all his people, even foreigners, could come to seek him and find him in prayer. Furthermore, we also noted that the temple’s creation...
“Why do you feel like a failure?” I heard him ask. “Because you are one.” My flesh wanted to rise up to fight that statement, but my heart knew it was true. All that Jesus has to work with is failures....
I wrote the following post on November 2nd, 2017 to commemorate a significant anniversary. My husband, Keith, almost died in a car accident on Monday, November 2nd, 2009; some of his injuries included a shattered hip and pelvis, a broken jaw, a punctured lung, lacerated spleen, and a traumatic brain injury. He spent four months total in the hospital, a nursing home, and acute inpatient rehab before it was safe for him to come home, but he still had a great deal of outpatient rehabilitation for the next 2 years in order to walk again, be able to feed himself, speak, think logically, and many other things that we take for granted every day....
Whereas in our last posting we examined God’s instruction at Mount Sinai to build a tabernacle so that his presence might go with Israel into the land of Canaan, this week we examine the way in which this mobile tabernacle ultimately became a full-fledged, permanent temple at Jerusalem. We will observe how this transition occurred, what similarities are shared between the temple and the tabernacle, and what specific advances to the overall theme of God’s presence within Scripture were brought about by the temple’s inception....
I wrote this blog post weeks ago but never posted. The day I wrote this, my morning devotional took me to John 20:11-18 where Jesus, after having been crucified, buried, and raised, appears to Mary Magdalene at the entrance of his empty tomb. As we are going through the book of John on Sundays, this weekend we came to this text. Although there is a lot in this passage, and I would commend the sermon in its entirety to you, what stood out to me is in verse 17 when Jesus gives Mary instructions to go and tell his brothers, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Jesus tells Mary that His Father is her Father. That His God is her God....
After Moses received from the Lord at Sinai all the statutes of “the Book of the Covenant” in Exodus 20-23, he read them in the hearing of the people, and the covenant that the Lord had made with them was sealed by way of their oath, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do” (Ex 24:7; cf. 24:1-7). However, when Moses is summoned again to the mountain top to receive stone tablets from God engraved with these statutes, the Lord then commands that an offering of materials be taken from among the people with the result, “Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst” (Ex 25:8). This demonstrates God’s enduring commitment and purpose to dwell together with his people (cf. also Ex 29:45-46)....
The first individuals whom God is said to dwell with in Scripture are of course Adam and Eve (cf. Gen 3:8). Thus after they sin, their punishment of being cast out of the Garden of Eden signifies not only the loss of eternal life, but also the loss of God’s presence (Gen 3:8-13, 22-24). Therefore, one of the Bible’s central concerns underlying God’s work of redemption is the restoring of his presence with man....
Do you know that old hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus?” It’s never been one of my favorites. Of course, Jesus is our friend. In humility the Lord of heaven and earth came to earth and laid down his life for us, and John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” But this idea that Jesus is our friend, our best friend, can seem so abstract. I can’t see him. I can’t touch him. I can’t call him up on the phone and hear his voice. We can’t go get lunch together. I can’t physically cry on his shoulder when I have a bad day. What kind of friendship is this with an invisible being?...
500 years ago, on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg door in Germany and sparked the Protestant Reformation. This reformation was a pivotal event in our history that has affected not only Christianity as we know it today, but everything from politics to economics and more....
Many of us know of or have heard something about God’s temple as described in the Bible. In the most general sense, the notion of temple throughout Scripture simply has to do with God dwelling among his people....
I have been working through the Truth Bible Memory Plan on my ESV app. It's been wonderfully helpful to my prayer life. It is so easy to start praying and then quickly run out of things to say. Truly what Jesus told Peter and the others also applies to us: “So, could you not watch with me one hour?" Matthew 26:40. But with Scripture hid in my heart, there is a treasure chest full of God's own words that are ready to be made into a holy argument with Him. For instance:...
The ancient writer of Ecclesiastes said thousands of years ago, before the internet, before the NFL, before bluetooth, and iPhones, and sound systems, "What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9. This was made fresh once again as I was reading a 100 year old sermon by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. This is what he said:...
This morning I was reading New Morning Mercies by Paul Tripp. In a writing discussing the battle that rages for the rulership of our hearts, Tripp made a comment, “We still tend to credit God with faithfulness only when things in our lives seem to be working.” Ouch! I cannot think of an instance when I have given God credit for, nor encouraged someone with, God’s faithfulness through events that are trying or hurtful. God has a plan, yes. God is working all things out for the good of those who love him, yes. But faithful? What does that even mean, really?...
A question and answer session with Pastor Josh. ...
A question and answer session from this week's sermon. ...
A question and answer session from this week's sermon. ...
These are the precious words from Scripture that we heard this morning, an incredible sermon about the Father’s electing love. It was a truth my soul so desperately needed to hear. ...
Jesus provides for the greatest troubles you will face in this life by giving you the Holy Spirit. In our passage, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come to us and perform three important things: 1) He would convict the world. 2) He would guide the apostles into all truth. 3) He would glorify Christ....
Failure to Pray is Always a Sign of Self-Reliance. This is the absolute implication of Jesus’ words in John 15:1-8. v.7 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Why does Jesus say this? v.5 “…apart from me you can do nothing.” He tells you to pray because you are helpless on our own. If you don’t call on Him in prayer, you’re telling Jesus, "No, I got this. I can handle this Jesus. I’m not as helpless as you make me out to be." ...
The greatest enemy to your peace in Christ is when you fill your mind with all the distractions of this world. ...
There can be no doubt in at many points in your Christian walk, you will face a crisis in which you are pleading the promises of Christ and yet still peace is postponed....
Broken marriages, suicide, transgenderism, maniacal behavior, defeating jobs, drug abuse, infertility, lawsuits, depression… These are not just things “out there” in the world, but a handful of the weighty conversation topics I’ve had, this week alone, involving people in my life. In some sense it is shocking and overwhelming, and in another it comes as no surprise at all. We are a broken people, that much is clear, and it is painful....
With permission to start this blog, my mind immediately swelled with the dozens of topics I could write on, but at the core of them all is this: the gospel....
After Moses received from the Lord at Sinai all the statutes of “the Book of the Covenant” in Exodus 20-23, he read them in the hearing of the people, and the covenant that the Lord had made with them was sealed by way of their oath, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do” (Ex 24:7; cf. 24:1-7). However, when Moses is summoned again to the mountain top to receiv...
Keep Reading The first individuals whom God is said to dwell with in Scripture are of course Adam and Eve (cf. Gen 3:8). Thus after they sin, their punishment of being cast out of the Garden of Eden signifies not only the loss of eternal life, but also the loss of God’s presence (Gen 3:8-13, 22-24). Therefore, one of the Bible’s central concerns underlying God’s work of redemptio...
Keep Reading Do you know that old hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus?” It’s never been one of my favorites. Of course, Jesus is our friend. In humility the Lord of heaven and earth came to earth and laid down his life for us, and John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” But this idea that Jesus is our friend, our...
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