Yesterday I got to see Tullian Tchvidjian preach at Southern Seminary. I love his focus on the gospel of grace. Toward the end of his message he asked an interesting question: If Christ accepts me based on his righteousness and not mine, then what is my motivation to do good? In other words, if I have a great day, I’m accepted, if I have a bad day, I’m accepted. So why do good? He answered the question with a quote from Spurgeon:
When I thought God was hard, I found it easy to sin; but when I found God so kind, so good, so overflowing with compassion, I smote upon my breast to think that I could ever have rebelled against One who loved me so, and sought my good.
In other words, the deeper I go into the gospel, the greater my motivation toward obedience. I encourage you to watch this message and be amazed again at God’s grace for desperate sinners like you and me.
Brian Croft with a great piece of advice for every pastor:
Pastors use a variety of tools to prepare their sermons. Commentaries, Greek/Hebrew texts, language lexicons, biblical theology books and other sermons on a passage all aid the preacher in his preparation for his weekly sermon. Here is a tool that will probably not be taught in a seminary class, but has been one of my most unexpected, yet helpful tools for my weekly sermon prep. Here it is:
“The insights of my children on the passage I am preaching as I read it with them throughout the week”
Satan did tempt and incite Eve to eat the apple, who gave it to Adam who ate. Satan willed and carried out evil. He bears responsibility.
Adam and Eve acted wickedly, disobeying God’s clear instruction. They rebelled, and through Adam sin entered the world. He bears responsibility.
But, ultimately, we know that God is sovereign over all that comes to pass. He chose, before the foundations of the earth were laid, to redeem a people for his glory in Christ (Eph 1:4; Rev 13:8). This—including the fall and all its consequences—was his plan and his sovereign will. And yet, wonderfully and mysteriously, God can be charged with no evil, with no wrong-doing. He is the Sovereign Lord, who is righteous and just in all his ways.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this message from Darrin Patrick on contentment. It’s awakened some things in me and how I need to come to the end of my own strength and depend on Christ as my strength. For when He is my strength, I’m content, but when I am my strength, I’m prone to arrogance or despair. If you’re struggling with contentment, I strongly encourage you to watch this!
Dr. Tom Nettles, widely regarded as one of the foremost Baptist historians in America, recently gave two messages on the lives of William Carey and Adoniram Judson. Tom is a member of my church and one of the most humble servants you’ll ever meet. These “character sketches” will encourage you and inspire you.
Kids love their pets. So when they die the question eventually comes, “Will I see my pet in heaven?” Instead of passing it off as a stupid or trivial question, my friend, Eric Schumacher, seeks to answer it (and other questions below) in a recent sermon. You can listen to it here.
What is the nature and purpose of animals in creation?
What is the relationship between animals and man?
Why do animals suffer and die?
Will animals be redeemed?
Will particular pets be recreated?
What is the root of this question, and where should we go with it?
Al Mohler recently spoke at the Connecting Church and Home Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. In his message, “Christian Parenting is Combat,” he gives 4 things Christian leaders must do to connect the church and home.
#1 The church must present faithful vision of the family, marriage, and parenting – and equip believers to transfer that vision to the next generation.
#2 The church must overcome the zone of privacy and autonomy that keeps individuals from being accountable to the church community. We need to get into each others face. Our parenting and marriage are not properly ours – but belong to Christ and are the affairs of the whole church. Someone needs to get involved when people struggle in these areas.
#3 The church has got to be a place where brokenness is overcome by the Gospel. We slander the good news when we act like the only people who can glorify God are those who have never experienced brokenness.
#4 The church has to got to be the place where families are rescued and armed for the combat to which we are called. Discipleship is a battle. We come to church because we can’t afford not to come. We need to get together because we need to be equipped by the preaching of the Word of God and the fellowship of the Saints.
Daniel Montgomery, Pastor of Sojourn Church in Louisville, Kentucky, shares 5 different “images of a small god” that we create in our minds. Each one is a startling contrast to Jesus Christ, as described in Colossians 1:14-23. The Jesus we often settle for is not the Jesus of scripture. He’s a small Jesus, who acts like: (click on each one for more)
