The Plodding Preacher

“We are summoned to know him only on his terms. He is not known on our terms. This summons is heard in and through his Word. It is not heard through our intuitions.”   ―   David F. Wells ,   God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-love of God Reorients Our World

New Year’s Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous "Heavenly Father, for this coming year Just one request I bring. I do not pray for happiness or any earthly thing. I do not ask to understand the way you lead me; But this I ask — teach me to do the thing that pleases You. I want to know Your guiding voice, To walk with you each day. Heavenly Father, Make me swift to hear and ready to obey; And thus the year I now begin A happy year will be, If I am seeking just to do The thing that pleases You."

It is the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War.  That is not a centenary that too many of us want to spend much time considering.  However, today is Christmas Eve and one hundred years ago tonight a most remarkable thing happened.  A spontaneous Christmas Eve truce broke out among the soldiers in the trenches all along the western front.  The stories left by the survivors tell us that it was begun with the singing of Christmas carols.  Songs about the Prince of Peace intruded upon the battlefield and turned men's hearts from war. It is easy to overly sentimentalize such a moment in history.  Many songs have been written to emphasize that the war began again a few days later and continued for three more bloody years.  I prefer to commemorate this anniversary as a moment of anticipation.  One hundred years ago the Lord halted the conflict of thousands of combatants in France and Belgium.  One day in the future, the Prince of Peace will return to this earth and

Looking back over 2014, we have seen more situations where ministries and preachers have collapsed under the weight of unbiblical character.  In the wake of the collapse, many sages have appeared to gravely wag their heads and tut-tut over the fall of another Evangelical dynasty.  The analysts have gone into over-drive to tell us what went wrong and why it went wrong.  The question that troubles my soul is why the analysis was not done before the collapse.  In that lies a sad story.  You see, in our Evangelical culture today, it is just not acceptable to criticize any ministry until it has finally collapsed in a devastating fashion.  There are a few brave souls who do, but they are treated like pariahs.  They are labelled uncharitable and told that they are judgmental.  How can you speak against a brother or sister in Christ?  But are they really? Or were they in fact the most gracious and loving of all? Maybe an analogy is in order. . .  Is it more charitable to analyze the charre

God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame. -Elizabeth Barrett Browning The giving of gifts is not something man invented. God started the giving spree when he gave a gift beyond words, the unspeakable gift of His Son. - Robert Flatt

As a Christian, I have had to listen to untold numbers of atheists, Muslims, academics, liberals tell me how awful my religion is because of the Crusades and the Inquisition.  I try to tell them that my denomination of Christianity had nothing to do with those events and, in fact, did not even exist when any of those things were happening.  It matters not.  I am a Christian, therefore, I am guilty of all those horrendous crimes ever committed in the name of Christ. Within the last twenty-four hours, two horrendous terrorists actions have taken place.  The religion which motivated those actions will, as usual, get a pass by all the same people who beat up on Christians.  We will be told ad nauseum that most adherents of the religion are peaceful or that there are only a few radicals who are causing the problem.  When will the rest be tarred with the same brush that is used for Christians? If Christians had followed our Founder, Jesus, there never would have been crusades or an Inqui

Here is a balanced appraisal of the new Moses movie playing in theaters this Christmas by Al Mohler: Moses Without the Supernatural — Ridley Scott’s “Exodus: Gods and Kings” MONDAY •   December 15, 2014 Timed for a Christmas season release, director Ridley Scott’s intended blockbuster,   Exodus: Gods and Kings  hit the big screens this past weekend. On its opening weekend the movie shot to the top of the box office charts, displacing the latest   Hunger Games  movie, but falling considerably short of expected receipts. The best single line analysis of the movie and its failure to garner either critical acclaim or more viewers was offered by Eric D. Snider of GeekNation: “This big dud isn’t blasphemous enough to be outrageous, emotional enough to be inspiring, or interesting enough to be good.” Well, I partly agree with the first two points of criticism, but I did find the movie interesting. Indeed, I even liked much of the movie, and I would not argue that mature and thoughtf

When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs? Gilbert K. Chesterton

Yesterday I mentioned my focus this Christmas on Hebrews chapter two.  There is a terrific follow-up in Hebrews 4 to the first passage on Christ's incarnation. 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:14-16 ESV) One of the great hang-ups I have about the idea of confessing my sins to anyone lies in the fear of rejection that might result.  If someone knew the real wickedness that can exist in this heart of mine, I would not blame them for turning their back on me and walking away. These verse assure us that Jesus will never do that.  He has been here and experienced all the tempta

This Christmas I have been contemplating a passage that I have never heard preached at Christmas.  It is Hebrews 2:14-18. 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.   Although there is no baby in swaddling clothes in these verses, they powerfully describe the work of the incarnation - of God becoming man.  Christ came to share our flesh and blood t

An interesting little article by H. B. Charles found HERE . D o you feel like shaking hands? I am often asked this question when I finish preaching away from home. I always answer affirmatively. Sometimes I add, “If they can sit and listen to me preach for forty-five minutes, the least I can do is stand and shake their hands.” On occasion, I cannot hide how shocked I am to be asked the question, even though I have heard it countless times. Of course I am going to shake hands, whether I feel like it or not. Preaching is hard work. If a man takes his work seriously, sermon preparation is costly. And the preaching act, though brief in comparison to the time of preparation, is draining. Some preachers respond to the aftermath of preaching by retreating to the study to recover. Others preachers think they are celebrities and don’t want to be bothered with the little people. It’s an “Elvis has left the building!” thing. But I contend it is a good thing for a pastor to hang aro

“And shall I pray Thee change Thy will, my Father, Until it be according unto mine? But, no, Lord, no, that never shall be, rather I pray Thee blend my human will with Thine. I pray Thee hush the hurrying, eager longing, I pray Thee soothe the pangs of keen desire— See in my quiet places, wishes thronging— Forbid them, Lord, purge, though it be with fire.”   ―   Amy Carmichael

HERE is the backstory to this favourite Christmas carol.  Too bad our English words aren't as biblical as the original French words. We are all familiar (I trust) with the English-language version of   "O Holy Night."   Maybe you, like me, have shifted a bit uncomfortably as you sang some of   the words , such as: "Till He appeared and   the soul felt its worth ." Huh? Or again, this: Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His Gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother And in His Name all oppression shall cease Okay, that isn't exactly damnable heresy... but is it   Gospel ? Or   social   Gospel? Turns out there is good reason for unease. The carol we sing is not   true to the original wording of the French song   Mi­nuit, chré­tiens, c’est l’heure so­len­nelle , written as a poem in 1847 by   Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure   (1808-1877). Cappeau   said   he wrote it during a coach ride. Adolphe Adam, who wr

 Nathan Busenitz has done some research with throws a new light onto the old chestnut that Christmas is simply a pagan festival that was Christianized by Constantine.  Find the original article HERE. It’s not uncommon to hear that the celebration of Christmas is rooted in ancient Roman paganism. That claim generally goes something like this: the ancient Romans celebrated a pagan festival on December 25th, but when the Roman Empire was Christianized in the 300s, the church simply turned the pagan festival into a Christian holiday.   It is true that there was a pagan Roman holiday called the “Birthday of the Unconquered Sun” that marked the winter solstice. And in the old Julian calendar, the winter solstice occurred on December 25. The cult of “Sol Invictus” (“the Unconquered Sun,” a.k.a. the sun god) became an official Roman cult in 274 under the reign of Emperor Aurelian. And the Roman empire was Christianized about fifty years later under Constantine.   It doesn’t take too m