The Plodding Preacher

The alarming fact is that sin not only made you walk in the darkness, but it also darkened your understanding. Not only were you unable to do things that are pleasing to God, but you were also unable to even know what is pleasing to God. But when you turned to Christ in repentance and faith, suddenly your mind was illumined by God so you could understand. You could understand who God is, who you are, and why the gospel is such good news. In a moment, your mind was given access to true and saving knowledge. In a moment you understood just how blind you had been for all those years. This is what Wesley celebrated in one of his greatest hymns: “Long my imprisoned spirit lay, / Fast bound in sin and nature’s night; / Thine eye diffused a quickening ray— / I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; / My chains fell off, my heart was free, / I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.” Tim Challies in the article " Renew your Mind ."

Maybe I am alone here, but I would much rather see a picture of Niagara Falls than a face obstructing my view of it. Niagara Falls is not about us. It is majestic. It demands the full frame for viewers to feel even just a little taste of the awe of something grander than themselves. This is exactly what we are doing when we attempt to make corporate worship about us. Our sinful hearts want to fill up the frame of God’s glory with our faces. Our flesh wants to distract us from the infinite worth of a holy God who has invited us into his presence to behold him and be made like him. Stephen Miller from the article " Worship in a Selfie World ."

The more that I get to know my own heart, the more sinful I see it is. Scripture testifies to the stark reality that the heart of man is the problem of man. We can look around the world and see all sorts of evil in all shapes and sizes, and it all comes from one place: the heart. Sin is not something outside of us that causes us to stumble or do bad things. Sin comes from within. Jesus himself preached that all evil comes from within the heart. We are our own worst enemy. Joshua Jenkins

The excellencies of the righteous are obnoxious to the wicked, and the main object of their fury. C. H. Spurgeon