The Plodding Preacher

First let me say that death is no laughing matter.  For each of the families of the celebrities who have passed this Christmas season, I pray that God's grace and comfort may find them in their time of grief. Yet it still amazes me the way the press responds each time a major celebrity dies.  The shock with which each announcement is made would make it appear that the media believed these people by virtue of their fame would live forever - that celebrity was the one thing that could conquer death. The reality is that nothing can prevent the inevitability of death.  Hebrews 9:27 reminds us that it is the destiny of man to die and then face God's judgment.  So rather than pretending like our culture that death will not come, our time would be better spent preparing for the death that eventually must come. It is at this point that we have good news.  Celebrity has not defeated death, but Jesus has.  When he rose from the dead, he defeated the power of de...

Every year Christians accuse society of trying to take Christ out of Christmas.  This Christmas saw the war shift to inside our camp due, yet again, to an poor statement by Andy Stanley on the virgin birth. Virgin Birth debate interrupts regular ‘War on Christmas’ program NEWS BOB ALLEN    |  DECEMBER 21, 2016 The other war on Christmas — not the one over saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” — broke into a skirmish after a well-known evangelical preacher suggested he doesn’t have a problem with people who doubt the Virgin Birth. Andy Stanley , founder of North Point Ministries, a network of six congregations across the Atlanta metropolitan area attended by 30,000 worshippers a week,   said   in a message Dec. 3 that one of the challenging things about Christmas is the “unbelievable” nature of stories in the Bible describing Jesus’ miraculous conception. “A lot of people don’t believe it, and I understand that,” Sta...

Surely none are so crazy as those who are content to live unprepared to die. J.C. Ryle

How George Whitefield reshaped a famous Christmas carol Chris Fenner   — December 22, 2014 Although the name George Whitefield is not readily associated with Christian hymnody, he left his own mark on one of the most famous Christmas carols, penned by his friend and contemporary, Charles Wesley. The Wesleys had an enduring friendship and connection with Whitefield, beginning with their Oxford “Holy Club,” followed by separate missionary journeys to America, and a call to open-air field preaching in England. During the earlier years of that association, the Wesleys published some of their most enduring poetry, especially in the first edition of  Hymns and Sacred Poems  (1739). This collection included “And can it be” — deeply inspired by Charles’ conversion in 1738 — “Christ the Lord is risen today,” “Commit thou all thy griefs,” “Jesus, thy boundless love to me,” and a Christmas hymn with a curious text: Hark how all the Welkin rings Glory to the King of...

Tim Challis has some good ideas if you are looking for a New Year's resolution. 10 Ideas and 10 Tips for Family Devotions in 2017 W ith a new year dawning, many Christian families will resolve to approach family devotions with greater faithfulness in the year ahead, or perhaps even to begin family devotions for the first time. These are great resolutions! Here are 10 ideas and 10 tips that may help.

Why the Jewish Messiah is the Most Important Individual in History by   Eric Davis What Christmas commemorates is big for many reasons. With the incarnation comes the Savior. For those who repent, there is justification, adoption, redemption, reconciliation, regeneration, sanctification, and, one day, glorification. But if we back up a bit, with the incarnation, there is the arrival of the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. It’s difficult for a 21 st   century audience to appreciate the century-long yearning which the Hebrews had for the Messiah’s arrival. But why? What is the significance of the Jewish Messiah? Read the Article HERE .

When we put our minds long to the idea of Jesus being one hundred percent God and simultaneously one hundred percent man, they naturally feel overwhelmed. The orthodox doctrine of the Incarnation is compelling, beautiful, biblically sensible, and salvifically necessary, but it is nevertheless utterly inscrutable. And that's okay. In the end, the Incarnation is not for analysis but for worship. Jared C. Wilson

“If you reject him, he answers you with tears; if you wound him, he bleeds out cleansing; if you kill him, he dies to redeem; if you bury him, he rises again to bring resurrection. Jesus is love made manifest.”       – C. H. Spurgeon

The incarnation isn’t a celebration for happy people;   it’s hope   for those who wish things were different.   Our longing joins in the chorus of creation that groans for deliverance from this world that is marred and broken by sin (Rom 8:22 – 23). We wish things were different because we know they are supposed to be. Read the article Here

Some imagine that in Heaven we’ll be all dressed up with nowhere to go and nothing to do. (Except take an eternal afternoon nap, strum that harp, and polish that gold.) I’ve concluded there’s an unspoken assumption behind this pervasive notion that Heaven will be boring. That assumption is that life without sin would not be interesting. The idea is, “What will we do for entertainment if there’s no sin?” The fact that such a notion would even occur to us demonstrates the extent to which we’re blinded by the evil one. His most basic strategy, exactly the one he employed with Adam and Eve, is to make us believe sin will bring us fulfillment. But sin is not what brings us fulfillment—it’s what robs us of fulfillment! Sin isn’t what makes life interesting, it’s what makes life empty. This emptiness inevitably leads to boredom. When there’s fulfillment, when there’s beauty, when we see God as He truly is, boredom becomes an impossibility. Randy Alcorn

A tough position to take in today's parenting atmosphere is brought to us by John Piper. Parents, Require Obedience of Your Children I am writing this to plead with Christian parents to require obedience of their children. I am moved to write this by watching young children pay no attention to their parents’ requests, with no consequences. Parents tell a child two or three times to sit or stop and come or go, and after the third disobedience, they laughingly bribe the child. This may or may not get the behavior desired. Last week, I saw two things that prompted this article. One was the killing of 13-year-old Andy Lopez in Santa Rosa, California, by police who thought he was about to shoot them with an assault rifle. It was a toy gun. What made this relevant was that the police said they told the boy two times to drop the gun. Instead he turned it on them. They fired. I do not know the details of that situation or if Andy even heard the commands. So I can’t say for sure...

I came across this picture today.  It shows a body builder Jesus dying on the cross. It reminded me of a Christmas song I have heard in the past. Some children see Him lily white, the baby Jesus born this night. Some children see Him lily white, with tresses soft and fair. Some children see Him bronzed and brown, The Lord of heav'n to earth come down. Some children see Him bronzed and brown, with dark and heavy hair. Some children see Him almond-eyed, this Savior whom we kneel beside. some children see Him almond-eyed, with skin of yellow hue. Some children see Him dark as they, sweet Mary's Son to whom we pray. Some children see him dark as they, and, ah! they love Him, too! The children in each different place will see the baby Jesus' face like theirs, but bright with heavenly grace, and filled with holy light. O lay aside each earthly thing and with thy heart as offering, come worship now the infant King. 'Tis love that's born tonight! I understand the ...

This excellent little article by Jay Sampson sums up what most of us pastors would like for Christmas. One of my personal favorite things about Christmas is the giving of gifts. I'm just kinda wired that way. I enjoy the idea of getting something for someone that I know they will like but they might not necessarily buy for themselves. At my best (which is rare), I pay attention to conversations starting around October and pick up on things that are mentioned in passing and then look on with boyish glee as my unsuspecting target of tribute receives a token that shows someone was listening! Many times, the things that our loved ones desire are not items that we will need to scrape and save to acquire, but rather they are things that we will need to prioritize and plan. And very often these things that they   truly   want – family time, appreciation, encouragement – are not things that will appear on any list they put together. And so it came to pass that I was asked: what...

Our ministry ought always to be a killing as well as a healing one,—a ministry which kills all false hopes, blights all wrong confidences, and weeds out all foolish trusts, while at the same time it trains up the feeblest shoot of real hope, and tenders comfort and encouragement even to the weakest of the sincere followers of Christ. C. H. Spurgeon

Four Daily Prayers for Your Children Article by   Chad Ashby Pastor, Newberry, South Carolina Our kids never seem to be at a loss for words. Even with tiny vocabularies, it is astounding how well they are able to fill any silence with a thousand little syllables. We parents are a different story. In homes full of questions and needs, it can be hard for our fried brains to put together even broken phrases. Sometimes I find myself stuttering as I try to talk to my kids — like I need a hard reset. Especially with small kids, prayers can be difficult to lace together. We have a thousand requests for our children: that they would be saved, that they would learn obedience, that they would finally learn to eat broccoli, that they would quit hitting other kids in their class, and on and on. Where do we start? I believe one of the ways the Spirit graciously intercedes for us as parents is by giving us prayers to pray from the Scriptures ( Romans 8:26 ). As I struggled...

As a pastor, I have had numerous people come to me over the years wondering whether they had committed the unpardonable sin.  In Mark 3 we have Mark's record of Christ's statement of the unpardonable sin: And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." And he called them to him and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes ag...

Now how on earth could fairness be ingrained in two monkeys?

"In the druidical religion of liberalism, not separating your recyclables is a sin, but abortion is just a medical procedure." -Ann Coulter You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing aa camel! (Mat 23:24 ESV)

It is now [1960’s] common practice in most evangelical churches to offer the people, especially the young people, a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction. It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend meeting where the only attraction is God. One can only conclude that God’s professed children are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to meeting with a stick of striped candy in the form of religious movies, games and refreshments. A.W. Tozer

Tim Challies recently addressed the question many Christian parents would most like answered: Why do kids who grew up in church, leave the faith?  His answers are worth reading. Few things are sadder to witness than people who once professed faith leaving it all behind. This is especially true when those people were raised in Christian homes by God-fearing parents. These children were given every opportunity to put their faith in Jesus but determined instead to turn their backs on him. Why would they make such a tragic choice? Several years ago Tom Bisset carried out a study of people who had left the faith. Wanting this to be more than a statistical analysis, he actually sat down with people to interview them and ask for detailed information on when, why, and how they abandoned their faith. As he compiled his research he arrived at the four most prominent reasons that people raised in Christian homes eventually leave Christianity behind. They leave because they have t...

"Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you." -- Hebrews 9:20 There is a strange power about the very name of blood, and the sight of it is always affecting. A kind heart cannot bear to see a sparrow bleed, and unless familiarized by use, turns away with horror at the slaughter of a beast. As to the blood of men, it is a consecrated thing: it is murder to shed it in wrath, it is a dreadful crime to squander it in war. Is this solemnity occasioned by the fact that the blood is the life, and the pouring of it forth the token of death? We think so. When we rise to contemplate the blood of the Son of God, our awe is yet more increased, and we shudder as we think of the guilt of sin, and the terrible penalty which the Sin-bearer endured. Blood, always precious, is priceless when it streams from Immanuel's side. The blood of Jesus seals the covenant of grace, and makes it forever sure. Covenants of old were made by sacrifice, and the ever...

Brett McCracken asks some great questions about the present "authenticity" movement among Evangelicals in his article: Has ‘Authenticity’ Trumped Holiness? Erik Thoennes, professor of biblical and theological studies at Biola University , sees the authenticity trend in the undergrads he teaches. At the beginning of each class he asks his students to write down two things they love and two things they hate. Consistently, one of the things they say they hate is “fake people.” But the Christian life involves a whole lot of “fakin' it” on the path to being integrated, Thoennes says. “There's this idea that to live out of conformity with how I feel is hypocrisy; but that's a wrong definition of hypocrisy,” Thoennes said. “To live out of conformity to what I believe is hypocrisy. To live in conformity with what I believe, in spite of what I feel, isn't hypocrisy; it's integrity.” Thoennes hopes his students understand that sanctification involves living...

Christ has walked death’s path ahead of us, breaking the dread of uncharted territory, speaking hope to us as we waver at its edges. He has ‘tasted death for everyone’ (2:9), not metaphorically but in reality. More alone than any other pilgrim on this path, Jesus has walked ahead of us, he has borne the full heat and horror of the valley, so that he might in turn walk it with us, showing to us all the terrain he has subdued, and the glorious destination which lies on its farther side. Andrew Roycroft

As parents we often fall into the well-intentioned trap of sparing our children from any sort of negative experience.  Yet Jesus said that in the world we would have trouble.  How do you prepare your child for suffering? How to Prepare Your Children for Suffering Lori Wildenberg I don’t like the fact that my kids will suffer. I prefer the happy concept commonly stated as a parent’s desired goal,   “I just want my kids to be happy.” Prevention and protection are things most parents do naturally. Some of us prevent and protect to the detriment of our kids. We shield them from disappointment. We guard them from discomfort. We hover over homework to fend off failure. We are poised to pounce if they sit on the bench. We rescue, we blame, and we excuse.  We want our kids to be safe, successful, happy, and comfortable. We don’t want them to struggle. Yet Jesus told the disciples in   >John 16:33 b,   “In this world you will have trouble.” Sufferin...

Over the last number of weeks, the issue of suffering has come up several times. Specifically, the question of why Christians suffer has been at the forefront of our thoughts. Finding a comprehensive answer to this question has always troubled believers. It is too easy to latch on to one answer and then limit God's work to our theological construct. At times, we easily fall into the formula of "Do good, get blessed; Do evil: get cursed." Unfortunately, we all can immediately cite examples where those who do good aren't blessed, and those who do evil seemingly are blessed. Indeed, many of the formulaic approaches to suffering hit this snag. There are exceptions to the formula. Where do we find a comprehensive explanation for suffering? Well, let's start with our title. It is taken from the title of a well known book from a number of years ago. It is a question that is repeatedly asked. However, it is wrong in its basic formula. Bad things don't happen to good ...

Mentoring is one of today's hot words.  Growing up I never heard the word. Yet, ironically, there was a great deal of mentoring going on in my life back then, and there seems to be a dearth of mentoring in peoples' lives today.  I am not even sure that the people who mentored me would have even been able to put a name or a description to what they were doing - they were just living out the Christian life as they understood it from Scripture.  There were the pastors such as Gordon Rendle and Victor Cornish, who gave me and other young men opportunities for service.  There was Les and Ruthann Snook who took me along as a teenager to speak at their nursing home service each month.  There were the dear senior ladies like Miss Schrag, Mrs. Erb and Mrs. Eckstein who supported and prayed for me in summer missions enterprises.  There were innumerable others - Sunday School teachers, Boys' Brigade leaders, church friends - who each encouraged, challenged, and someti...

The best perspective I have heard since the election.

We cannot get to the point where we view people walking in darkness as the enemy; they are the mission field. John MacArthur

An American wrote this article so the subject of national obsession is baseball.  If you substitute hockey for baseball, I think the point is still valid. When Ball Becomes Baal IS YOUR KID'S SPORTS INVOLVEMENT A FAMILY IDOL? by   Jim Elliff   It’s rare to see kids playing sports in the neighborhood anymore. We’re now organized and “professionalized”—including uniforms, state-of-the-art facilities, endless trips to the field, competitive coaches, equally competitive parents, and the after-season tournaments designed to give parents “bleacher bottom.” In addition, you’ve got to pay to play—and when you’ve paid that much, you’ll be sure to play. It is also fun, and it can be instructive. I love to watch my kids play sports. In fact, they need to play— some . But, it’s not so easy as handing over seventy bucks and saying, “Sign up Johnny and Susie this year.” Making that decision means that you may be out four to five times each week during the season. ...

In our study of Mark 2:1-3:6, we observed a growing hostility on the part of the religious authorities towards Jesus.  Mark 3:6 concludes the section with the religious elite and the secular elite joining together to scheme about how they might remove Jesus.  If this was all of the Gospel one had read, one might be tempted to believe that everyone was against Jesus.  In the next paragraph Mark dispels this myth. Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." (Mar 3:7-11 ESV) While t...

No matter what happens, let's be cautious about thinking we know what it all means, but let's keep preaching what we know the Bible means. Kevin DeYoung For the sake of good order: I'm going to refrain from tweeting today to pray for our nation. Please join me rather than do the other thing. Frank Turk We are a divided country, let us not be a divided church. Buck Parsons