For the Lord's Day

People ought to come to corporate worship services to get. They ought to come starved for God. They ought to come saying, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God” (Psalm 42:1). God is profoundly honored when people know they will die of hunger and thirst unless they have God. And it is my job as a preacher to spread a banquet before them. I must show them from Scripture what they are really starving for – God – and then feed them well until they say, “Ahhh.” That is worship.” - John Piper, The Dangerous Duty of Delight

For the Lord's Day

“To properly evaluate the place of good works in the Christian life, we must understand that grace maintains the value of God’s children apart from any merit of their own; but we must also understand that God uses our obedience to promote our good and his glory. By our accomplishments God works his holy purposes in our lives, provides us with many temporal blessings and, most of all, fulfills our Spirit-instilled longing to honor God with all our heart, soul, mind and might.” Bryan Chapell, President of Covenant Seminary, in Holiness by Grace

Sorry not to have posted for a while - vacation

For the Lord's Day

If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means he does not understand Christianity very well at all. – J. I. Packer, Knowing God

For the Lord's Day

“I have no hesitation in asserting once again that one of the reasons why the Christian Church counts for so little in the modern world is that so many Christians are in this condition [of spiritual depression]. The greatest need of the hour is a revived and joyful Church… Unhappy Christians are, to say the least, a poor recommendation of the Christian Faith”

Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in Spiritual Depression (1954)

For the Lord's Day

The biblical motive for being a forgiving person may be deeper than being forgiven. It is true to say: The motive for being a forgiving person is that we have been forgiven by God when we did not deserve it (Ephesians 4:32). The bottom of this motive is not God’s forgiveness, but what God’s forgiveness gives. It gives us God. … God is the goal of forgiveness. He is also the ground and means of forgiveness. It comes from him; it was accomplished through his Son; and it leads people back to him with their sins cast into the deepest sea. Therefore the motive for being a forgiving person is the joy of being freely and joyfully at home with God. – Don’t Waste Your Life, John Piper

The New Paganism and Politics

Dr. Peter Jones over at truthXchange (formerly Christian Witness to a Pagan Planet) has a wonderful new article about the marriage of politics and a new brand of religion; I cannot call it Christianity since Christ is absent from it. You may read it here . I would urge you to subscribe to the newsletter.

For the Lord's Day (early)

John Calvin: On Learning from God Yet nothing shall ever hinder me from openly avowing what I have learned from the Word of God; for nothing but what is useful is taught in the school of this master. It is my only guide, and to acquiesce in its plain doctrines shall be my constant rule of wisdom. (From History of the Christian Church, Vol. VIII: Modern Christianity: The Swiss Reformation)