We shared the Lord’s Supper on Sunday morning.
When we speak scripture to one another, and when our pastors preach, we know that, by the Holy Spirit, Christ himself is speaking to us and preaching to us. We listen intently and we search our hearts because we long to hear our Lord. He comforts [...]
Archive for the ‘Love’ Category
They preach
Posted in Adoption, Christ is Lord, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Lord's Supper, Love on January 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Six Reasons to Love the Love of God
Posted in Love, Theology on October 5, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
The apostle John uses “love” (agape and related words) more times than any other author in the New Testament. In fact, his short epistle, 1 John, uses the term as many times as Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, and Romans combined. He loves the love of God. Why? I think three verses give us insight into [...]
Because of your hardness of heart
Posted in Heart Change, Love, Sanctification, Sermon, Sin on July 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Phil preached on Mark 10:1-12 this past Sunday. Verses 3-6 say this:
He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment. [...]
Being a Child of God: The Sweetness of Adoption
Posted in Adoption, Cross, Love, Theology on May 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
J.I. Packer has some surprising things to say about our adoption in Christ. Perhaps the love of God is that surprising, and our hearts have simply not recognized the glory of the possession:
“The New Testament gives us two yardsticks for measuring God’s love. The first is the cross; the second is the gift of sonship. [...]
Lust Part 8: “Lone rangers are dead rangers”
Posted in Bible, Christ is Lord, Heart Change, Idols of the heart, Love, Lust, Sanctification, Sin, Theology on February 16, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
“Lone rangers are dead rangers,” is the title of Josh Harris’ chapter on accountability from his book, Sex is not the problem (lust is). In the land of the free and the home of the brave, individualism and self-reliance are celebrated often, whether in sports, business, or politics. It is hubris, not humility, that makes [...]
Lust Part 6: Real power for real change
Posted in Bible, Christ is Lord, Culture, Heart Change, Idols of the heart, Love, Lust, Sanctification, Sin, Theology on February 10, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Lust is a sin. Sinners love sin. I am a sinner. Hmm. I have a problem.
This captures the dilemma in which we find ourselves. Lust is a sin problem, which is the most serious kind of problem. That’s the bad news. The good news is the gospel, that blessed word which means literally, “good news.” [...]
Lust Part 5: The heart of the matter
Posted in Bible, Christ is Lord, Culture, Heart Change, Idols of the heart, Love, Lust, Sin on February 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Success in any war depends upon knowing your enemy. The difficulty in Iraq has largely been because we did not know our enemy as well as we thought that we did.
When we battle lust, we must understand who or what we are battling. Are we battling the “demon of lust,” who is defeated by “casting [...]
Lust Part 4: Romance: accept no substitutes
Posted in Bible, Culture, Heart Change, Love, Lust, Revelation, Sin, Theology on February 8, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
To deal with lust, it’s helpful to distinguish between the holy and the profane, the sinful and the righteous, the true and the counterfeit. Certainly, the culture, the media, even our own hearts at times, would convince us that the devil offers the best romance–wild flings, spontaneous affairs, romance unbridled by covenants, convictions, and conscience. [...]
Lust Part 2: Male and female he created them
Posted in Bible, Culture, Heart Change, Love, Lust, Sin, Theology on February 3, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Luke describes a riot in Ephesus over the apostle Paul in words that seem appropriate to this issue of sexuality in our day: “Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together” (Acts 19:32). The internal struggle of [...]
Lust Part 1: Craving what God has forbidden
Posted in Bible, Culture, Heart Change, Idols of the heart, Love, Lust, Sin on February 2, 2007 | 2 Comments »
The desire to have what is not ours comes in an almost infinite variety of ways in our lives. We look at others and want they have and we (think we) do not: their computers, cars, iPods, looks, talent, intelligence, house, job, 401K, discipline, spiritual power, Bible knowledge, shoes, books, happiness, marriage, kids, grandchildren…every [...]
