Reading from Ed Welch’s book, Depression, he cited a great quip by Blaise Pascal:
“Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride.
Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair.
Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because he shows us both God and our own wretchedness.”
May you grow in your knowledge and love of [...]
Archive for the ‘Theology’ Category
Pride, despair, and the balance
Posted in Gospel, Theology on September 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Emergent Journey: Are the Pilgrims Still Making Progress? Part 1
Posted in Bible, Books, Cross, Culture, Gospel, Sin, Theology, tagged emergent, emergent church, journey, mclaren, mystery on June 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Experience, Journey, Doubt, Traveler, Introspection, Mystery. These are some of the key words of the Emergent movement. The authors of Why We’re Not Emergent rightly begin their book with the first chapter focusing on what emergent’s hold to be of great importance to their entire doctrinal system (though they would say they have NO doctrine…), [...]
Are YOU an Emergent Christian???
Posted in Bible, Books, Culture, Gospel, Theology, tagged A New Kind of Christian, bell, Bible, Blue Like Jazz, christian, doctrine, emergent, emergent church, gagging of God, inspired, journey, kluck, mclaren, paggitt, reformed, scripure, Tomlinson, Velvet Elvis, Vintage Jesus, why we're not emergent by two guys who should be on June 18, 2008 | 9 Comments »
“You might be an emergent Christian if: you listen to U2, Moby, and Johnny Cash’s Hurt (sometimes in church)… and always use a Mac; if your reading list consists primarily of Stanley Hauerwas, Henri Nouwen, N.T. Wright, Stan Grenz, Dallas Willard, Brennan Manning, Jim Wallis, Frederick Buechner, David Bosch, John Howard Yoder, Wendell Berry, Nancy [...]
Calvin’s Hidden Philosophy
Posted in Theology on May 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Our pastors have been preaching from Romans 5:2-5 on Christian joy in light of our salvation and in the midst of suffering. John Calvin has this to say on how Christ himself becomes our joy, riches and happiness:
The Lord willingly and freely reveals himself in his Christ. For in Christ, he offers all [...]
A.W. Tozer on Sin
Posted in Sanctification, Sin, Theology on February 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
“Because man is born a rebel, he is unaware that he is one. His constant assertion of self, as far as he thinks of it at all, appears to him a perfectly normal thing. He is willing to share himself, sometimes even to sacrifice himself for a desired end, but never to dethrone [...]
Luther’s Gate of Paradise: Imputed Righteousness
Posted in Gospel, Theology on December 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Last Sunday we looked at Rom 1:16-17, a verse that God used in the life of Martin Luther to break open the gospel–and even to start the Reformation! Here is the account in Luther’s own words of how this verse pierced his heart with the joyful mystery revealed in the gospel:
Meanwhile, I had already during [...]
Faith and Confession – Words by Spurgeon
Posted in Gospel, Theology on November 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Charles Spurgeon preached on July 19th, 1863, that,
“True faith, wherever it exists, produces works; and, among the rest, a bold, constant, consistent confession of Christ. That man has no faith at all who is not led to confess with his mouth unto salvation, in the sense intended in the text. Faith, without works, is a [...]
One and yet three
Posted in Herman Bavinck, Theology on October 26, 2007 | 2 Comments »
“The profoundest question implicit in every Christian creed and system of theology is how God can be both one and yet three.”
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, II:333.
Jesus as the Logos — what does it mean?
Posted in Books, Herman Bavinck, Theology on October 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
John’s gospel opens with these familiar words, “In the beginning was the Word…” But, why does he use the title “Word” (Greek logos) of Jesus? Herman Bavinck has some wonderful reflection on this:
“Undoubtedly, however, the premise underlying this name is the consistent teaching of Scripture that both in creation and re-creation God reveals himself by [...]
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 [...]
