The theology of an active church.   more...

The blessings of an active church.   more...

The pragmatics of an active church I.   more...

The pragmatics of an active church II.   more...

Witnessing I: External service.   more...

Witnessing II: The pragmatics of evangelism (1).   more...

Witnessing III: The pragmatics of evangelism (2).   more...

Witnessing IV: The pragmatics of evangelism (3).
(Prayer - Care - Share)   more...

Our vision for All Saints'.   more...

How Scripture directs us to respond to the good news of Christ’s birth.   more...

Do not be discouraged, you are precious to God.   more...

"But you are a chosen race..."   more...

The Lord's Supper as a Sacrament.   more...

The Lord's Supper as a meal.   more...

The Lord's Supper as Communion.   more...

The Eucharist as the future now.   more...

Waiting on the Lord.   more...

Waiting on the Lord.   more...

Waiting on the Lord.   more...

The degree that you lesson the severity of sin, you diminish the glory of the Gospel.   more...

Thanksgiving as therapy - WHY.   more...

Thanksgiving as therapy - HOW.   more...

What we will find is that Thanksgiving is not only an expression of our gratitude for what God has done but God intends your giving thanks to minister to you and equip you to deal with the stress, anxiety, and worry that confronts you throughout daily life.   more...

Why is true repentance so important for my everyday life?   more...

At its heart true Confession is public (vs. private). Remember, by definition confession involves an openness and disclosure to another.   more...

Every sin is always a threefold strike against God, self and others.   more...

Simply put, throughout Scripture restitution seeks to restore that which was damaged or lost due to sin.   more...

The favor that God showed to Mary is a favor that He intends for His whole people.   more...

Deny the Virgin Birth and the cross, the empty tomb, forgiveness of sins, and the hope of life eternal all vanish.   more...

The Holy Spirit in the Virgin Birth points to the nativity as a new work of creation.   more...

Barrenness was seen to represent man’s inability and his loss of a future.   more...

Biblical fasting is always a turning of our undivided attention to God.   more...

On 1 Kings 19:9.   more...

How Scripture directs us to respond to the good news of Christ’s birth.   more...

Baptism is a Sacrament that represents and guarantees the way that God responds to faith. It assures the believer that God responds to his faith by including him in Christ and Christ's body.   more...

God’s promise directly involves the children of believers.   more...

God completes His work. God rests from His work. Life in the new creation begins.   more...

Death is a judgment against sin; but Christ paid the full price of sin and therefore completely removed the judgment of death.   more...

At the heart of the ascension is the idea that the new life presented is now administered to God’s people. The new life Christ accomplished is presented to the Father and applied to His people.   more...

How do these feasts prepare us for and help us better understand the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost?   more...

It is not enough to believe in a god. Rather, Scripture calls you to believe in the God as He has revealed Himself in His word.   more...

God is the all powerful, all knowing, unchanging God, who works all things after the counsel of His will. That is, God interacts with creation but is not subject to nor determined by any of the limits of creation.   more...

Every promise and every hope that the Bible gives is what it is because God is who He is. Notice then the heart of God. God is not a God who is ignorant or indifferent to what His people face. Rather, He is a God who is passionate in His love and commitment to you.   more...

That is God’s word does not deal in abstract ideals that have no relevance to real life. Remember because God is sovereign, because He governs every detail of existence according to His plan, existence is never beyond God’s reach.   more...

The problem that Haggai addresses is a problem of the heart. Therefore, rather than giving us a list of unfortunate events, Haggai allows us to listen to the way that God’s people have responded to events.   more...

God calls His people to consider their ways. Importance: At once we see the great mercy of God. God does not leave His people in their sin nor does He allow their self-deception and self- justification to continue.   more...

In our text this morning Haggai allows us to watch the way that God's people respond to God's correction and call.   more...

God called His people to build His Temple. However, instead of working on God’s house, God’s people have pursued the world’s riches and the world’s desires. Therefore, God disciplined His people in order to call them out of their sin.   more...

It is at this very moment, when God’s people are celebrating God’s presence with them and His dwelling place among them, that Haggai stands up to address the complaint against the Temple.   more...

Haggai turns his attention to the restoration of God's people. In other words, Haggai began by seeking a Temple fit for God's purpose. Now in 2:10 Haggai seeks a people fit for God's mission. Why? It is through the witness of this people no less than through the witness of this Temple that God will bring about the Messiah.   more...

God wants His people to understand the difference between those things which bless life and those things which diminish life.   more...

If you forsake God and neglect His ways, will the very particulars of your daily life become unfit/unclean as well?   more...

God wants His people to understand the difference between those things which bless life and those things which diminish life. Why? So they can avoid their past mistakes and live faithful/fruitful lives.   more...

God’s people are faithfully rebuilding the Temple. Therefore, God has promised to bless their crops and the work of their hands. However, that is not all. As it turns out, God has something much bigger in store for His people.   more...

Now remember last week we saw that Haggai was sent to announce that God was going to bless His people in an extraordinary way. However, before Haggai announces this blessing he shows God's people the three main ingredients that make up this blessing. That is, Haggai draws your attention to three great promises/themes of Scripture that he wants fresh in your mind before he announces the blessing. Why? This blessing will fulfill of each of these promises.   more...

Because the grace that saves you is rooted in Christ’s righteousness it is not morally neutral. Rather it is a grace that produces like righteousness in its participants. For Peter then salvation and godliness go hand in hand. Listen.   more...

Peter’s readers are being besieged by false teachers who claim that it does not matter how you live. Therefore, Peter responds by reminding his readers that the grace that saves you not only forgives your sins, it not only secures your eternal life, it also provides everything that you need for godliness and growth. In other words, for Peter, salvation and godliness go hand in hand.   more...

Peter has stressed the fact that it matters how you live. God’s grace has provided everything that you need for godliness and growth. Therefore, because God’s grace is already at work in you, renewing you and changing you, your efforts are not to resist grace. Instead your efforts are to reflect the work that grace is doing in you.   more...

Notice at once why growth is so important to Peter: First, Peter tells you that if you are growing, you will be neither useless nor unfruitful in your relationship with Jesus. Importance: remember that the purpose of grace is not only to redeem you it is also to make you a healthy and productive member of God’s Kingdom.   more...

Peter’s purpose is to keep his people focused on the heart of the Gospel. Why? It is the heart of the Gospel (and not some new or esoteric teaching) that provides direction and hope for God’s people. (For Peter, the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing)   more...

Peter wants to remind his readers of the centrality of godly living to grace and the Christian walk (godliness is not some peripheral or optional issue). In our text this morning Peter turns to provide the basis for this claim. That is Peter provides proof that godly living is an essential part of the Christian walk.   more...

Peter underscores the centrality of godliness by demonstrating its central place in the Old Testament’s teaching concerning the Christ. Godliness has always been an intrinsic and vital part of God’s plan for His people. Therefore, if your godliness is so important to God, should it not also be important to you?   more...

Grace not only provides everything you need for eternal life but it also provides everything you need for godliness and growth. In other words, for Peter, the grace that saves you is a grace that really changes you. Therefore, godliness is a central part of the Christian walk.   more...

Peter wants God’s people to understand the severity of the threat that false teaching presents to the life of the whole church and to be ready to respond faithfully. In our text this morning, Peter turns to deal with the specific false teaching that is confronting his readers. Listen.   more...

Our text this morning continues our study of II Peter. Now remember, like the church today, Peter’s readers are being confronted both from within and from without by those who say that it does not matter how you live. Last week, Peter confronted the false teachers, who threaten God’s people from within. This week Peter turns to respond to the mockers, who threaten God’s people from without. Listen.   more...

Notice that Peter reminds us that there will always be those who distort the truths of Scripture. Therefore, he warns us to stay on our guard, lest we be deceived or carried away by their error.   more...

Now as we turn to consider Mark’s Gospel, I want you to think of it as a photo album. That is the way Mark writes is to take several related events and teachings and to group them together like pictures in a photo album in order to show you a particular aspect of Christ and His gospel mission. In our text this morning we have the first set of pictures, the first page as it were in this Gospel photo album. This morning we turn to consider the beginning of the Gospel.   more...

This week, we turn to consider the second set of pictures, the second page as it were in Mark’s Gospel photo album. Here Mark shows us pictures of the deliverance that Christ has come to bring.   more...

Our text this morning turns to consider the third major section of Mark’s Gospel. Here Mark provides a picture of the citizens of God’s Kingdom. That is Mark shows us what the people of God look like and how we may become one.   more...

Mark is inviting us to walk with Jesus, to see and hear what His first followers saw and heard, and to believe as they believed. Now so far Mark has prepared us, he has shown us the King and His Kingdom, the deliverance the Kingdom brings, and the citizens of this Kingdom. In our text this morning we turn to look at the last three sections of this first half of Mark’s Gospel. Here Mark shows us the Kingdom Labor (what citizens do).   more...

Here Jesus begins to prepare His disciples for His death and resurrection. Importance: remember Mark is inviting us to walk with Jesus. That is, Mark wants us to share in the preparation that Jesus provided His first disciples.   more...

First, it is vital that we remember that one of the primary functions of the Church calendar is to teach us the large motions of our daily walk. That is, our calendar reminds us of the major redemptive events of the Faith and how God’s people are to respond to them. Lent is no exception.   more...

Here Jesus provides the second major teaching on His death. Now remember the pattern: each section in this portion of Mark’s Gospel begins with Jesus making a statement about His death. This statement is then followed by a series of reactions. As we watch these reactions and then listen to the way that Jesus corrects them, we come to see the difference between the Messiah’s mission and the world’s expectations. In our text this morning, Jesus contrasts the world’s notion of greatness with true greatness in the Kingdom of God. Listen.   more...

Now remember, throughout this portion of his Gospel, Mark is allowing us to receive the same preparation for Holy Week that the disciples received. In our text this morning Mark turns to expose our great need for the Messiah. How?   more...

As you all know Lent is a time of corporate preparation. It is a time when we as a church draw near to God for a period of quiet reflection upon Scripture, of sober self-examination, of repentance, and fasting. Not only that, as we do so, our corporate activity informs our individual devotion throughout the year. This morning, in keeping with the theme of Rose Sunday, I want us to look at 4 assurances that Scripture gives us that specifically address our preparation.   more...

Did you know that Scripture records some seven different instances of a person being raised from the dead? In the Gospel Jesus raises three people (the daughter of Jairus, the widow's son, and most notably, Lazarus). Elijah the prophet raised the son of a gentile woman. The bones of Elisha the prophet were responsible for bringing a man back to life. And finally, both Peter and Paul raise someone from the dead. Peter raises a woman named Tabitha (Acts 9:36-43). Paul raises Eutychus, who died after falling asleep during a sermon (Acts 20:9).   more...

Our text this morning continues our study of Mark’s Gospel. Here Jesus finally arrives at the city of Jerusalem and enters it. This morning I want us to take a closer look at the events of Palm Sunday in hopes that we may better understand exactly what they are preparing us to see in the coming week.   more...

Importance: it is vital for us to remember that just as the Lord’s Supper is not magic neither is it simply a bare memorial service. Instead, the Sacrament guarantees that the spiritual reality signified is truly and actually given. Listen 1 Corinthians 10:16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? In other words, God assures you that when you receive the Sacrament by faith, the grace signified is actually given and the fellowship with Christ that is depicted is truly and actually enjoyed. In other words, the grace is real and Christ’s spiritual presence is real.   more...

As we look at the Spirits work in each believer’s life what we come to find is the great assurance and security of knowing that the whole of our Christian life is in the hands of our triune God. At no point are we ever left alone. Rather at every step of the way God is present, providing for and protecting His people.   more...

Over and again throughout Scripture we see the Spirit depicted as hovering over God’s work. Remember, we saw that such a depiction is intended to illustrate three specific aspects of the Spirit’s work: (a) the Spirit identifies the work as belonging to God (b) He guards God’s work thus insuring that God’s plan is implemented exactly as God has designed, and (c) He provides for God’s work (nurtures and equips the work for the purpose that God has for it).   more...

The Ascension as administration- the ascension means that Christ, our sacrifice and new life, is continually before God on our behalf. The result is that God now responds to His people in light of Christ and His completed work. That is, at the heart of the Ascension is the idea that the new life presented is now administered to God’s people. The new life Christ accomplished is presented to the Father and applied to His people.   more...

Simply put, the message of Passover is that God will provide the lamb. That is, Passover teaches God’s people that it is God who will deliver His people. It is God who will provide the whole of their salvation. It is God who will complete the work and bring His people into His kingdom. As such, Passover points to and is fulfilled by Holy Week (the cross and the resurrection victory it achieved).   more...

The Trinity is not just taught by Scripture, it is taught at every key point and in reference to every major doctrine of Scripture. The Trinity is at the very heart of Scripture.   more...

The Doctrine of the Trinity may be summarized as follows: God is one being and three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. Ephesians 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.   more...

Verse one tells us that it is an oracle against Nineveh. Importance: Nineveh is the capital of the Assyrian empire. By the time Nahum writes (around 650 BC), Assyria is at the height of her power. She is the world dominating empire of the time. Not only that, the Assyrians are noted for their extreme brutality and aggression. In fact, by the time Nahum writes, Israel has already felt the Assyrians’ brutality first hand. How? The northern portion of Israel has been defeated, her cities have been reduced to piles of smoldering ruble, and many of her people have been taken into exile, never to return.   more...

Nahum tells his people is that God is an avenging God. In other words, God not only loves His people, He is actively involved in their lives. Notice then 5 times in this one short verse God assures His people that His wrath and retribution will be poured out against His enemies (remember repetition means emphasis). In other words, verse 2 is emphatic: God is not ok with what His people are going through nor will He stand idly by and watch it.   more...

Remember Nahum has been sent by God with an oracle of war against the Assyrians. Why? Remember the Assyrians were one of the most brutal and aggressive empires the world has ever seen Not only that, their hostility and violence are a constant threat to the very existence of God’s people and with them the very line of the Messiah. At stake then are both God’s people and God’s promises. Listen.   more...

Our faith is a personal matter. Our work is a public matter. The result is that we end up serving God whenever it does not conflict or interfere with our jobs or busy schedules. What we don’t do is think through our day with the heart of the Master.   more...

Our text this morning continues our study of the book of Nahum. Remember Nahum has been sent by God with an oracle of war against the Assyrians. Why? Assyria is threatening the very existence of God’s people and with them the very line of the Messiah. Importance: at once Nahum is a book in which we have an invested interest. Listen.   more...

Audio only.   more...

Assyria is threatening the very existence of God’s people and with them the very line of the Messiah. Notice then, in chapter 1 Nahum announced God’s judgment against the Assyrians. In chapter 2 Nahum is going to show us that judgment.   more...

Verses 1-4 provide the grounds/reasons for the judgment God is about to send against Nineveh. Notice then that every detail of these verses describes Nineveh as a tyrannical régime in whose wake is nothing but destruction. First, notice Nineveh is called the bloody city. Why? Her empire has literally been built on cruelty and human atrocities.   more...

Nineveh’s doom is sealed, she has no future. At the same time notice, even though God’s people are present and listening, they too are not the primary audience. How do we know? There is no mention of things like God’s compassion towards His people and His faithfulness to deliver them (things we already saw throughout chapters 1-2). Instead the intended audience of our passage this morning is the nations of the world. In other words, what God says to Nineveh, He says for the benefit of the nations. Importance: at once we are reminded that Nahum is an evangelistic book. In other words, its message is meant to be carried out into the world by the Church.   more...

Notice the surprise: despite all her preparations, Nineveh will fall and her people will perish “there” behind her walls. In fact, there is a real sense that while the people are rushing to prepare Nineveh’s defenses, they are in actuality preparing their own tomb.   more...

God’s judgment and moral government are not a distant fairy tale that we look for in the far off future nor are they fantasies that help us sleep at night. Rather, they are a present reality that already warn, define, and shape every aspect of life. Thus, a major part of the Christian witness is to make the experiences of the world around us intelligible.   more...

Courage- The second blessing that the certainty of judgment offers is courage. God assures His people that evil will not succeed and all that opposes God will fail- despite how formidable or sophisticated it seems.   more...

Baptism is a Sacrament. As such, it portrays to our senses a central aspect of the Gospel that the Word proclaims. In both cases the message is the same. Likewise, in both cases the message is received by faith. Therefore, when you receive what the sacrament portrays by faith (just as when you receive what God proclaims in Scripture by faith) God assures you that Christ and all His benefits are yours personally.   more...

1) Diligence- the promise made to God’s people regarding the next generation is a promise made both to them and through them. Therefore, Baptism teaches God’s people to make diligent use of those means that God has given and spiritually endowed to call forth the faith of the next generation.   more...

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed God’s help? Maybe you needed His guidance, or His comfort, or even His deliverance but instead of sending help at once God tells you to wait?   more...

In the Church today do we find a self-centered coagulation that results in a compromise of God’s mission and name to the end that God has scattered His people and withdrawn their false comforts.   more...

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed God’s help? Maybe you needed His guidance, or His comfort, or even His deliverance but instead of sending help at once God tells you to wait?   more...

First, it is important to note that Thessalonica was one of the richest and most important cities in the region Macedonia. It was a major port on the Aegean Sea and was also on the main road between Europe and Asia. As such, it was a vital trade city and one of the regional capitals of the Roman Empire.   more...

Now remember the situation: remember the young church at Thessalonica is being threatened both internally and externally by the unbelieving culture around her. On the one hand, she faces pressures to conform to the world in which she lives. On the other hand, she faces the efforts by that world to discredit the Gospel in which she believes.   more...

Now already in verses 2-3 we saw the first of Paul’s themes: the theme of living faith. For Paul living faith is faith that changes the way we live; it is love that gets involved; and it is hope that lives in light of God’s promises.   more...

Paul reminds them that they also received the Gospel with the joy that only the Holy Spirit gives. However, please note: the joy to which Paul refers is not the same thing as the feeling of human happiness. Instead, it is a direct result of the Spirit’s abiding presence in and with the believer. As such, the joy that the Spirit gives may be described in part as an underlying assurance/confidence in God’s purpose and power.   more...

Notice at once the first accusation made against Paul’s character. Paul’s opponents claim that he is nothing but a free loader and a leach. They say that the only thing that Paul brought to the Thessalonians was his own liabilities and needs. According to his accusers, Paul is worthless, he is a burden, and most of all, he is a user. Notice then how Paul responds.   more...

Notice at once that Paul begins his encouragement to the Thessalonians by thanking God that the Thessalonians accepted the Gospel as God’s Word. In other words, Paul begins by reminding the Thessalonians of their original confidence in the Gospel. Why? Paul does so in order to renew their present confidence in the Gospel. In essence, what Paul says is, don’t loose sight of what the Gospel has meant to you from the beginning. Instead, recall your confidence and so renew your focus. Importance: Paul knows the value of getting back to basics.   more...

Paul explains the sacrifice that Timothy’s mission involved. Notice then Paul’s concern for the Thessalonians is so great that he is willing to endure the very hardship that he fears the Thessalonians are facing. Importance: at once verses 1-2 remind me that Paul does not respond to the Thessalonians’ situation with just talk. Paul does not just say he loves the Thessalonians, he shows them.   more...

Paul does not simply say that he has missed seeing them. Rather, Paul says that he has been literally torn away from the Thessalonians. In fact, the language that Paul uses here carries with it the image of a child who has been suddenly orphaned from his parents.   more...

This morning we pick back up in our study of I Thessalonians. However, I realize that we have been out of the book for an extended period of time. Therefore, I want us to use our time together today to refresh our memory and to help get us back into the flow of the book. So let’s begin. First remember the situation. Remember why Paul is writing this letter: the young church at Thessalonica is facing threats from both within and without. From without, she faces the assaults made by the unbelieving world against the Gospel and its followers. From within, she faces temptation and pressure to conform to the world around her.   more...

Now remember, the young church at Thessalonica is facing temptations and pressures to conform to the world around her. Therefore, Paul is writing to tell the Thessalonians how to remain faithful in the midst of a fallen world (What sort of things can we do to stand? What sort of things should we look out for? Why is compromise so dangerous?).   more...

Now remember the situation: the Thessalonians did not have a sufficient understanding of Christ’s second coming. The result is that when some of their fellow believers die before Christ returns, they fear that those believers are lost to the grave. Therefore, in our text this morning Paul turns to inform the Thessalonians about those who have died in the Lord.   more...

Paul reminds you that who you are by God’s grace and where you are heading are to direct your daily choices and behavior. In other words, darkness is not your future therefore darkness is not to be your present.   more...

Already, Paul has told his readers that Christ will return like a thief in the night. That is, Christ’s return is certain. However, the specific date and time are unknown. In our text this morning Paul turns to show the way that Christ’s future return is to impact the way that we live right now today. Listen.   more...

Our practices and priorities are not to be governed by the world’s unbelief. Instead, Paul says that the believer is to be sober and alert in all that he does.   more...

This morning as we enter Holy Week our Liturgy prompts us to focus our devotions and thoughts throughout the week on the Cross. Therefore, I want us to spend our time together this morning examining the Cross. That is, I want us to look at three aspects of the Cross.   more...

The resurrection is proof that God accepted Christ’s sacrifice as payment for your sins. (Remember: the wage of sin is death. Therefore, if Christ failed to pay for even one of the sins He bore, He would still be in the grave.) The resurrection then is proof that sin and therefore its wage (death) are completely removed.   more...

Salvation is not simply a matter of what God has saved you from. Rather, it is first and foremost a matter of what He has saved you for. God has saved you in order to bring you into an eternal love relationship with Himself.   more...

Throughout the New Testament, where ever we turn, we find the resurrection is keystone to the Church’s witness Acts 4:33 And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.   more...

I want us to look at the resurrection devotionally. That is, I want us to notice the practical ways that the truths we have learned about the Resurrection throughout this Easter season enter into and impact your daily life.   more...

The first component of our problem is death. As we turn to study Christ’s burial, it is vital that we remember that death is not a natural part of life. Instead, death is a judgment against sin. Genesis 2:17: From the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you shall surely die. " Romans 6:23: The wages of sin is death   more...

First, remember, death defines the condition of the fallen world (physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, environmentally, and socially man’s condition is defined by the darkness and corruption of sin.)   more...

Bottom line: The Ascension is the presentation of the completed work salvation to God on our behalf.   more...

Now think about it: as God’s people celebrated these feasts year after year, as they watched the different actions, and took part in the different ceremonies, they were literally participating in an enacted parable of what God was sending His son to do.   more...

We will begin by recalling that we worship one God, who is the only true and living God. Our focus here in this first part of our study will be to look at the specific ways that this one God describes Himself in Scripture.   more...

Every verse, passage, and promise of the Bible is what it is because God is triune. Deny the Trinity and not one verse, passage, or promise of Scripture is true.   more...

Over and again Scripture calls us to remember God’s past goodness and faithfulness to us. In fact, remembering is one of the most important tools that God has given us to meet the challenges that we face today and to prepare for those that await us in the future. Why? Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.   more...

What does it mean to leave something and follow Jesus? Does God really expect me to literally leave some things and do without them or is leaving just a metaphor for some spiritual attitude? And once that’s settled, how do I actually go about leaving? How do I prepare myself to leave?   more...

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed God’s help? Maybe you needed His guidance and direction; or maybe you needed His comfort and relief; or maybe you need His deliverance, protection, and healing. Regardless, instead of sending help at once God tells you to wait?   more...

In our text this morning Paul turns to remind the Thessalonians of the kind of church community they need to be in order to withstand the assaults and temptations of the world. In other words, verses 12-22 provide us a snapshot of the internal workings of a healthy church. Here then is picture of a living church produced by the living faith of its members. Listen.   more...