I read a book on my most recent study break that has really gotten my attention. I’ve begun sharing it with the staff here, and hope to do the same with the Session. It’s not a “Christian” book – but it applies directly and powerfully to how we live together, as followers of Christ, in our families and our church. ...
By now you know that Harvest Church is hosting a special conference this spring called “Caring for One Another” (Friday-Saturday, April 21-22), featuring Dr. Ed Welch. Perhaps you’ve wondered, “Why should I attend this conference?” Great question! Here’s offering several reasons for your prayerful consideration: ...
Spring training tells us that baseball has arrived, but not yet in full. We get a delicious foretaste of what is coming as the sounds and sights of summer break into our winter. Similarly, for Christians, we come to experience the new age we’ve been rescued into as the Holy Spirit resides in us (Eph. 1:13-14)....
Three beautiful truths from Ephesians 3:14-21 enable us to rekindle lost love. First, love flows from all three persons of the trinity. Second, we lack power, in ourselves, to see and enjoy the majesty of God’s love. Third, when we cry out in desperation to to see God’s love for us in Christ again, we are asking the one who is actually able to answer our prayers “abundantly more than we ask or think.” ...
As Christians, we are often uncertain how to grieve. Oftentimes, when death or other tragedy strikes, we often feel we are going “off the map” into unrecognized territory. Part of this is the way it should be. Death and sin are against the way God created the world. Grief disorients us because we are perceiving a tear in God’s good created design. But as a child, I remember being very undone by a young boy who was a member of our church who suddenly died. I was used to my world being predictable and death didn’t make any sense....
At the heart of biblical change is a relational transaction: the real you engages the real God in the midst of real trouble. When someone seeks my pastoral counsel, this is one key principle that I try to help the person understand in the early stages of the counseling process. Of course, grasping this concept is one thing; putting it into practice is another. Inevitably, a counselee will ask me, “How do I do this?” Great question! I think the answer is more easily “caught” than “taught,” which is why I love taking people to the Book of Psalms to eavesdrop on the prayers of God’s troubled people. When we slow down and watch closely, we see this relational, heart-to-heart transaction happening before our eyes. ...
George Whitefield (1714-1770) was converted at 20 years old while a student at Oxford. It was there—along with John and Charles Wesley—that Whitefield discovered the life-giving, soul-saving, comfort-supplying truth of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. Through a series of circumstances, God led Whitefield to see religious devotion, though important, could never remedy what was broken between sinful man and holy God. Only Jesus could do that because of what he had done for his people in his death and resurrection. This message so captured Whitefield’s heart that he made it his life’s message to invite sinners to find forgiveness and reconciliation with God in Christ Jesus....
Judgment is an appropriate theme for the end of one year and beginning of the next, because we often put ourselves on scales (both physical and metaphorical!) at this time and figure out how we are measuring up. How is my marriage? How am I doing at my job? Where is my relationship with my children? The year end is often a time of measuring ourselves. But we also should ask ourselves, how do I measure up by God’s standard? Am I ready for Christ’s last day judgment?...
One of the great gifts that Christians celebrate at Christmastime is the gift of a high priest. To modern ears, receiving a high priest for Christmas sounds like it might be in the former category. A high priest? What am I supposed to do with that? But when we stop to consider what the priestly implications of Jesus’ ministry for us are we realize that a high priest is a far more beneficial gift than we first imagined. ...
I read an article last week by Rick Perhai, an American missionary who had decided to remain in Ukraine despite the danger of an imminent Russian invasion. What I found particularly compelling was the idea that, when life gets scary, God’s people have a refuge the world knows nothing of – and which we ourselves only discover, in truth, when “all around our soul gives...
Keep ReadingHow do you get FROM Big Ben TO Buckingham Palace? Or more generally, how do you get FROM any point A TO any point B within a six-mile radius from the center of downtown London? You’ll find no better guides than the drivers of the Black Cab. The reason? As Gregory Hudson puts it, “Cabbies are famed for possessing a detailed understanding of the city.” First comes a fe...
Keep ReadingWhen elders engage in household visitation, one of the most common clusters of questions that are asked is about personal devotions and family worship: where do I start? Do you have any recommended resources for family devotions? What can I use if I’m looking to grow in my personal devotional life? What could I read with my girlfriend or boyfriend? As we’re closing out...
Keep ReadingRaised in a Presbyterian and Reformed congregation in Mexico, I grew up singing many praise and worship songs written by English speaking Christians artists and translated into Spanish. We sang songs by Keith and Kristin Getty, Chris Tomlin, and others....
Keep ReadingDo you know what the leading cause of death is in the world? Last year it accounted for 42.5 million deaths. That’s more than the deaths caused by heart disease (18M.), cancer (9.5M.), and respiratory diseases (4M.) combined. Care to guess what it is? Abortion. ...
Keep ReadingI heard from several people that the sermon this past Sunday night was a great blessing to them. It seems to have touched a nerve. The name of that nerve is “fear”. We all have it. We would all like to be rid of it. So, when God says “Fear not” and gives us glorious reasons for comfort and courage, it matters....
Keep ReadingWhat is the best gift you received this Christmas? Well, it might surprise you – but I already know! The best Christmas gift any mortal man could ever receive is the one we’ve obtained in “Immanuel”, which means, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). “God with us” is precisely what we lost in the fall. Adam’s sin forced him, and all his descendants, from th...
Keep ReadingChildren can feel like a real problem, can’t they? They are often hungry and remind us to feed them. They’re dangerous to themselves and others, and have to be continually protected and trained. When they’re very small, they can do almost nothing on their own. If you think about it, their bathroom, transportation, and food are taken care of completely by others. Tota...
Keep ReadingI’ve had a new experience this past month. A first for me. Three men I know, all close to my age, passed away unexpectedly – all within three weeks. They were all believers in Christ. They each left behind heartbroken yet hopeful family and loved ones. Their life in this world is done. And, in some ways, it feels unfinished. ...
Keep ReadingFor many of us, 2020 was a year of confinement. One person described it as “living more inside the news than in our own homes.” It was as if we were paralyzed, and month after month, taken places where we didn’t want to go. As we sit around our tables this year, hopefully learning lessons from last, let’s look at what contentment is, why we need it, and how to get ...
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