The Physical Effects of a Disoriented Soul
Beloved, We are incredibly complex creatures. I’ve been arguing in recent weeks that, as humans, we exist as “psychosomatic unities,” meaning there is an intimate and inseparable connection and communication between our bodies and souls. But up to this point,…
The Suffering Body’s Sermon to the Soul
Beloved, Our bodies are not a divine afterthought. The human body actually preceded the human soul in creation: “then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and…
We Are a Psychosomatic Unities
Beloved, I shared last week the way God graciously delivered me from an overactive thyroid, an underactive liver, and an unrelenting cloud of depression. This season of pursuing restored physical and psychological health has led me to read widely on…
Executing His Eternal Plan
Beloved, Below you will find a family worship devotion for question 8 of the Shorter Catechism. Praise the Lord for the wisdom and power displayed in the execution of His eternal plan in creation and providence! Yours in Christ, Pastor…
God’s Eternal Plan
Beloved, Below you will find a family worship devotion for question 7 of the Shorter Catechism. What a blessing it is to know and serve the Sovereign of the universe! Yours in Christ, Pastor Nick Recite Q. 7. What are the…
Our Triune God
Beloved, Below you will find a family worship devotion for question 6 of the Shorter Catechism. If you are desirous to explore this theme more deeply, check out the four sermons on the Trinity in our Knowing God sermon series…
Neither Cynical, Nor Gullible
Beloved, In my last sermon on James, I emphasized that we must be careful not to project the deceit of one person onto all people. It’s very easy to do this when we’ve been blindsided by lies—to start believing that…
Our Singular God
Beloved, Below you will find a family worship devotion for question 5 of the Shorter Catechism. On a different note, applications for Discipleship 101 are now open. You can access the application HERE. More information about this new course can…
On Growing Pains
Beloved, Last Friday, we had a rough night with Vos. He was complaining of pain in his legs when he went to bed, and then he woke up an hour later crying. Tessa, being the gracious mama that she is,…
Faith & Practice
Beloved, Below is a family worship devotion for question 3 of the Shorter Catechism. It is a fitting theme for us to consider as we continue to look at God’s revealed will for Israel in Exodus 21:1-11 this coming Sunday.…
The Only Rule of Faith and Practice
Beloved, We come this week to the second question of the Shorter Catechism which in God’s providence serves to prepare us for both sermon texts for this coming Sunday, each of which draws our attention to the central place of…
Humanity’s Ultimate Purpose
Beloved, We are beginning our exposition of the 107 questions and answers of the Shorter Catechism today. I’m designing these weekly devotions to be read aloud and to be comprehended by children (with the goal of eventually compiling them into…
Prepared to Partake
Beloved, After the evening service last week, the session approved the small book I wrote during this year’s study break to be distributed to the members of our church. Prepared to Partake: Discipling Our Children Toward the Table is a unique resource,…
“Cate-what?”
Beloved, It is unfortunate that when most American evangelicals hear the word “catechism” today, they either scratch their heads in confusion or assume we are capitulating to Roman Catholicism. This shows just how far we have departed from our roots. Historically, it…
We Need the Holy Spirit
This week I started working through an amazing book in private worship by John Owen titled The Reason of Faith. I’ll spare you from its longer title which, in typical Puritan fashion, is fifty-two words in length! It is a treatise…
Sustainable Sacrifice
The last two decades have given rise to a proliferation of books on burnout and self-care. There is much help to be found in some of these works, particularly those written from a Christian perspective. We need reminders like the…
Every Day Matters
Beloved, As I was mapping out my week on Monday morning, I was freshly struck by the incremental gains of daily discipline. At the top of my planner for the week, I always write out my “top three.” These are…
The Parable of Emma’s Rosebush
Beloved, The week after Emma’s death, one of you kindly gave us a rosebush to plant in her memory. One day, it will bloom with beautiful, sweet-smelling flowers that will remind us of that beautiful and sweet little girl. But…
Energized by Death
Beloved, This week marked the beginning of our church-wide study of Ecclesiastes. As the men gathered Tuesday night to discuss the opening verses—most of which focus on the vaporous vanity of work—the word pessimistic kept coming up. The reality of our near-approaching death…
Closure Awaits the Consummation
Beloved, Please excuse me over the next couple of weeks as I continue to process Emma’s death. Her funeral was last Thursday, and I had hoped it would bring some closure and respite from the grief. But it has done…
Don’t Flirt with Christ’s Bride
Beloved, It goes without saying that husbands don’t particularly like when their wives become the objects of flirtatious behavior from other men. After all, one typically flirts with someone when seeking their attention and attraction. I’ve been reflecting this week…
Treadmill Meditations
Beloved, I was thankful that my hotel at presbytery had a small gym. After all, presbytery involves nearly endless sitting, so it was good to be able to sweat a little in the early mornings before our meetings. Since my…
Incomparable Christ, Incomparable Church
Beloved, I wonder how often you consider what a tremendous privilege it is to be a Christian. How easy it is to grow cold and accustomed to the fact that, through Christ, we have been reconciled to God. God belongs…
Chew, Glue, Do, Repeat
Beloved, Over the last few weeks, Vos has been on a rhyming kick, asking me daily questions like, “Dad, does finger rhyme with singer?” He’s inspired me to set aside my alliterative tendencies and give rhyming a shot as we consider…
Receiving the Sermon as God’s Word
Beloved, Last week, our President and Vice President met with the President of Ukraine to sign a deal that was proposed as a path to ending the war. But to everyone’s surprise, the deal wasn’t signed. Whatever you think about Trump…
Schooled in Weakness
Beloved, Since the beginning of 2025, sickness has been making its rounds through our church in a peculiarly potent way. In light of that, I thought I would share what the Lord has been teaching me through my prolonged respiratory illness. At…
Berean Blessedness
Beloved, Last Sunday morning, I had the experience of preaching to a room full of people suffering from severe sleep deprivation. Some of the winter camp participants had not gone to bed until 7:00 a.m. that morning, having snuck out…
How to Hear the Word Preached
Beloved, Have you ever failed to sufficiently prepare for an important meeting or event? I have—more times than I can count. Sometimes, it’s due to a lack of foresight. Other times, it’s the result of being stretched too thin. But…
Listening Diligently to Christ’s Voice
Beloved, The Puritan Thomas Watson once wrote, “Christ is said to speak to us from heaven now, by his ministers, as the king speaks by his ambassador. Such as wean themselves from the breast of ordinances [i.e., the public means…
“Death, Be Not Proud!”
Beloved, Next week we will pick up our exposition of Larger Catechism 160 as we think together about how God wills for His word to be heard. But in light of Ralph’s memorial today, I’ve decided to share an excerpt…
God’s Requirements for Our Hearing
Beloved, Our forefathers were convinced that God’s Spirit “maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means” of the salvation and sanctification of His people (Westminster Larger Catechism A. 155; emphasis mine). It is through the word…
Hymning His Grace In the New Year
Beloved, My friend Carl came on New Year’s Eve to hang the chandelier I told you about in last Sunday evening’s sermon (praise God for a friend who is an electrician!). He told me about a New Year’s Eve worship…
Unified Despite Our Eschatological Squabbles
Beloved, I was reminded after last Sunday evening’s sermon that not everyone shares my eschatological views. That is easy to forget since they seem so biblically straight-forward to me! While I wish all would come to espouse the already-not-yet, happy…
Hearing with Faith
Beloved, The Christian life is supernatural through and through. The apostle summarizes it beautifully: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25). The sincere disciple is one who has been born…
Thanksgiving in Suffering
Beloved, I had intended to write some devotional thoughts on the grace of giving thanks today, but my lovely wife has said it much better than I ever could in a recent article for Ligonier. It seems especially fitting as…
Hard Texts Humble the Soul
Beloved, Have you ever wondered why God includes some incredibly difficult to swallow and hard to understand texts in the Bible? It’s a question I’ve been pondering this week as I have wrestled with my sermon text for Sunday morning…
God’s Design in Our Defects & Disabilities
Beloved, It was probably not the first time I had read the verse, but it was the first time I had really read it. God’s slew of questions to Moses were like a wrecking ball plowing into my understanding of physical disability. …
Keeping Our Hearts in a Crazy Election Week
Beloved, My parents’ pastor, Dane Ortlund, taught a Sunday school class last week titled “Biblical Wisdom in a Volatile Election Cycle.” The whole of the lesson was excellent, but I wanted to share with you the various applications of biblical…
Loving My Limitations
Beloved, Tomorrow at 3:00am I depart for presbytery (i.e, the assembly of the elders of the regional church). Don’t worry! I’ll have my thermos full of piping-hot bulletproof coffee. The anticipation of less-than-optimal sleep, the eight-plus-hour drive, and the deep…
Waters of Grace, Waters of Judgment
Beloved, I love a good cold plunge, and while it wasn’t exactly sub-zero temperature, I got a free one at Cloudland Canyon on Monday. The family hiked down to Cherokee Falls and to my great delight, there was actually a…
Homo Unius Libri
Beloved, As tradition has it, the Latin phrase homo unius libri was coined by Thomas Aquinas. It simply means “a man of one book.” Aquinas wrote that he feared such a person. Why? Because to devote one’s life to the study of…
Eliminating the B-word from My Vocabulary
Beloved, I did it again. One of you asked during Sunday’s fellowship lunch how my family was doing, and I responded by expressing how busy life is right now. It’s something I’ve really been trying to stop doing. But bad…
Commanding & Commending
Beloved, On Sunday we began a new Sunday school class titled Seeking Him: Liturgical Rhythms for a Worshipful Life and Family. We spent a good part of our first lesson wrestling with the distinction between commanding and commending. I was arguing…
Sunday Newness & Christ’s Renewing Grace
Beloved, This week I stumbled across a poem of George Herbert (a 16th century Christian poet) written for Trinity Sunday (the Sunday after Pentecost), but I think it is a fitting poem for every Sunday (truly, for every day!). Listen…
Embracing Realism in Our Spiritual Fitness
Beloved, Last Sunday we considered Paul’s exhortation to be continuously exercising our souls unto the cultivation of Godlikeness (1 Tim. 4:6-10). The apostle is calling young Timothy and each of us to become spiritual athletes who have the strength and…
The Transforming Power of Thirty Seconds on Your Knees
Beloved, Have you ever woken up on the wrong side of the bed? It happened to me this morning after a bizarre dream about a gregarious priest who was drawing away Cornerstone members to join his church. I woke up…
Corporate Prayer & Fasting
Beloved,As an encouragement in the grace of fasting, here is an excerpt from my forthcoming book Restless Devotion, addressing the subject: The hungry soul that rouses itself to lay hold of God for restoration, often expresses that hunger by forgoing physical food.…
Humble Confrontation and Why the Medium Matters
Beloved, In last week’s evening sermon I emphasized Jesus’s command to go when we humbly confront a brother or sister about their sin (Matt. 18:15). Jesus assumed that before we can tell someone their fault, we first need to physically go to…
Digitized Church and the Coming Generations
Beloved, Addressing a similar theme from last week’s email, I thought I would share an excerpt from the final chapter of Sacred Streaming? that I wrote this past week. Be aware these words are a part of a much larger argument developed in…
On Helicopter Parenting, Stress Wood, and the Wisdom of God
Beloved, This past week I started wading through Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Haidt may be an atheist and an evolutionist, but his book packs a punch that…
