Encouragement to help you through the week.
Beloved, As we continue to explore our fourth core principle, God-exalting government/leadership, I intend to flesh out the basics of presbyterianism and our conviction regarding the interconnection of local congregations and the role of broader assemblies of elders in the…
Beloved, As a pastor, I am extremely intentional in my public prayers. I realize that I am not merely leading you in prayer when I cry out to God in public worship, but that I am also teaching you how…
Beloved, I tried my best not to burst out laughing. Part of what was so hilarious was how serious the boy was who posed the question. He wasn’t trying to be funny at all. He was dead serious when he…
Beloved, Similar to the word orthodox, when people hear the word presbyterian it conjures up any number of ideas. Some think presbyterian is a code word for baby baptizers. Others think it is a nice name for theological and moral…
Beloved, Have you ever pondered the fact that God commands us to delight? “Delight yourself in the LORD” (Ps. 37:4). Does that not strike you as a bit strange? In the entirety of my parenting life, I have never once…
Beloved, With Valentine’s Day on Tuesday and Jacob and Anja’s wedding today, I’ve been thinking a lot about love. In his Devil’s Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce defines it as “a temporary insanity curable by marriage.” Bierce’s definition would be hilarious if…
Beloved, I was pacing back-and-forth in the kitchen as usual, deep in prayer. The sun had yet to rise, but Vos had already risen. He was in the back room strumming away on the acoustic guitar he had recently gotten…
“But we are no longer under the law!” That was my ardent response to the patient pastor sitting before me at a corner table in Panera Bread. He was seeking to show me the abiding validity of the moral law,…
Beloved, All it takes is an energy-sucking head cold or a restless toddler needing a new pull-up at 1:30am or a dental exam revealing the beginnings of a cavity on my back molar to remind me that I am far…
Beloved, It occurred to me recently that the core principles of our church provide a framework for a humble church. What does a congregation in the corporate grip of the downward disposition of a Godward self-perception look like? It looks…
Beloved, As I’ve continued to meditate on God’s twofold exhortation through Haggai, “Set your heart on your ways” (Hag. 1:5,7), it has struck me what a mercy this call to self-examination is. Yesterday in my morning devotions, I was in…
Beloved, All of us make resolutions. We might not call them resolutions or think of them as resolutions, but unless you are drifting through life in passive resignation, you are striving after objectives that you deem worthy of your pursuit.…