The Trouble with Evangelism
Paul sets a high standard in Acts 20:24: “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
Paul is talking about evangelism—proclaiming the gospel, which is the good news of what God has done to accomplish his purposes and rescue us from our sin through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But if this activity is so essential to Paul’s life and mission, as it should be to ours (cf. Eph. 4:11-13; Phil. 1:3-30; Matt. 28:18-20), then why do we so often find it hard to do? What’s our trouble with evangelism?
Family vs. Youth Group: either/or or both/and?
My friend and former colleague, Jon Nielson, offers some thoughtful reflections on the somewhat sticky relationship between family and youth ministries in the church, specifically in terms of the different roles each can or should play in the discipleship of students.
Psalm 36: An Uncommon Love
There are a lot of things that can be considered common in this world—things you’re bound to find a lot of wherever you go. People, for instance. Or bathrooms (thankfully). Road signs (except in New England). Businesses. Families. Art. Food. I even live in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (whatever that means). And just as common as these fixtures is the rebellious bent of human hearts toward God and his rule. You can guarantee that no matter where you go in life, you’re bound to find a lot of sinners (e.g. just look in the mirror). What is entirely uncommon, however, is the kind of love we find flowing from our Heavenly Father and expressed in his eternal Son, Jesus Christ. Psalm 36 is all about this uncommon love. Read more…
What Is the Gospel? Sandy Island 2011
If you’ve been around Westgate Church for a while, I hope you’ve picked up an increasing emphasis on the centrality of the gospel—the good news of what God has done to accomplish his purposes and deal with our sin through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe that glorious truth should shape everything about us. It should be for us not merely the confessional center of our faith (what we believe), but the functional center of our lives (how we live). Read more…
Psalm 33: Praise Befits the Upright
The idea of praise is not foreign to our culture. The back cover of every new book is littered with praises for the author and his or her work. On any given day of the week stadiums are crowded with roaring fans, praising the athletic prowess of their teams or swooning over their favorite bands. Even our homes are filled with praise, from congratulating a toddler for using the potty to thanking a spouse for making a meal. And yet strangely, the one Person who deserves our praise infinitely beyond anyone else is regularly deprived of it in our lives and culture, either by dismissing his power, denying his rightful rule, or depending upon ourselves for what we need in life. Not only does Psalm 33 tell us that this is tragically inappropriate, it shows us why. Read more…
A Glimpse into the War Called Pastoral Ministry
If you haven’t figured it out from my recent post or some of my retweets, I have much respect for Paul Tripp’s wisdom. This article on The Gospel Coalition Blog provides some nice insight into the inner dynamics of pastoral ministry:
The fundamental battle of pastoral ministry is not the battle with the shifting values of the surrounding culture. It is not the struggle with resistant people who don’t seem to esteem the gospel. It is not the fight for the success of the ministries of the church. And it is not the constant struggle of resources and personnel to accomplish the mission. No, the war of the pastorate is a deeply personal war. It is fought on the ground of the pastor’s heart. Read more…
Sanctified Affliction
Holy Lord,
I have sinned times without number, and been guilty of pride and unbelief, of failure to find your mind in your Word, of neglect to seek you in my daily life.
My transgressions and short-comings present me with a list of accusations,
But I bless you that they will not stand against me, for all have been laid on Christ.
Psalm 32: When Sin Is Bitter, Christ Is Sweet
There are a thousand reasons we try to make sin less than sinful. Shame causes us to hide it; fear causes us to manage it; selfishness causes us to redefine it; pleasure causes us to desire it; pride causes us to revel in it. But what we don’t realize is that when we minimize sin we also disparage grace and forfeit true joy in life—the joy of experiencing God’s forgiveness. As the Puritan preacher and author, Thomas Watson, once said, “Till sin be bitter; Christ will not be sweet.” Such is the testimony of Psalm 32.
Wanting What is Right When You Are Wronged
This past Sunday at Westgate Church we looked at Psalm 27 and how God is our shelter in the day of trouble. In particular, we saw how only one thing should consume our attention, affection, and hope: God, who is able to shelter us in his presence and deal with our trouble according to his sovereignty and goodness, which are revealed in the cross of Jesus.
Along those same lines, I want to point you to a book by Paul David Tripp: A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble. The book is a collection of 52 meditations on Psalm 27. Some of them take the shape of poetry, most of them prose, but all of them pay careful attention both to the voice of God in the psalm and the centrality of the gospel as we appropriate this psalm’s message into our lives. I highly recommend it. To give you a taste, the good people at Crossway Books have given me permission to share this excerpt from chapter 33:
It Is Not Death to Die
When we looked at Psalm 16 a couple weeks ago at Westgate Church, we had a chance to reflect on the sermon with the song, “It Is Not Death to Die,” by Bob Kauflin of Sovereign Grace Music. Yesterday Justin Taylor featured this song on his blog:
Bob Kauflin wrote a contemporary rendition of the song on the Sovereign Grace Music album Come Weary Saints. You can listen to it below, followed by the revised lyrics:
in the meantime 