Pastor’s Blog

We love his name though I’ve never heard anyone name their son after him. Does it have something to do with being four-syllables long? Did his friends call him “Phat,” for short? Though there are no little Jehoshaphat’s running around, he does have a phrase named after him (“Jumping Jehoshaphat”). That’s pretty cool. Anyway; he […]

A few Friday’s ago, man celebrated the “41st Earth Day,” cleaning mother earth by picking up garbage, planting trees, and promoting composting. On that same day (Good Friday), the church celebrated the Father sending the Son to die on a cross to clean us. The competing celebrations offered quite the contrast. One was man’s effort […]

There is a surprising word in our Bibles. According to my Exhaustive Concordance, it is used only once in the sixty-six books that comprises our Holy Spirit inspired Bible; but it is there. And if it was used more than once, you’d remember it. I came across it in my devotional reading a month or […]

by J. C. Ryle(1816-1900) What do you think about the cross of Christ? The question may be one that you consider of little importance: but it deeply concerns the everlasting welfare of your soul. Eighteen hundred years ago there was a man who said that he “gloried” in the cross of Christ. He was one […]

A number of years ago, preaching to his beloved 10th Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, Pastor James Montgomery Boice threw out a little test for his congregants—especially the youth of his church. He set it up this way: “What I cannot understand is people, particularly young people, believing that everything is well with their souls simply […]

The numbers just came out and once again, bad news for mainline denominations. They can’t stop the leak. The numbers are compiled by the National Council of Churches and were just released in their 2011 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. Here are the five “biggest losers”: United Church of Christ (UCC) down 2.83%; Presbyterian […]

We’re told it’s unwise to be a one-issue voter. We are told it’s naïve to jettison a candidate who fails our particular litmus test; that we’re losing sight of the big picture when we do. There is an issue, however, that trumps all other political issues and says a lot about a candidate. That issue […]

Theologians call the gathering of the church in heaven “triumphant” and the gathering of the church on earth “militant”—the label indicating her state; the congregation in heaven rests, the congregation on earth works. The division is descriptive but it can also confuse; leading some to think that our earthly worship is distinct, even separate from […]

by Ryan Kelly Posted on The Gospel Coalition (www.thegospelcoalition.org), March 2, 2011Copyright © 2011 The Gospel Coalition, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. In many ways, the great Puritan theologian John Owen (1616-1683) was not unique for his day. This is not simply playing the contrarian. It is important to emphasize that he was […]

Who’s changed? Not God. The word used to describe His attribute is immutability. It is why God is often compared to a rock: “He is the Rock…” sang Moses in Deuteronomy 32:4. If we miss Moses’ lyric and metaphor, God declares of Himself: “I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6). If you want some […]

“We need to get back to the first century church.” How many times have you heard that? Their point being that the 21st century church has lost its purity, focus, and way. What is interesting is that many who say this are the very ones pressing for a progressive and ever-evolving Sunday morning worship. In […]

We spoke of the “three marks” last time. It is time to comment on the disappearance of the third and why such a discussion belongs in a series on worship. The third mark the 16th century reformers used to distinguish the true from the false church was the practice of church discipline; the true church […]