“The Spirit did not lead Jesus above natural life with its exposure to dangers, trials, temptation, and suffering, but deeper and deeper into it. We may with profit consider this in our own trials and temptations.” From:Rediscovering the Holy Spirit by Michael Horton. 📚
A good definition of biblicism + resource page from @heidelblog.net.
So thankful for the way @opchomemissions supported Covenant when we were a church plant. Watch to hear from two current church planters about ministry during COVID-19. Watch on Vimeo.
Strange… there doesn’t seem to be an emoji for video calls. Do these work: selfie 🤳 or a handshake+smartphone w/arrow combo 🤝📲?
I started a sermon series yesterday called The Promised Messiah. #1 The Last Word; #2 Mediator of a New Covenant.
Take heed: David French on The Crisis of Christian Celebrity
I’ve known a number of Christian public figures who haven’t fallen—men and women who’ve lived decades in the public eye and have lived with integrity. And while they’ve come from different backgrounds and different strands of Christian theology, they’ve typically shared two common convictions.
First, they don’t trust their virtue.
Second, they don’t believe they earned their fame.
You don’t need to be a celebrity to take this advice.
We hear more about angels during Christmas, but they’re around all year. I wrote a short post about one way God uses angels to encourage believers, especially during times of persecution.
When we suffer for the name of Christ, we need biblical encouragement. And one form of biblical encouragement involves angels.
Consider the Thessalonian church. When Paul wrote to them his second letter, he noticed their “steadfastness and faith" even while they endured “persecutions and in the afflictions” (2 Thessalonians 1:4). To encourage them not to give up on their Lord, Paul wrote:
This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 1:5–8)
Paul’s point about the angels is worth noting and repeating, as Martin Luther did in the second verse of his famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”:
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, were not the Right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing. Dost ask who That may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabbaoth, His name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle.
Have you ever sung this and wondered why we call Jesus “Lord Sabbaoth”? Sabbaoth is not the word sabbath. Sabbaoth is an English transliteration of a Hebrew word that means “hosts”, which refers to the angelic army of the Lord. And so Lord Sabbaoth is simply another way of saying Lord of Hosts, the commander of his angelic army. Although mighty, the angels are still the servants of Christ which he uses for our benefit. “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14)
In false religions, gods are often divided up between different parts of creation, but Jesus, the true God, is lord of all. “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible” (Colossians 1:16). By knowing that Jesus is more glorious than the glorious armies of angels that he commands, we know that in the battle of good and evil, he will surely win.
The sermon is an important part of worship. Here’s how to make the most of it.
Learn about the @OrthodoxPC work in Mbale, Uganda. See how long-term committments make a difference. Faith and patience: it takes time for seeds to grow. Watch on Vimeo.
Tomorrow I will finish preaching the Gospel of John and will be sad to say goodbye to Frederick Dale Bruner, who, via his 1,200+ pg commentary, has been my main (non-divine) conversation partner on John for the last two years. Huge impact. Thank you, Dr. Bruner.
Finished The Art of Neighboring by @jayrpathak and Dave Runyon. Great into. Deals with common struggles, helps avoid missteps, and is full of good advice you can use today.
When Jesus comes “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4), but until then there is heartbreak even on the holidays. My heart goes out those who sat next to empty seats this Thanksgiving.