Winter Conference 2012
Studying the Book of Matthew
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- I can remember being confused by preaching I heard growing up. On one hand, I would hear appeals to trust Christ and exp...
- The issue of race and the church has received a good deal of attention recently, when a church in Kentucky voted to ban ...
- "For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth" (John 18:37). "The ...
- Last Sunday we began a series in the Book of Ruth using the English Standard Version (ESV) as our main translation. For ...
- Last Sunday I gave away ten books to anyone that wanted to pick one up under the condition that they would simply get to...
- 10643113 ...
- Great answer from David Powlison of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation. 18685696 ...
- This Friday, a couple from our church - Nathan and Carrie Woods - will fly to Ethiopia to begin the final stages of t...
- Paul David Tripp's parenting seminar "Getting to the Heart of Parenting" is a DVD series (with study guide) that is desi...
- Robbie Low, writing in Touchstone (June 2003), points to an interesting 1994 study in Switzerland about the connection b...
- As we have studied through Colossians 2 together in our Sunday morning services we have seen the reality of our sufficie...
- On Sunday evenings in the month of January I'll be preaching on the topic of texts and translations, answering the quest...
- We are looking forward to a group of men from our church attending the Men's Heart Conference at Northland International...
- In his recent sermon entitled "The Church," Pastor Kevin DeYoung (East Lansing, MI) gives some really helpful suggestion...
- At the heart of the problems in our relationships is self-centeredness. The engine that runs Christ-like relationships i...
- In our study of the book of James we have reached James 4:1-4 which deals with the topic of worldliness. Over the last s...
- Dear Church Family, Yesterday morning we finished our seven week Newcomers Class with a time of question and answer. O...
- In last Sunday's sermon (AM), I mentioned some recent attacks on the deity of Christ, including attacks even on the popu...
- I ran across this article today by Thom Rainer, a long-time pastor who is known for his emphasis on evangelism. It was a...
- This Sunday I will be preaching from James 1:26-27. In verse 26 James says that some people seem to be "religious," but ...
- This Sunday, during the SS hour, I will begin teaching a Newcomers Class. The class is designed to give a grounding in t...
- Christopher Hitchens, perhaps the most famous atheist in the public sphere and best-selling author of the book God is N...
- During this week in which we consider Christ's death and ultimately His resurrection, this is an especially encouraging ...
- But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us Romans 5:8 “I would conclude t...
- I recently read the book Adopted for Life by Russell Moore. I was surprised by how moving and challenging the book was--...
- Someone asked me this question just two weeks ago. It's an important question and we must go to Scripture if we are to h...
- For many years the MacArthur Study Bible has been a wonderful resource for countless Christians. It was the first study ...
- Each month Christian Audio gives away an audio book for free. This month they are giving away two really great books: T...
- I came across these questions yesterday and found them perceptive and challenging: 1. If our church would cease t...
- In our Sunday evening services we have been studying together through the book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mar...
This Sunday I will be preaching from James 1:26-27. In verse 26 James says that some people seem to be "religious," but that their "faith" is actually empty. How do we know the difference between a merely external religion and genuine faith?
Religion: I obey; therefore I'm accepted.
Gospel: I'm accepted; therefore I obey.
Religion: Motivation is based on fear and insecurity.
Gospel: Motivation is based on grateful joy.
Religion: I obey God in order to get things from God.
Gospel: I obey to get God--to delight in and resemble Him.
Religion: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I am angry at God or myself, since I believe that anyone who is good deserves a comfortable life.
Gospel: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I struggle, but I know all my punishment fell on Jesus and that while God may allow this for my training, he will exercise his Fatherly love within my trial.
Religion: My prayer life consists largely of petition, and it only heats up when I am in time of need. My main purpose in prayer is control of the environment.
Gospel: My prayer life consists of generous stretches of praise and adoration. My main purpose is fellowship with God.
Religion: My self-view swings between two poles. If and when I am living up to my standards, I feel confident, but then I am prone to be proud and unsympathetic to failing people. If and when I am not living up to standards, I feel humble but not confident--I feel like a failure.
Gospel: My self-view is not based on my moral achievement. In Christ I am simul lustus et peccator--simultaneously sinful and lost, yet accepted in Christ. I am so bad that he had to die for me, and I am so loved that he was glad to die for me. This leads me to deep humility and confidence at the same time.
Religion: My identity and self-worth are based mainly on how hard I work, or how moral I am--and so I must look down on those I perceive as lazy or immoral.
Gospel: My identity and self-worth are centered on the one who died for me. I am saved by sheer grace, so I can't look down on those who believe or practice something different from me. Only by grace am I what I am.
From Tim Keller's "The Gospel in Life," p. 16.
