A DIFFERENCE IN WORLDVIEW
It was one of those awkward moments in a friendship -- when you feel like you should speak up, but you're not sure how your friend will react. I was a teenager -- just finishing up high school, thinking about the future. My best friend and I were preparing for a day of
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Presbyterian/Reformed
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THE MORE EXCELLENT WAY
I remember a sermon – years ago, in fact I think I may have preached it during my time here as an intern – where my opening illustration was the difference between the way my father chopped wood and the way I chopped it. You may remember the scene – me as a skinny 18
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TREES DON'T STRUGGLE TO GROW
Rich Ratts, former pastor of Grace Community Church here in Jackson and a now a church planter in Traverse City, once spoke at a pastor’s appreciation breakfast I attended. He began by talking about a cheery orchard outside his window. One night when he couldn’t go
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PUTTING THE DOG IN DOGMA
The pit bull, as you may know, is bred to be a fighter. But what you may not know is what they were originally bred to fight with. The pit bull is a actually a mutt that made good -- having terrier and mastiff breeds in its line. From the mastiff side of the tree, they
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BIG ED
When I was in high school, there was this girl -- let's call her "Edith". Everyone called her Big "Ed" because she was on the heavy side. She was the youngest of four sisters, the three older ones being very attractive. Edith accepted the nickname, showed no real signs of being injured
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After choosing the title of this sermon I began looking for an illustration that captured the sense of what I meant by a “black market sacrifice.” And to my great distress I found one – kind of. The search for an illustration became the illustration. Confused? Let me explain.
When I prepare
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GOD'S JEALOUS NATURE ILLUSTRATED
Let’s say you come home one day to find a stranger in your living room talking to your teenage daughter. He informs you that he has been chatting with your daughter online and says that he and your fourteen year-old are madly in love. He looks to be about forty. He
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It is said that if you want to know what is important to a person, take a look at his or her checkbook (or spending habits, if you don’t have a check book). Money marks the importance of a particular thing to us. The New Testament reflects this, particularly in the teaching of Paul. He intimates
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Presbyterian/Reformed
We all know the story of the Little Drummer Boy. I love the line in that carol that goes “…I played my best for him, Berump, pah, pah, pum Berump, pah, pah, pumBerump, pah, pah, pum Me and my drum.” I remember that as a child, I used to envision the little drummer boy, face pinched in
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Presbyterian/Reformed
You see, the power of holiness is God’s power at work in us. It is not some spiritual battery pack that we recharge and discharge at our discretion. It is not the we become powerful in the Spirit, rather it is God’s Spirit that is powerful in us. The power of holiness is God himself in action.
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Presbyterian/Reformed
You see, the power of holiness is God’s power at work in us. It is not some spiritual battery pack that we recharge and discharge at our discretion. It is not the we become powerful in the Spirit, rather it is God’s Spirit that is powerful in us. The power of holiness is God himself in action.
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Denomination:
Presbyterian/Reformed
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Rach and I have a friend who is a source of grief for us. It is not that he has done anything to us – he is quite dear to us actually. Rather it is what he has done to himself, what he has chosen to believe. About ten years ago, this friend began absenting himself from church. He was getting
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Presbyterian/Reformed
One of the things all the gurus of preaching say is a necessary trait for successful preaching is to be vulnerable, transparent – to show the people you’re preaching to that you share their struggles. Allow me to be transparent for a moment.
There is a good reason why this passage has become
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Presbyterian/Reformed
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I remember during the first war against Iraq a number of books hit the shelves tying the events of the war to the prophecies of the Bible. Imminent theologians staked their reputations on works tying the Middle East conflict of 1991 to the beginning of the end. According to their complex
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