I helped to officiate a funeral this weekend.  My role, besides giving the invocation and reading the obituary, was to share a few words at the graveside.

I shared the verse, Psalm 116:15.  It says,

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

I asked the question, “Why is it precious to God when a Christian passes through this life to the next?”  In an attempt to both encourage the family as well as faithfully bear witness to the gospel I answered this question as it relates to three different persons or groups of persons: the individual who passed away, the Christians affected by his death, and the non-Christians affected by his death.

So why is it precious to the Lord when his faithful pass?  Because its a homecoming, an encouragement, and a challenge.

1. Homecoming—for the deceased

→The deceased believer is at home with Jesus.  They were not made for this world with its sin, suffering, and shame.  They were made for God and now they are with him and enjoying him and worshipping in a more fully realized sense than ever before.

2. Encouragement—for the believing bereaved

→ This is not the end.  Your loved one is not lost and gone forever.  They are merely on the other side.  They are with God.  And one day we will be there with them.

3. Challenge—to the unbelieving bereaved

→ May this occasion be an opportunity for you to be challenged by considering the brevity of life, your need for a savior, and the invitation of the gospel.

Have you ever had some close to you pass away?  What words were shared with you that were helpful as you tried to endure the grieving process?

John MacArthur’s got a three-part series of articles on how to endure in the ministry.  Very beneficial stuff…and better still, very practical stuff.  Here’s are his 10 practical thoughts on an enduring ministry:

1. Don’t arrive unless you plan to stay.
2. Learn to be patient.
3. Don’t be afraid to change.
4. Study to know God, not just to make sermons.
5. Be thankful and be humble.
6. Don’t lose sight of the priority.
7. Expect to work hard.
8. Trust the Word to do its work.
9. Always depend on the Lord.
10. Don’t just leave to leave.

Some points on this list may seem a little ambiguous.  I’ll let MacArthur explain himself.  Find these ten points with additional commentary here:

• Practical Thoughts on an Enduring Ministry—Part 1
• Practical Thoughts on an Enduring Ministry— Part 2
• Practical Thoughts on an Enduring Ministry—Part 3

In case I’ve never mentioned it before on this site, John MacArthur is the man.  I listen to at least one of his sermons nearly every week.  In fact, I’m always looking for new places to find resources and new preachers to listen to.

What preachers or ministries help you most often?

Leave a comment and let us all know who’s online resources help you.  If possible, give a link to their website or online sermon archives.  Thanks!

I recently had some questions posed to me by a couple church members about baptism and church membership.  I’d already been feeling somewhat compelled to do a few topical studies on both subjects.  Their questions sealed the deal for me and Sunday night we did a topical sermon called, “On Biblical Baptism.”

Among other things I did in preparation for this sermon (like looking at this, this, this, this, and of course, this), I consulted a number of free online resources on the subject of baptism from the likes John MacArthur, John Piper, and Alistair Begg.

The most helpful was a sermon by Alistair Begg entitled, “Biblical Basis for Baptism.” You may click through to Begg’s site to download the sermon.  Or you can listen to it here:

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Begg explains helpfully that the reality of salvation is displayed in baptism, not dispensed—a very helpful and catchy distinction.  He covers the history, meaning, and practice of baptism.

I need your help:

I’m currently preparing for a sermon(s) on church membership.  I’m in the process of looking for helpful resources but I’m not having much success.

What resources (books, sermons, articles, etc.) have you found helpful on the subject of church membership?  Thanks in advance to any who respond.

This past Sunday night I caved to the pressures of the calendar and preached a Valentine’s-Day-inspired sermon on love.  The quintessential biblical passage on love is, of course, I Cor. 13.  So that’s where we parked things for the evening.

I covered the entire chapter by dividing it into three sections, each relating to the theme of ‘What Love Makes.”

Here’s the sermon audio:

• (Go here for download link)

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And here’s a rough sketch of my outline:

Love is What Makes the Difference (I Cor. 13:1-3)

• In what we say
• In what we know and believe
• In what we give and are willing to sacrifice

Love is What Makes for Unity (I Cor. 13:4-7)

• Consider the 14 or so different ways that Paul describes what love is and what it is not, what it does and doesn’t do.
• I referred to this section as the perfect ingredients for the perfect recipe that makes for unity among the people of God.

Love is What Makes it to the End (I Cor. 13:8-13)

• Here Paul delineates between two phases of Christian existence: the here and the hereafter.
• Prophecies, tongues and knowledge—they will fade away and no longer be necessary.
• But not love—it will be around forever.

Archangel Michael fighting Satan on the Coat of Arms of Arkhangelsk, Russia.

I’m not one who typically gets into material on spiritual warfare—demons, Satanic influence, doing battle in invisible realms, etc.  I certainly believe in all of that, but I think that many who speak and teach on it are WAY too confident in their assertions and are dabbling arrogantly in things that they shouldn’t be.

That being said, I stumbled upon an excellent treatment of the subject by John MacArthur.  No surprise there—MacArthur is a master at sifting through troves of information and presenting the best of it in a clear and compelling manner.

I’ve been listening through his series on 1st Timothy (to see how’s its done!)—because I am currently preaching through 1st Timothy.  He does a two-part deal on I Tim. 1:18-19, a passage where Paul charges Timothy to “wage the good warfare.”

MacArthur uses the first part of this sermon to spread out and explain as much biblical data as he can on the subject of spiritual warfare.  He begins with the fall of Satan and works his way all through to making the point that, as Christians, we are indeed in a war.  Therefore, we should live like it.

Click here to read the sermon’s manuscript over at the Grace to You site.  Or listen below in the media player (which may not be functioning properly if you’re reading this in an email subscription or on Facebook).  If you can’t see the player below you’ll need to click-through to my site and view the original post.

• John MacArthur’s, “Fighting the Noble War—Part 1″

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Would you lend a hand (or book)?

Any good, solid resources related to this subject that you’d be willing to recommend?  I’m all ears.

James C. Christensen's, The Widow's Mite

I recently preached a sermon on giving and serving (more about that here).

My starting point was Ex. 35-36—a passage of Scripture that details the children of Israel’s construction of the Tabernacle.

Essentially they did two things.  They participated in: 1) giving precious materials and supplies for the building of the Tabernacle; and 2) serving by using their God-given abilities to skillfully craft together the entire structure and its manifold elements.

I concluded with three truths on the practice of giving and serving:

1. Giving and serving are not merely intentions, they are actions.
2. Giving and serving are not the special duty of a select few, they are the basic responsibility of all who dare call themselves Christian.
3. Giving and serving do not earn favor with God, they evidence a right relationship with Him.

Can you think of any other truths about giving and serving?

Everyone faces temptation (I Cor. 10:13).  Even Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11).  Here are a few germane to the role of a pastor.

1. Familiarity—loss of awe at holy and amazing things.
2. Identity amnesia—forgetting you are a person and have a life apart from the ministry vocation.
3. Missional confusion—losing sight of being an ambassadorial representative of Christ at all times.
4. Mediocrity.
5. Self-righteousness.
6. Fear of man.
7. Formalism—when public ministry overwhelms private devotion (no s).
8. Self-promotion.
9. Family neglect.
10. Numbing—TV, food, escapism, banal entertainment
11. Politicizing—politics aims at preserving positions; pastoral ministry isn’t concerned with position.
12. Bitterness—against obstructors.
13. Envy—looking over the fence at some other ministry.
14. Self-rule.
15. Loss of zeal.

I certainly find myself (unfortunately) relating to some of these.  Given my fallen, fleshly state I understand my vulnerability to all of them be it not for God’s daily grace of protection and provision in my life.

How about you?  Any of these a real and present danger in your life?  Any others that may not be on this list?

Credit Where Credit is Due:

• I copied this list from Pastor Sam Crabtree of Bethlehem Baptist Church.
• The material isn’t original with him, though.  It’s notes he took from a talk given by Paul Tripp.

Here are a few posts I’m currently working on for the blog:

• 15 Temptations for Pastors
• What Does ‘Trusting God’ (a la Prov. 3:5) Actually Look Like?
• What Purpose Should God’s Law Serve in Our Lives?
• A Few Truths on the Practice of Giving and Serving in the Church

I’m curious whether anyone out there has input, or advice, or could point me towards resources (preferably free) to make these posts as biblical, relevant, and helpful as they can be?

So…anyone?

If you’re not familiar with the term, “church-hopping” refers to folks who bounce around from church-to-church looking for the latest and greatest that any given community has to offer.

At its worst, it represents the idea of God and the church serving the individual instead of the individual serving God and His Church.

• Jon Acuff wrote about it at his wildly popular ‘Stuff Christians Like” blog.
• Naked Pastor drew it perfectly in the picture displayed to the right.
• On a more serious note, both Josh Harris and the Kevin DeYoung—Ted Kluck tag team duo have tackled this subject as well.  For the former see the book, Stop Dating the Church.  And the latter, Why We Love the Church.

A pastor is an individual who, by virtue of what the word “pastor” means, behaves toward his parishioners in a way very similar to how a shepherd behaves toward his flock of sheep.

A shepherd in the Near Eastern world of the Scriptures was responsible for protecting, nurturing, feeding and keeping up with his sheep.  Likewise, pastors of local churches are responsible for all of these same things in a spiritual sense.

The Greek word from which most English translations get the word “pastor” is most frequently translated as “shepherd.”   In fact, of the 18 times the NT uses this Greek word, only once is it translated as “pastor.”  The other 17 times it is simply “shepherd.”

See for yourself.

The Apostle Paul uses this word to refer to pastors in Eph. 4:11.  Jesus uses it of Himself John 10:14.  There he says, “I am the Good Shepherd.”

As a pastor it’s important for me that I am a “shepherd” of the members of my church.  BUT…its also important for me to remember that I am also a sheep.  I think all pastors would do well to be reminded of and to remember that we too are sheep.  Our shepherd is Christ Himself.

For pastors to remember that they too are sheep is helpful in several ways.  It helps us to:

1. Fight against pride in our lives.
2. Cultivate humility in our ministries.
3. Engender trust in Christ who is our Shepherd.
4. Relate better to our fellow sheep.

Can you think of any other reasons why its beneficial for pastors/”shepherds” to remember that they are also sheep?

My wife and I spent a good part of our long holiday weekend tweaking our church’s website.  You should check it out and let us know what you think in the comments section.

I added four new sermons this week to the Sermon page.

We (”we” being me and the church I pastor, Eastwood Baptist Church) did a topical Christmas sermon based on a few character traits of faith observed in the lives of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus:

• “Thoughtful, Humble Obedience in the Christmas Story”

We also finished up our church’s verse-by-verse study through the Letter of James.  I added three new sermons there:

• “Fighting in the Church” (James 4:1-10)
• “The Serious Sin of ‘Speaking Evil’” (James 4:11-12)
• “James’ Closing Admonitions” (James 5:1-12)

Enjoy and be blessed.

J. Oswald Sanders’ book on leadership is a classic in my line of work. Its titled, Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer.  I was given a copy a few weeks ago as an ordination gift.

At about 60 pages in I’m finding it to be a very beneficial and humbling read.

Here are a few nuggets of wisdom he offers (or cites) on the subject of…well, of wisdom.  So its wisdom concerning wisdom.

“If knowledge is the accumulation of facts and intelligence the development of reason, wisdom is heavenly discernment.  It is insight into the heart of things.  Wisdom involves knowing God and the subtleties of the human heart.  More than knowledge, it is the right application of knowledge in moral and spiritual matters, in handling dilemmas, in negotiating complex relationships.”

“‘Wisdom is nine-tenths a matter of being wise in time,’ said Theodore Roosevelt.  Most of us are ‘too often wise after the event.’”

“Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much,
Wisdom is humble, that he knows no more.”

“D. E. Hoste knew the importance of wisdom for leaders:

‘When a person in authority demands obedience of another, irrespective of the latter’s reason and conscience, this is tyranny.  On the other hand, when, by the exercise of tact and sympathy, prayer, spiritual power and sound wisdom, one is able to influence and enlighten another, so that a life course is changed, that is spiritual leadership.’”

Get your own copy of this great work through the link below.



(For email, RSS, or Facebook readers you may need to click through to the original post on my site in order to view all the links.)

In his book, Why Johnny Can’t Preach, T. David Gordon asks the question,

“How has the movement from language-based media to image-based and electronic media altered our sensibilities, and how, in turn, has this change in sensibility shaped today’s preachers?” (p. 16)

His answer is rather direct and gives no reason for celebration.  He confesses that,

“Less than 30 percent of those who are ordained to the Christian ministry can preach an even mediocre sermon.” (p. 11)

Gordon offers help by way of reference.  He points his readers to Robert Lewis Dabney’s book on homiletics, Lectures on Sacred Rhetoric.  There Dabney constructs “The Seven Cardinal Requisites of Preaching.”

For the purpose of brevity I’ll only list the seven requisites with Gordon’s test questions.  The questions are to be asked for the sake of determining whether a given sermon contains that requisite.  Very helpful stuff.

1. Textual Fidelity
   Test: Does the significant point of the sermon arise out of the significant point of the text?
2. Unity
   Test: If ten people are asked after the sermon what the sermon was about, will at least eight of them give the same (or a similar) answer?
3. Evangelical Tone
   Test: Does the sermon press the hearer to consider the hopelessness of his condition apart from Christ, and the utter competence of Christ to rescue the penitent sinner?
4. Instructiveness
   Test: Does the sermon significantly engage the mind, or  is the sermon full of commonplace cliches, slogans, and general truths?
5. Movement
   Test: Do the earlier parts of the sermon  contribute to the latter parts’ full effect?
6. Point
   Test: Is the effect of the sermon, on those who believe it, similar?
7. Order
   Test: Could the hearers compare notes and reproduce the outline of the sermon?

All of us preachers would do well to strive to contain each of these elements in our every sermon.  Gordon’s book was excellent.  I recommend every preacher get their own copy.  You can do so for only $10 or less through the link below.

Most of us are familiar with the little phrase, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”  In my experience that has not proven to be true.  I suggest that the person who came up with it probably didn’t have a very balanced view of things. Either they never had anything negative said about them at all, or they had so many hurtful things said about them that they went into some sort of state of denial.

Compare the meaning of that phrase with what the wisdom writer of Proverbs had to say about the power of words: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Prov. 18:21).

As part of our ongoing series through the Letter of James I preached out of James 3:1-12 this weekend at my church.  Perhaps more than any other passage in the Bible these 12 verses describe the devastating power of the sinful words and ways in which we speak.  My message was titled, “The Power of the Tongue.”  Give it a listen.

• Here’s the sermon audio for this message.  Just click the ‘Play’ button (the little triangle pointing right) to listen now.

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• Or you can download the sermon and listen to it later via mp3 player or burnt CD by visiting my Sermon Download Page, finding the word “Download,” right-clicking on it, and choosing the ‘Save As’ option.

Unfortunately I was not able to record the second half of this sermon.  Due to time constraints it was broken into two parts and the second half took place during our Sunday PM worship service which is not recorded.

In case anyone’s interested, here’s the outline I preached from.  I’m always interested to see how others put their thoughts together.

A prayer to remember this morning as we go to the house of the Lord:

We are going to the house of prayer

pour upon us the spirit of grace and supplication;

We are going to the house of praise,

awaken in us every grateful and cheerful emotion;

We are going to the house of instruction,

give testimony to the Word preached,

and glorify it in the hearts of all who hear;

may it enlighten the ignorant,

awaken the careless, reclaim the wandering,

establish the weak, comfort the feeble-minded,

make ready a people for their Lord.

—Taken from the, “First Day Morning: Worship” in The Valley of Vision

The church I pastor just launched a new site: eastwoodbaptistonline.com.  Go check it out!

Writing for the IX Marks’ Church Matters blog, Kevin DeYoung articulates a view toward ministers learning to be themselves when they speak.

He writes,

“One of the hardest things for any preacher to learn, especially young preachers, is to simply be yourself….But your congregation needs to hear you on Sunday, not an impression of the preacher you wish you were.”

These are needed words.  Read the rest of his post here.

I only wish I was kidding.  The game is called Mass: We Pray.  They have a website up.  This has almost certainly got to be a joke.  You can read more about the “game” here.

Watch the game’s trailer below.  (For those of you reading this through an email subscription or Facebook, you may have to click through to the actual post on my site to see the embedded YouTube clip.)

[HT: Forward Progress via Challies]

Approaching the halfway mark through Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck’s, Why We Love the Church.  Really liking this one.  Almost as a side note DeYoung addresses the subject of pastors handling criticism of their preaching.

He writes,

“Every preacher has to learn to handle criticism.  In addition to a lot of encouraging comments, I’ve been told my sermons are too long, too boring, too light, too heavy, too Reformed, not Reformed enough, too focused on application, and too light on application.” (p. 74-75)

Sound familiar?  I’ve definitely gotten the “Your-sermons-are-too-long” one before.  What’s your version?

DeYoung goes on to explain,

“I haven’t fully figured out how to handle criticism, but first I try to listen and understand  what my critics are saying.  Then I consider the source—their attitude, their track record, their motives.  Finally, I ask the Lord for wisdom to know if I should pay attention or forget about the conversation.” (p. 75)

That’s a good word.  Let’s take it to heart.

While I was looking for a picture to display in this post I came across these little gems from a religious cartoon blog, Indiscriminate Ink.  Funny stuff.  He’s got more.  Check ‘em out.

I recently watched this really funny video clip of a little kid practice-swinging during a t-ball game.  It was his turn to hit and he was standing at home plate half-swinging his little bat right up to the ball that was placed on the tee.  He wasn’t swinging to hit it yet, though.  He was only trying to get everything lined up.

He did this four or five times.  Slowly, steadily, and with great concentration he mimicked the motion and path that a real swing would take.  Only he wouldn’t go through with it.  He had to make sure that his form and aim was just right.

Finally, after at least five of these practice swings, he leaned back and put all of his weight into it.  He swung that bat with all of his might.  And he missed.  He missed bad too—didn’t hit the ball or the tee.  Instead, the force of his swing spun him around and he was left just standing there looking puzzled.

As I watched this short clip, it was hard not to laugh.  It was only funny because he put so much effort into preparing for the swing and then he missed.  I watched this clip on a Monday.

The previous Sunday I preached a sermon on James 2:1-13.  I guess it went well.  After I finished, though, I felt like I imagine that little boy must have after he worked so hard at getting his swing right and then he missed.  I had studied and prepared and read and took notes and was completely ready to preach.  Then I preached and it was a swing and a miss.  Anyone else ever had one of those?

I was a little discouraged about it for the better part of Sunday afternoon.  God was quick to remind me, however, of his grace and that it wasn’t my swing-and-a-miss or a homerun that counted for anything.  If God’s Word affects souls for the kingdom its his doing and his alone.

I was grateful for the opportunity to try again.  Sunday night’s sermon went much better.  And right now I’m practice-swinging for this upcoming Sunday’s at-bat.  Hopefully I’ll knock it out of the park.

I recently picked up a copy of Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck’s recently published work, Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion (July, 2009).  I’ve only read the first few chapters, but so far I’ve enjoyed and agreed with pretty much everything.  You can learn more about the book from its website.  Also, you may want to check out Tim Challies’ review of it over at Discerning Reader.

On pages 32-36 DeYoung elucidates the necessity of the gospel to the life of the Church by way of positing several questions that churches need to ask themselves concerning how they handle the gospel.

Here are those questions:

1. Are we getting in the way of the gospel?
2. Are we believing the gospel?
3. Are we relying on the power of the gospel?
4. Are we getting the gospel out?
5. Are we getting the gospel right?
6. Are we adorning the gospel with good works?
7. Are we praying for the work of the gospel?
8. Are we training up our children in the gospel?
9. Are we trusting God’s sovereignty in the gospel?

These are questions we all need to be asking of ourselves as well as of our churches.  (Just in case there’s any uncertainty as to what the gospel is, I ‘d suggest checking out this “Gospel Definitions” resource from Trevin Wax’s, Kingdom People blog.)

The first half of the book has proven very beneficial.  I’d recommend it to anyone, but most especially to younger people or anyone who ministers to younger people (”younger” = teens to mid-thirties).

The books only $10.  You can get your own copy through the link below.

Ever preached a sermon that you were super proud of?  You know the one.  You finish and you’re satisfied the way it turned out.  You hope that the sound guys got it recorded because you’ll want to keep a copy of it.  You just nailed it?  Well, this one’s definitely not one of those.

Not that that is at all the type of attitude we preachers should have.  However, I’d imagine any of you other pastors would agree that sometimes what comes out during a sermon doesn’t come out as well as we planned and would have liked for it to.  This sermon is one of those for me.

In the “Introduction and Apology” to his Lectures to My Students, Charles Spurgeon writes,

“Many men of earnest spirit and established Christian character are hindered in their efforts to do good by the slenderness of their knowledge.”

He goes on to affirm that,

“No work can possibly confer a greater blessing upon mankind than the training of minister whom God has chosen, for around them spring up churches, schools, and all the agencies of religion and philanthropy.”

Interestingly, though, he adds this insightful qualification:

“If a student should learn a thousand things, and yet fail to preach the gospel acceptably, his College course will have missed its true design.”

This tension between the value of theological education and the awareness of its dangers toward impious scholasticism is in my estimation a much needed mindset in the Church today.

Thanks to Spurgeon for his treasuries of “quote-worthiness,” and thanks to my sweet wife for buying me this book as an early birthday present!

I’ve really been enjoying listening to David Platt’s sermon series on the Letter of James.  It’s called “Faith Works” and they’ve just finished working their way through the text at the church where Platt serves as pastor in Birmingham, AL, The Church at Brook Hills.

Here are links to the audio for all nine sermons in the series.

1. “Faith Perseveres” (James 1:1-18)
   

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2. “Faith Obeys” (James 1:19-27)

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3. “Faith Loves” (James 1:26-2:13)

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4. “Faith Acts” (James 2:14-19)

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5. “Faith Sacrifices” (James 2:20-24)

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6. “Faith Risks” (James 2:25-26)

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7. “Faith Speaks” (James 3:1-12)

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8. “Faith Submits” (James 3:13-4:12)

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9. “Faith Lasts” (James 4:13-5:20)

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Related Post:

• “God cannot Be Tempted” (James 1:13-18)

Martin Luther

While searching for some pithy quotes on justification in Martin Luther’s, Table Talk, I came across this little gem about productivity and righteous indignation:

I never work better than when I am inspired by anger.  When I am angry, I can write, pray, and preach well, for then my whole temperament is quickened, my understanding sharpened, and all mundane vexations and temptations depart.

I can’t say that I relate necessarily, but I am amused that things worked this way for him.

Saint James the Just

I’ve started preaching through the Epistle of James on Sunday mornings with my church.  After one month we’ve managed to finish the first chapter.  I know that I’ve been unspeakably blessed through my studies of this most practical of letters.  I pray my church has been too.

We’ve finally managed to get the sermon audio recorded in a format that I can digitize and upload to the web.  Here’s yesterday’s message where I finished up the section in James 1:13-18.

I apologize that the last couple minutes of the sermon have been lost.  As a result it comes in at just under 30 minutes long.  Take a listen and let me know what you think.

Just click the ‘Play’ button (the little triangle pointing right) to listen now.

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Or you can download the sermon and listen to it later via mp3 player or burnt CD by visiting my Sermon Download Page, finding the word “Download,” right-clicking on it, and choosing the ‘Save As’ option.

J. I. Packer’s book, Knowing God, has been treating me very nicely this week.  I’m reading a chapter a day and it is proving to be an excellent and timely work.

In this little quip—which makes for one heck of a sentence—he outlines what is involved in the endeavor of knowing God.

“Knowing God involves, first, listening to God’s Word and receiving it as the Holy Spirit interprets it, in application to oneself; second, noting God’s nature and character, as His Word and works reveal it; third, accepting his invitations and doing what he commands; fourth, recognizing and rejoicing in the love that he has shown in thus approaching you and drawing you into his divine fellowship.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.  I doubt many could.