In one of his many sermons on the Ephesians marriage text, Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes, How many of us have realized that we are always to think of the married state in terms of the doctrine of the atonement? Is that our customary way of thinking of marriage—husbands, wives, all of us? Is that how we instinctively think of marriage—in terms of the doctrine of the … [Read more...]
Caring for the Community (Acts 20:17–38)
Paul loved the church. And he had a particular love for the church at Ephesus—the church in which, as far as we know, he spent more time than any other church (with the exception of Antioch). Paul stayed in Ephesus for three years, and his impact there, and the later impact of the church there, was felt far and wide. He experienced supernatural community there. But as we … [Read more...]
Guarding the Garden
The world is heading toward the day when it will again be a beautiful, curse-free garden (Revelation 22)—just like it was before Adam gave heed to the slithering, God-defying serpent. God’s means towards this end is His church, His Garden. When God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in a garden in Eden. Adam’s duty, his God-assigned vocation, was “to tend and to keep it” … [Read more...]
Why Do You Need Leaders if You Have the Bible?
Hebrews 13:17 was recently the text of a sermon and therefore a topic of discussion in the Grace Groups. It seems that there was some good back and forth about what this means and the limits of the commandment. This article will not settle all the questions, but I hope that it will provide a framework for constructive reflection and for the building of even greater harmony … [Read more...]
Please, Pray (Hebrews 13:18–19)
A funny thing happened on a recent Sunday morning. Not only did we lose power at the church during the service, but our church vehicle ran out of power on the way to take people home after the service. I was standing in the church parking lot when the vehicle was towed in by another church member. When I asked the driver what happened, he said that the vehicle ran okay in first … [Read more...]