The Gospel According to Gordon Ramsay Stories of redemption and redeemers abound in our culture. We love seeing something that is broken/defiled/enslaved/ruined/destroyed come out fixed/purified/liberated/cleansed/saved. It makes our hearts happy. One example of this is found in Fox’s television program “Kitchen Nightmares” starring Gordon Ramsey. In the show, master-chef Ramsey goes into a failing restaurant […]
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Preaching This Sunday
I request your prayers as I fill in for a church in northern Illinois and preach the sermon. My text is Isaiah 59
(This is a continuation from my previous post) Here’s eight more valuable insights from John Angell James: Preaching is more than exegesis: “We must therefore rise from exegesis into exhortation, warning, and expostulation” (87). Pastoral house visits and catechizing are richly beneficial and should not be neglected: “he will make a point of visiting the […]
“An Earnest Ministry: The Want of the Times” by John Angell James (Part I) John Angell James gives a compelling and biblical account of the task, message, method, and mode of Christian ministry in his book “An Earnest Ministry.” The main theme of the work is that of earnestness, or an “intense devotedness” (28). This […]
When we struggle with the fear of man (people-pleasing), what we need is a renewed vision of our perfect Savior: O Pleasant Perfect Christ, Fully God and fully human, You know my temptations yet never succumbed to them yourself. Your family and friends thought you were a lunatic, Unmoved you remained, sturdy to the end. The world hated […]
Oh Pernicious People-Pleasing, Ever-churning, anxiety-inducing, You lead me down paths of fear, For your name’s sake. You whisper questions that leave me doubting: ‘What will they think?’ ‘Can I really say that?’ A slave to the grins and grimaces of a stranger, You promise acceptance, but give me isolation. I am alone, unknown by all. […]
Wheaton College MA Biblical Exegesis Degree Are you looking at seminary programs or graduate degrees in Bible or theology? Have you considered Wheaton College’s master of biblical exegesis degree? This was the degree that I pursued from 2009-2012 (along with a master’s in historical and systematic theology). Before moving away from my job as a […]
Sermon manuscript from my sermon at Redeemer Fellowship on 4/28/13 on the “Prov 1:7–The Fear of the LORD”
The Fear that Frees—The Fear of the LORD Most things we fear paralyze and enslave us. Fearing other people’s opinions makes us a slave to their responses and leaves us uncertain of our own worth, value, and ability to speak our mind. Joining in with our culture’s fears (fear of not being beautiful, important, successful, […]
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O Selfless Christ
When my heart sinks into the muck and squalor of self-pity, what I need is a fresh view of my selfless Savior: O Selfless Christ You spoke the world into being: Every star and moon, Every animal and plant. Ruling in glory with the Father and the Spirit, One God in three persons, Infinite power, […]