“…whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” + Matthew 5v22b As a kid this verse terrified me. I thought that if I simply called someone a “fool” then I would go to hell. My paranoia over this verse haunted my mind every hour of the day that simply by thinking […]
hope
J.C. Ryle on Days of Darkness
In the classic work “Holiness” by J.C. Ryle, there is a chapter entitled “Growth in Grace” in which he talks about Hebrews 12v11 which says, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Commenting on this […]
Living by Faith in God’s Promises
This post is based on Genesis 24v1-28 and is best understood after reading said passage. Scripture has a certain unique quality to it – a strangeness rather – that has a way, or the ability to pull us into itself. We step into it, and it gets bigger. Then it beckons us take another step, and it widens. […]
The Inevitability of Death and the Christian Hope Therein Springing Forth from Genesis 23 Concerning Sarah’s Death and Burial
This post is based on Genesis 23 thus making it best understood after reading that passage. As human beings, our mortality is an inescapable reality of our existence. Death is something that surrounds us, our entire lives. Everyday thousands of people around the world are born, and thousands of people die. The indiscriminate reality of […]
Two Reasons for Congregational Singing
One of my favorite things about my church is our congregational singing. It does me good to hear and participate in worship with people who sing the gospel from their bellies. We may not have hundreds of voices but we’ve got some good ones and loud ones. The most important aspects of church music is […]