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  One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple (Psalm 27:4).

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I Kings 21; Ecclesiastes 7:15-8:1
Behold the king! His en’vous eyes devour
Neighbor’s flowing vineyard till sleep is slain.
Barking queen’s dolts plot doom through dark glower;
Hurl rocks til righteous Naboth feels no pain.
Stumbling headlong into deep upon deep,
Fumbling in a dark cave, I sought to know
Why fate causes good men fals’ly to reap
A hard harvest they [...]

Don’t worry, be happy! I like it when Groothius gets a burr under his saddle, and this is a burr that is always under his saddle.
Your local church. How do I love thee, let me count the ways….ok, quick…list ten reasons why you love your local church…five?…three?  I feel like Abraham pleading for [...]

As we continue our discussion of the diversified unity that God intends for His church, it might be helpful to hear recent and historic voices on this important truth. As someone has said, God intends the church to be more like a patchwork quilt, than a store-bought blanket. Restoring unity to diversity (and unity in [...]

How should we handle differences within the Body of Christ? Obviously some differences (in areas of doctrine) are not allowed (e.g., Paul clearly does not permit another gospel to be taught in the Galatian churches). But what about areas where differences arise from differences of interpretation? That’s exactly what Paul was facing when he [...]

An article in the current edition of Modern Reformation, “Preaching to the Post/Modern Choir” by Shane Lems addresses obtusely a concept I have come to embrace philosophically, but still struggle to practice–that the genre of the text may (should?) impact the form of the sermon. To be fair, this is not precisely what [...]

Several years ago, I heard a sermon by John Piper in which he described how he prays before reading the Scriptures each day. He uses four verses as four parts of his prayer asking God to guide his time in the Word. Since the first letter of each verse forms an acronym (“IOUS“), it was [...]

Trying to get caught up with all kinds of reading from the weekend….
R. C. Sproul, on the other side of the microphone for a change, interviews Ben Stein regarding his new movie, “Expelled.” The flick is about the mindset of modern academicians steeped in darwinian evolution and militantly opposed to intelligent design.
The life of [...]

God requires holiness. I require grace. That requires humility.
James 4:5-6 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” [...]

Luke 24:13-35
Jerusalem behind, dark road before,
With only words to soothe the searing pain.
Imagined reign once craved shall be no more;
This trek a journey back to the mundane.
Wordy women, angel visions, empty
Tomb site, missing body, these signs all fail
To pierce bantered murky verbiage; see–
Sadly downcast eyes, hear–sighing exhale.
But from behind a voice cries out, “Shalom!”
Stern rebuke, [...]

Luke 23.44-46
Behind the heavy curtain was the room
Where none except the designated priest
Dared go—and then but yearly, on the Feast.
Death threatened all who brashly might presume,
With warm lamb’s blood, drawn from mortal wound.
Unwilling victim dead, the holy priest
Sought on behalf of sinners full release
Before the Presence shrouded in the gloom.
Outside, the willing Victim calling [...]

John 19.30
The Triune God, in all-wise counsel, knows
The deathly choice will damn the rebel brood.
Unable to ignore, unwilling to
Destroy, he plots a pardon for his foes.
Degenerating in the troubled flows
Of time’s relentless tide, the rebels’ mood
Fails to discern this plan both wise and good:
The Son will don the race to take its blows.
His humble [...]

John 19.28f.
‘If any man is thirsty, let him comeTo me and drink’—this drink that can’t be soldOr bought, thirst-quenching nectar, spirit gold,This fountain out of heaven, giv’n, not won.Beyond all praise, beyond all princely sum,The heav’nly draught bestows a wealth untold,The life of God. The thirsty may be boldTo claim the gift held out [...]

Inspired by Carson’s work, I offer this sonnet from last week’s sermon text, Mark 11. Mark carefully folds the story of the cursed fig tree between Christ’s initial survey trip to Jerusalem and the Temple cleansing work wrought the following day. The one a beautiful illustration of the other.
The Fruitless Fig
Passing Bethphage the [...]

Matthew 27:45-46
The darkness fought, compelled the sun to flee,
And like a conqu’ring army swiftly trod
Across the land, blind fear this despot’s rod.
The noon-day dark illumined tyranny.
Still worse, abandonment by Deity
Brought black despair more deadly than the blood
That ran off with his life. ‘My God, my God’,
Cried Jesus, ‘why have you forsaken me?’
The silence thundered. Heaven’s [...]

Let Judas shake you. A thoughtful insight by John Piper to his daughter while thinking on the events of Christ’s last week.
Ben Witherington with advice on how to observe carefully the events of the week–a slower pace; an empty stomach.
Tabletalk is now making their monthly columns available online. I call TT “The Daily [...]

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