Preparing for the Lord's Day Over the past several years I have noticed that a member of our family has not been coming to family events. His wife comes with their child, but he is predictably absent each time. When we visit them at their home, he is cordial, personable, and warm. However, when the family is together as a group, he is never present. Recently I asked his w...

Preparing for the Lord's Day As we have continued our study of Galatians, we have continually seen Paul's defense of justification by faith apart from works of the law. He has defended the gospel from the assault of those who would have the Galatians keep the law's command of circumcision. Paul's argument seems to imply that the law is contrary to the gospel. As such one ...

Preparing for the Lord's Day This past week I found myself staying awake quite a bit later than normal to watch the NCAA tournament. I love to watch an underdog beat out a higher-ranked team. There is nothing as exciting as a game that comes down to the final seconds. Even those who only have a casual interest in college basketball can get hooked into watching with antici...

Preparing for the Lord's Day Have you ever known someone who was hoping for an inheritance but when the time came realized they had received nothing? Maybe it was someone who failed to save for retirement believing that their rich uncle would provide all that they needed, only to find out that he was not as rich as they believed. Maybe it was a friend who cared for their ...

Preparing for the Lord's Day Paul tells us that he was punished five times by the Jews for preaching the gospel, and each time he received forty lashes minus one for his crime (2 Corinthians 11:24). Tradition holds that when a prisoner was being whipped, he was required to read out the twelve curses of breaking God's law recorded in Deuteronomy 27. This reading acted as a...

Preparing for the Lord's Day How do you know that you are a true member of the family? Growing up with two adopted brothers meant that I was faced with the meaning of belonging to a family. There was a time when my brothers were not members of our family. They were born with different parents. They lived in a different house. However, by God's providence, these two boys w...

Preparing for the Lord's Day In Galatians chapter three Paul begins by asking the Galatians, "Who has bewitched you?" Paul has spent the first two chapters defending his Apostleship against the attacks of the false teachers but now in chapter three, he turns his attention to defending the theological foundation of the gospel. He had preached the pure gospel of faith in Je...

Preparing for the Lord's Day God has designed human beings as aiming creatures. Aim is built into our physical and spiritual framework. The Lord has given us eyes that are designed to look forward and focus on a target. He has given us minds that can imagine a future target and aim our actions toward achieving that goal. As a result of this design, we are enthralled by su...

Preparing for the Lord's Day Many of you might be familiar with Evangelism Explosion (E.E.). It is an evangelism program that was developed by Presbyterian Minister D. James Kennedy. This program utilized two diagnostic questions that help Christians begin an evangelistic conversation with a nonbeliever. "Have you come to the place in your life where you know that if you...

Preparing for the Lord's Day This past summer Ronnie Long was released from prison after the state of North Carolina vacated his convictions. In 1976 Long was found guilty of a crime that he did not commit. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison and remained there for the past 44 years. He maintained his innocence, but it was not until this summer that he was found to be ...