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Israel Is My Firstborn Son
21 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is…
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An Open Letter To The Married
Dear Groom and Bride, I write not only to say congratulations but also to share some wisdom accumulated in my own 21 years of marriage. I never understood divorce and its real possibility in any marriage until I got married myself. To be so “in love” with “the one,” it was as if in my…
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Baptism and the Table
“Baptism and the Lord’s supper are two of the greatest blessings that God has given to the church.” I have heard that exact statement multiple times in my life. I know the men who said those words believe them to be true, but while growing up in the church I lived in a type of…
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Necessities of Worship
Christians are commanded to worship. But what does that mean? People are, in a general way, worshippers, but not all worship is pleasing to God. God is not pleased by any and all worship for much worship is an expression of idolatry. Is the worship that flows from the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City…
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My Only Hope in Life and in Death
“What is your only hope in life and in death?” I will never forget the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism. This question, which is beautifully answered in the Catechism, birthed forth worship in my soul like few other things have. This is not because there is anything supernatural about the question, but because the…
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Examination of a Shadow: Adoption
My favorite part of the Christian life is examining the shadows. Normally this means examining the scriptures, especially the Old Testament, and seeing the sweet outlines of Christ throughout each and every story. God has used these shadows in my life to grow me in my understanding of the gospel and my love for Jesus.…
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Learning in Absence
My life has been built around the Lord’s day for as long as I’ve been alive. It was and is the constant in my life. Monday through Saturday is subject to variation of change but Sundays were always astonishingly consistent. I have known the value of Lord’s day worship for as long as I’ve been…
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COVID-19 and Our Manner of Life
A Pastoral Plea Anyone who knows me knows I don’t do announcements well. The previous section was to give information that the elders feel is necessary for the saints at Mercy Hill, but I do want to make a quick plea. Philippians 4:4-7 says, 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let…
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Death and Its Hope
I have had death look me in the face three times. The first was on a beach in the Bahamas as a ten-foot Lemon shark swam up to me with an open mouth (I am alive today only because my Dad was somehow able to throw me onto shore from a distance that, I am…
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Sola Fide
Sola gratia goes hand in hand with Sola fide. These two doctrines are often combined with Solus Christus and Soli Deo Gloria in one sentence to articulate the formula for the protestant view of salvation. The phrase goes like this, “We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory…
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