The Power of Grace – E. Stanley Jones

"Grace binds you with far stronger cords than the cords of duty or obligation can bind you. Grace is free, but when once you take it, you are bound forever to the Giver and bound to catch the spirit of the Giver. Like produces like. Grace makes you gracious, the Giver makes you give." — … Continue reading The Power of Grace – E. Stanley Jones

Charles Simeon, John Wesley and the Doctrines of Grace

I came across this piece while reading an old sermon on Romans 8. Here's Charles Simeon’s record of a conversation he had with John Wesley: "‘Sir, I understand that you are called an Arminian; and I have sometimes been called a Calvinist; and therefore I suppose we are to draw daggers. But before I consent … Continue reading Charles Simeon, John Wesley and the Doctrines of Grace

The Grace Adventure – Rose Marie Miller

This week I have been listening to an old cassette tape of Rose Marie Miller's testimony of how she came to experience the liberating power of gospel grace in mid-life as a PCA pastor's wife. She urges her listeners to take what she calls the grace adventure. The purpose of this adventure is to show … Continue reading The Grace Adventure – Rose Marie Miller

Acts 14 – The Habits of the Heart of Gospel People

Devotional Guide - Habits of the Heart of Gospel People The church is called to teach people how to talk, how to act, how to fight, how to love, how to see the world in a peculiar way - a Christlike way. “The role of the church is to cultivate a people who can risk … Continue reading Acts 14 – The Habits of the Heart of Gospel People

Personal Worship Guide – When God’s Word Pours Down Like Rain

Personal Worship Guide - When God's Word Pours Down Like Rain God’s Word is like the rain. It fulfills God’s purpose of causing life to flourish. It comes from beyond us. We can’t control it. We only receive it… much like this invitation to feast at God’s banquet of grace. Isaiah 55:1-13 reminds us that … Continue reading Personal Worship Guide – When God’s Word Pours Down Like Rain

Fearless and Singing

Now suppose both death and hell were utterly defeated. Suppose the fight was fixed. Suppose God took you on a crystal ball trip into your future and you saw with indubitable certainty that despite everything - your sin, your smallness, your stupidity -- you could have free for the asking... your whole crazy heart’s deepest … Continue reading Fearless and Singing

The Great Hindrance to Friendship with God – Gleanings from James 4:1-10

I am preaching through a series entitled: 2:42 - Routine Investments in Redemptive Friendships. This coming Sunday we will address "The Great Hindrance to Friendship with God." Below are some gleanings and insights put together by our pastoral intern from Covenant Seminary, Nathan Lucy. They were very helpful to me personally and I commend them … Continue reading The Great Hindrance to Friendship with God – Gleanings from James 4:1-10

Sepulchers of Shame or Sanctuaries of Grace?

If you are a church-goer, for much of your life you have come to church and been slain with guilt.  Churches can so quickly become sepulchers of shame, blame-shifting, and hostility rather than sanctuaries of grace. The Catholic apologist and contemporary of C.S. Lewis, Dorothy Sayers’ writes about the oft-embraced view that the church has … Continue reading Sepulchers of Shame or Sanctuaries of Grace?