Book Review: Ann Judson: A Life of Self-Denial

Chapel Library’s booklet, Ann Judson: A Life of Self-Denial is the perfect length. It gives just enough information to make someone interested in reading a larger work about this dear saint, yet also gain an appreciation for Ann and learn from her life without a large investment.

Earthly Weeds, Heavenly Grass, & Scorched Earth

The picture showcased on this blog is my front yard. It was “scorched,” not by typical Texas heat, but from freezing temperatures we recently experienced. One thing I noticed was that cold weather produced the same visual results that scorching heat does. This made me think of how God operates in our trials and afflictions. … Read more

The Enemy of Your Enemy May Not Be Your Friend

There’s a pretty well-known quote that goes like this: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The idea is simple enough: if you have an enemy, someone else who is an enemy of that person is someone with whom you now have something in common. And he may even be a person whom it would … Read more

The Fleeting Glory of Man

Bo Knows Due to the popularity of American football and baseball in the good ole USA, there is effectively no argument among gen-Xers that Bo Jackson was the greatest athlete to ever live. If you grew in the 80s and 90s, you saw his legendary feats. I say legendary because the things Bo Jackson did truly … Read more

Psalm 96:10-13 God Will Judge!

Do you know that feeling when you start to tell someone about the Lord and you realize they do not already know Him? Do you get a pit in your stomach sometimes—a warning not to go there? Our natural response to difficulty is sometimes “flight.” Telling your neighbor that God will not only judge him or her but that God is right to do so can be frightening! It is no wonder we fail so many times in our evangelism—it is truly counter to our flesh’s desires for comfort!

Psalm 96:10 Jesus Reigns!

Jesus Reigns! Psalm 96 is like a lot of passages of the Bible—this chapter isn’t simply written about a single topic. Psalm 96 references our need to sing to the Lord Jesus Christ (Psalm 96:1-2), evangelize the nations (Psalm 96:2-3), fear the Lord (Psalm 96:4), recognize Him as Creator and everything else as an idol … Read more

Psalm 96:6-9 The Beauty of Christ

Splendor and Majesty The word splendor conjures the idea of beauty and of grandeur. Our God isn’t only comely; He is altogether lovely (Song of Solomon 5:16). In his Treasury of David, Spurgeon wrote regarding the honour and majesty of Yahweh: Men can but mimic these things; their pompous pageants are but the pretence of greatness. Honour and … Read more

The Shame of Idols

Last week, I covered Psalm 96:5 and the idea that the idols of our world are worthless. Brother Luke Walker (I’ve reviewed his books here) has splendidly communicated more fully what we need to understand concerning our use of the world’s goods in his post, A good kind of shame. Here is his post in its entirety. I … Read more

Psalm 96:3-5 Worthless Idols

Declare For those of you who know me, Psalm 96:3 is an obvious verse that I would find refreshing. I am an evangelist and preacher and declaring Christ to the nations has been my endeavor for more than a decade. The theme of Psalm 96 is that God has done so much for the Israelites … Read more

Psalm 96: Introduction

Psalm 96 is a wonderful song written by David as part of a larger song of thanks which is introduced to us in 1 Chronicles 16. I was scheduled to preach a topical sermon at the 2020 Psalms & Worship conference in Canton, OH on the topic of “Worship in Evangelism,” and I thought Psalm … Read more

The Preaching Killdeer

Growing up in rural Arkansas I had many opportunities to walk the woods with my grandfather learning about various aspects of nature, including birds. One of the most interesting birds I can remember is the Charadrius vociferous, or, you probably know it as the Killdeer. Or maybe, you’ve never heard of the Killdeer. That’s okay, … Read more