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Encouraging the Church After the Violence in Washington DC

January 15, 2021 by Michael Coughlin

The following is what I told my church on January 10, 2021. Click here for the audio. Our commitment at CBC is verse by verse and expositional preaching. By exegeting scripture and applying its wisdom every week, we think the saints are most edified and prepared to live godly lives. We also recognize that there […]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Christian Life, grace, local church, love, Reformed Baptist Theology, scripture

An Empty Seat on Christmas

December 25, 2020 by Michael Coughlin

I want you to consider your Christmas activities. For some of you, Christmas is a day filled with presents and joy, worshipping God, and visiting with loved ones. Maybe you’ve saved for months to get your children that perfect gift. My wife is making me one of my favorite meals (lengua tacos) as a gift […]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Christian Life, church, love, mercy, Suffering, worship

Are You Reaching Out To Your Neighbors?

May 25, 2020 by Michael Coughlin

Last week, new neighbors moved into the house across the street from us. I wrote them a note and I thought other people may benefit from it. If you are not actively trying to reach your neighbors with the gospel, why not? What is holding you back? Here is the letter. Feel free to copy […]

Filed Under: Evangelism, Missions Tagged With: evangelism, gospel, love, Missions, Penal Substitutionary Atonement

Now It’s Personal

April 8, 2020 by Michael Coughlin

Most of the time I write, podcast, or otherwise post online, my posts are impersonal. I have a healthy fear of focusing too much on myself and so I choose to preach and teach theology without inserting my own life too much. Today, on the anniversary of a horrific memory of mine, I’m breaking that […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: death, love, suicide

A Word to the Hurting

March 27, 2020 by Michael Coughlin

2020 has been nothing short of perilous. Bloggers and preachers regularly employ hyperbole, but what we are seeing due to the coronavirus pandemic is unique. At the time of writing, I’m a 44-year-old man who was born and raised in the United States, and I can confidently say no one my age has ever seen […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, church, COVID-19, fear, God's love, love

Psalm 119:173-176 — Seek Your Servant Like a Lost Sheep

March 21, 2020 by Michael Coughlin

Jesus, the lamb of God, became sin for His people that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Jesus was the lamb who never strayed from the pasture, yet he took on the penalty deserved by foolish and rebellious sheep. Jesus is the lost sheep when he is suffering the penalty for our sins. Jesus is the one who cries to God to be sought after in this state. And Jesus is the one who never forgot God’s commands.

Filed Under: pSaturday Psalms, Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, Devotional, gospel, love, mercy, Psalm 119, Psalms, reformed baptist, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture

Psalm 119:169-172 — Eruption of Praise

February 8, 2020 by Michael Coughlin

Pray Like Jesus Psalms 119:169  Taw Let my cry come before you, O Yahweh; give me understanding according to your word! As we begin to close the longest chapter of the Bible, we might be tempted to think that God has already said everything that can be said. We must put away any thought that […]

Filed Under: pSaturday Psalms, Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, Devotional, gospel, love, mercy, Psalm 119, Psalms, reformed baptist, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture

By All Means, Mourn Kobe Bryant’s Death, But…

February 4, 2020 by Michael Coughlin

My social media feeds have run the gamut in relation to the responses to the death of Kobe Bryant and the responses to the responses to Kobe Bryant’s death.

On one hand, I read of folks using bereavement leave at work due to mourning the loss of their dearly beloved basketball star? On the other hand, I’ve seen folks deride those who are so affected by Kobe’s death, pointing out such things as “you don’t mourn the death of 3000 babies yesterday but you mourn the death of a basketball star?” or generally criticizing people for being so affected by the death of someone they didn’t know personally.

I will show you a still more excellent way.

Filed Under: Sports, Theology Tagged With: funeral, grief, Kobe Bryant, love, sports

Psalm 119:165-168 — Cause → Effect

February 1, 2020 by Michael Coughlin

It has been said that there are two religions in the world: the religion of grace and the religion of works. A distinguishing characteristic of the religion of works is that somehow the good deeds a man does are what pleases his deity. This is true whether that religion sees man as inherently good or as innately sinful. Since this is an affront to the gospel of grace, our Scriptures go to great lengths to destroy any hope men can have to save themselves by proclaiming the gospel of grace (Romans 3:24,25; Ephesians 2:8, 9). But wicked men will always twist good religion to their own ends and many a man has proclaimed the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ apart from works as a license to sin.

One of the ways God helps us to walk in his ways while we strive to imitate Christ is by granting us awareness of His immanence. Nothing can be hidden from the anthropomorphic eyes of God. For the heathen, this truth is blatantly denied as they fancy themselves into thinking they will escape judgment. It’s not always because men think they are good that they shall escape judgment, but sometimes it is that they think no one knows of their crimes. The child of God whose heart has been quickened earnestly desires obedience to God’s precepts and adherence to God’s testimonies, yet he or she still finds it difficult to obey. The spirit and flesh are opposed to each other and the battle rages, and sometimes the flesh wins.

Filed Under: pSaturday Psalms, Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, Devotional, gospel, love, mercy, Psalm 119, Psalms, reformed baptist, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture

Psalm 119:161-164— Do You Hate Falsehood?

January 25, 2020 by Michael Coughlin

Christianity is thought of by many as the “religion of niceness.” Whoever came up with that idea knows very little of the scripture. Yes, Christians are called to be kind and should be known by their kindness and meekness. But too often we mistake kindness for fake-virtues like “never disagreeing with anyone,” and “never hating anything or anyone.” But as David speaks here, so does the Christ, “I hate and abhor falsehood.” Jesus Christ is the Truth and falsehood is a lie. Thus it is fitting that we should hate the opposite (falsehood) of that which we love (Christ). God chooses more than one word here to denote His holy hatred for lying. God personally hates lying and morally detests it.

Filed Under: pSaturday Psalms, Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, Devotional, gospel, love, mercy, Psalm 119, Psalms, reformed baptist, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture

Psalm 119:157-160 — We Are In A Battle

January 18, 2020 by Michael Coughlin

We vomit spoiled food almost instantaneously, not because we think about it and decide we should expel it, but because our bodies are naturally designed to protect us. We have a *”gag reflex” for a reason, and it prevents things from getting deep inside us before we have time to realize all the effects. Similarly, our Christian conscience and convictions, bathed in the Word and Law of God, are capable of causing a natural aversion to sin and evil before we’ve even had time to consider it. We are disgusted by the ideas of lying, stealing, vandalism, gossip, slander, sexual immorality, rape, orgies, homosexual acts and desires, drunkness, hypocrisy, envy, sorcery, and faithlessness. A Christian who is growing in holiness and separation from worldly lusts will find themselves more quickly disgusted when they encounter rampant wickedness and filth as they walk their path in this world (James 1:21).

Filed Under: pSaturday Psalms, Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, Devotional, gospel, love, mercy, Psalm 119, Psalms, reformed baptist, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture

Psalm 119:153-156— Christ Alone Delivers

January 11, 2020 by Michael Coughlin

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the entire Bible. It’s longer than several entire books. I imagine that due to our propensity to read to the end of the chapter, a good number of people read Psalm 119 in one sitting when they get to it in their Bible reading plan. While there is […]

Filed Under: pSaturday Psalms, Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, Devotional, gospel, love, mercy, Psalm 119, Psalms, reformed baptist, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture

Psalm 119:149-152 — Be Comforted For God Is Near

December 28, 2019 by Michael Coughlin

It is easy to be anxious in this world. We are surrounded by difficulty even when we are not being chased down by evildoers. A Christian’s comfort must begin with God. And the only way we can find comfort is with a God who is near to us. Other religions brag of completely transcendent gods. Some religions have gods who are so much like us that it’s impossible to discern what makes them gods in the first place. But our God, the God of Heaven and Earth, is near to us. He is omnipresent so we always have access to Him through Jesus Christ who shed his blood for us then rose again and ascended into Heaven. There is no place we can go to avoid His presence (as if we’d want to!).

Filed Under: pSaturday Psalms, Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, Devotional, gospel, love, mercy, Psalm 119, Psalms, reformed baptist, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture

Psalm 119:145-148— Meditate on the PROMISE

December 21, 2019 by Michael Coughlin

The promise we have received is no different, but we have received more revelation. We meditate on the aspects of that promise which are already fulfilled: that Jesus Christ has come into the world. He was born of the virgin, conceived without the stain of sin by the Holy Spirit, and was perfectly righteous before the Father in every respect, although He was tempted by Satan (Hebrew 4:15). He was delivered to death and suffered the wrath of almighty God for sinners, (Isaiah 53:11), was buried, and on the third day rose from the grave (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). THIS is what we meditate upon, and all its implications: that we are wretched sinners, that Christ is a kind and gracious and all-sufficient savior, and that only by grace through faith can salvation be accomplished (among others)!

Filed Under: pSaturday Psalms, Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, Devotional, gospel, love, mercy, Psalm 119, Psalms, reformed baptist, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture

Abounding Love

December 18, 2019 by Michael Coughlin

The Apostle Paul told the Phillippians that his prayer for them was that their love would abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment. If the Lord inspired Paul to pray for these saints this way and record it for us, I think we ought to know what it means for our love to […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, conversion, Devotional, love, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture, worship

Psalm 119:141-144 — Assurance of Perseverance

December 7, 2019 by Michael Coughlin

First, we note the extent and duration of God’s righteousness. It is righteous forever. There is no other being of whom that can be said. God is eternal and unchanging. Thus, His righteousness is forever righteous. What a comfort to know that our God will not change and will forever be righteous. Secondly, we note the quality of God’s righteousness. His righteousness is righteous. While this seems obvious, it bears remarking that God describes our righteousness in very different terms. Isaiah 64:6 reminds us that “all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” God’s righteousness is contrasted with ours in that His righteousness is eternal and unblemished righteousness. There is no stain on God’s righteousness and it isn’t pushed about by winds of change. Praise Him!

Filed Under: pSaturday Psalms, Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, Devotional, gospel, love, mercy, Psalm 119, Psalms, reformed baptist, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture

Psalm 119:137-140 — Zeal + Ignorance = Worthless Religion

November 30, 2019 by Michael Coughlin

In Romans 10:2-4, Paul criticizes the Israelites for having a zeal for God but not according to knowledge. It is not that they didn’t know who God is or that they worshipped the wrong God. No, Paul’s admonition is that the Israelites knew God, but didn’t comprehend His righteousness. Thus, they didn’t submit to it, nor were they grasping their need for Christ’s righteousness to cover them. But the Israelites could not blame the psalmist. For centuries before the incarnation, Psalm 119 was telling the people of God’s righteousness and His faithful promise. Thus, the psalmist is consumed with his own zeal for God’s righteous testimonies. He is consumed with zeal for God’s faithful promise as a contrast to the ignorance of his enemies.

Filed Under: pSaturday Psalms, Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, Devotional, gospel, love, mercy, Psalm 119, Psalms, reformed baptist, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture

Psalm 119:133-136 — Does Your Love Bring You To Tears?

November 23, 2019 by Michael Coughlin

God justifies us by grace through faith alone, and that faith is followed by good works (Ephesians 2:10). God doesn’t just forgive sinners and leave them in their sin; He promises them help along the way (Proverbs 3:6). That is his promise to us. God provides us with new affections and desires. But in our unredeemed flesh, we still must wage war with sin. Confessing our weakness, we ought to pray with the psalmist “let no iniquity get dominion over me!” It is good and right to plan on not sinning, but we humbly request God to be the power that enables us to walk in newness of life. A healthy fear of the power of sin is essential to avoid it. It is those who think they stand who are in most danger of falling (1 Corinthians 10:12). Humbly acknowledge your need for His grace today.

Filed Under: pSaturday Psalms, Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, Devotional, gospel, love, mercy, Psalm 119, Psalms, reformed baptist, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture

Psalm 119:129-132 — Into The Light

November 16, 2019 by Michael Coughlin

God is glorified by His giving of more and more grace. It magnifies God’s benevolence and kindness in the eyes of creatures when He expresses pity on them and blesses them with still more grace. Oh, how many Christians will go to Heaven and only realize there that there was more grace available in this life had they only asked. God will never run out and you can never exhaust His grace! Too often we don’t ask for more grace because we don’t feel we deserve it.

We never deserve it. That’s why we call it grace. It is not earned. It’s granted by a good and merciful Savior.

Filed Under: pSaturday Psalms, Theology Tagged With: Christian Life, darkness, Devotional, gospel, light, love, mercy, Psalm 119, Psalms, reformed baptist, reformed theology, sanctification, scripture

Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge

November 13, 2019 by Allen Nelson IV

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” – Hosea 4:6 Knowledge is power, so they say. When it comes to knowing the character of God, the lack of knowledge is detrimental. Contextually, the weight of this verse lies on the spiritual leaders of God’s people. What an absolute travesty that God’s own people would […]

Filed Under: Theology Tagged With: Allen Nelson IV, Christ, God, Hosea, knowledge, love, meditation, Saul, scripture, Things Above Us

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