Morality Preaching vs. Biblical Preaching
A message [sermon] that merely advocates morality and compassion remains sub-Christian even if the preacher can prove that the Bible demands such behaviors. By ignoring the sinfulness of humankind, which makes even our best works tainted before God (Isa. 64.6; Luke 17.10), and by neglecting the grace of God, which make obedience possible and acceptable (1 Cor. 15.10; Eph. 2.8-9), such messages necessarily subvert the Christian message. Christian preachers often do not recognize this counter-gospel impact of their preaching because they are simply recounting a behavior clearly specified in the portion of the text in front of them. But a message that even inadvertently teaches others that their works merit God’s acceptance inevitably leads people away from the Gospel. By themselves, moral axioms and advocacy of ethical conduct fall short of the requirements of biblical preaching.
Brian Chapell, Christ-centered Preaching (Grand Rapids; Baker Academic, 2005), 220.
I Can Do All Things
We Can’t Play Fast and Loose with the Gospel!
We cannot … play fast and loose with the Gospel. He who reads his Bible, he who lives by the Gospels and Epistles as his light and his guide, must find that the keystone of the arch is the atonement; must find it is finished, in the sense of the accomplishment of the sacrifice and the propitiation for sin, written everywhere upon every doctrine and every precept and every promise of the Gospel.
Charles John Vaughan, Words from the Cross.
A Sign of Blessing and an Opportunity for Growth
Opposition is not only evidence that God is blessing, but it is also an opportunity for us to grow.
INDESCRIBABLE!
No pen, no words, no image can express to you the loveliness of my only, only Lord Jesus.
Man’s Day and God’s Day
Man has a day now, which Paul calls ‘man’s day’ (1 Cor. 4.3 [margin]), in which he gets on his throne bench and usurps a judgment over Christ and His ways; but God has a day in which He will set everything straight, and His judgment shall stand. And the saints shall have their time, when they shall sit in judgment on those that judge them now (1 Cor. 6.2). Christ will rule in the midst of His enemies (Psa. 110.2), even in the midst of our hearts.
Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2011), 120.
The Most Joyous Event Ever
This resurrection of Christ is the most joyful event that ever came to pass.
HT: @OldGuyQuotes
We Come to Easter Morning with Joy and Gladness!
We come to Easter morning with joy and gladness, and with a great sense of triumph filling our hearts…. This morning in our hearts there is the assurance that winter is over and gone, and the time of the singing of birds is come. The storm has spent itself, the great Master Mariner is triumphant, and the Ark rides upon the waves of a sunlit sea. Egypt is behind, the exodus is accomplished. Death is abolished, life and incorporation are brought to light.
Power of the Cross
Life Is Worship 