The sluggard’s Instagram is unforgettable. If you have followed him in the Scriptures, you readily picture this creature sticking his hand in the bowl of Cheetos, unwilling to lift it back up to his mouth (Proverbs 19:24). We picture the man marooned on his bed, energetically telling about all the lions that prowl the streets…
Category: Health
Five Ways to Find Wisdom
Audio Transcript Wisdom is so vital to our lives, as we saw on Monday, looking at stimulants like caffeine, sugar, nicotine, amphetamines, and cannabis and THC (for some). It’s a complex world, and it’s getting more complex by the day. And it’s a world we must navigate with wisdom. For guidance, Psalm 19:7 is one…
He Drew Me Through Agony: My Painful Path to Faith
Midway through my surgical training, the suffering I witnessed on a single night in the ER pitched my faith into turmoil. I was a nominal Christian, with an understanding of God grounded in sentimentality rather than biblical truth. When paramedics rushed three dying young men through the sliding doors of my emergency department, my meager…
Attention, Affection, Authority: Primer for Parenting Young Children
My wife, Julie, and I have been parents now for 43 years. During that time, God has graciously given us 6 children and 22 grandchildren, with more on the way (grandchildren, not children!). That’s a lot of parenting experience, even if many of our experiences only showed how confused we were at the time. When…
Nicotine, Amphetamines, and Holy Concentration
Audio Transcript New week, new day, new mercies. Welcome back to the podcast on this Monday. We are going to start the week talking about nicotine — pipe smoking, specifically. But I think this topic, and this question, is likely to open up a much broader conversation about other stimulants — caffeine, sugar, amphetamines, cannabis,…
Slow to Chide, Swift to Bless: Vision for Earthly Fathers
Slow to chide, and swift to bless. With such a memorable tribute to our heavenly Father, pastor and poet Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847) ends the second stanza of his hymn “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven.” Lyte was born to a derelict father, who sent him off to boarding school, nearly abandoned him, and…
It’s all about Saul.
It’s all about Saul. Posted by appolus on May 14, 2023 1Sa 20:31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. We see here a complicated truth. What Saul says to…
Wise Women Build Homes: Motherhood’s Lasting Influence
“Do you ever remember your mom helping you put your clothes on?” The question came from my wife, a mother of two young boys who have not yet mastered the art of getting dressed. I thumbed through the files of those early years and came up blank, the thousands of pant-pull-ups and shirt-put-ons lost to…
The Demons, the Fever, and the Word of the King
When we come to Luke 4:41, near the end of this message, we are going to see something that has a direct bearing on your life in 2023 and on how you relate to demons and fevers and death and sin and the sovereignty of Christ over all of it. I point this out now…
Love Your Children, Love God More: Lessons from Sarah Edwards
Sarah Edwards (1710–1758), wife of the great theologian and revival preacher Jonathan Edwards, is most often remembered for her lifelong devotion to God. She had experienced God’s grace even as a little girl. At age 16, she confided in her journal that she had been “led to prize nearness to Christ as the creature’s greatest…