Attractive Faith
"When everything is moving at once, nothing appears to be moving, as onboard ship. When everyone is moving towards depravity, no one seems to be moving, but if someone stops, he shows up the others who are rushing on by acting as a fixed point." – Blaise Bascal The...
Holiness, Mercy, Love
God is a being beyond whom no greater being can be conceived. Every one of His perfections is infinite and none of them will ever diminish. While we cannot fully know Him now, all that He wishes us to know about Himself has been graciously revealed through the...
Firm Faith
The world is convulsing. Just as COVID seemed to be waning, war breaks out. Another massive global disruption resulting in death and destruction. We lament with the psalmist: How long, O Lord, will the wicked triumph? But in our lament, we unwaveringly affirm: For I...
The Glory of Jesus
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Psalm 19:1. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14. The heavens exist to...
Manifesting Love
If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? Psalm 11:3. For more than two decades at Calvary we have taught that the needs of our cities create opportunities for the church. When peace and security go up in flames, there is a precious prospect for the...
A Christ-Centered Advent
Soon after Thanksgiving I make an annual pilgrimage to the crawl space in my basement to extract priceless containers of accumulated ornaments and strings of lights. The weather gave me no excuse to postpone the inevitable, so before I even had a turkey sandwich, I...
Approaching Thanksgiving
Two divorces. One untimely death. One kidney-cancer diagnosis. All in two weeks; all within my immediate circle of long-time friends. Beyond my own narrow experience, the world around us grapples with disease, division, distrust, disorientation, and outrage. It...
Today
Proverbs 27:1Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. Most of us are dreamers or planners. Always looking to the next big thing on our calendar, the next gathering for our family or an impending obligation in our work. Opportunities in...
Loving God and Loving Others
Sociological tensions about politics, world events, and the appropriate response to a pandemic have tested the patience of all mankind. Never perhaps more than right now. What a time to be the church! Cultural pressures give rise to the opportunity for the church to...
Goodness of God
Lucy and I sat together in church last Sunday. That is not necessarily an anomaly, but often when I’m preaching, I’m down in front, close to the stage. (Lucy prefers 10 rows back, where she alleges, she can see me better.) As we sang the words to “Goodness of God”, we...