Every Christian is a priest. Not in a metaphorical sense — in the direct biblical sense of I Peter 2:5 and 2:9. The structure of the Levitical priesthood (one High Priest, many secondary priests, qualifications, duties, sacrifices, altar) is replicated exactly in the Christian age: Christ…
A good sermon may be poorly delivered; a weak sermon may be skillfully delivered. The delivery is not the sermon — but it is the instrument through which the sermon reaches the hearer, and an instrument poorly played loses the music. The preacher who has prepared…
The Bible is a divine-human book: human language carrying divine content, the will of God expressed through the words of human writers who were divinely guided in speaking only the truth. The inspiration of Scripture did not make truth truer; it ensured that what was recorded…
Nothing can hurt us if we receive it as God teaches. No one can do us real harm if we remain faithful to God. The six categories of life experience that most commonly cause damage — temptation, sickness, pleasure, sorrow, slander, and the general experiences of…
A Christian is not forbidden recreation, but he is governed in it; the same Lord who owns his worship owns his leisure, and every amusement must be measured by whether it can be carried on to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). Few questions reach…
Giving is a grace — not a tax, not a formality, not a matter of convenience. It is a spiritual discipline tied to the sowing-and-reaping law, offered to a God who responds to liberality, and ultimately inseparable from the unspeakable gift of Christ. There is a…
Human judgment is persistently wrong when it operates from outward appearance alone — and six biblical cases demonstrate the pattern. God alone judges from the inside. Man’s judgment is often wrong. The instinct to assess a person, a situation, or a claim at a glance is…
The marriage of one man to one woman is not incidental imagery — it is the relationship God uses to describe the bond between Christ and his church. One Christ; one church. Any affection given to a substitute institution is spiritual adultery. Paul’s instruction in Ephesians…
The sermon frames itself as a solution to the fundamental problem: What is the right way to live? Not in the sense of technique or discipline, but in the sense of ultimate orientation. Every person who does not live the Christ life is living a life…
The Bible is the source of all fundamental sermon material. Everything a preacher needs to address the human condition is present in the revealed facts about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the church, sin, and promised blessing. Secondary material — illustrations from experience — supplements but…