Tag: Heidelberg Catechism
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“When You Pray…”
Most evangelicals shun formal prayers like the Lord’s Prayer or the Psalms, thinking that spontaneous, led-by-the-Spirit prayers are more acceptable to God. But often, pastors end up with babbling, mindless prayers, often mumbling repetitiously because they do not know what to say. What can be more beneficial than a prayer composed beforehand, filled with Scripture…
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Sermon Series on Prayer
Today (February 10, 2013), we come to the last portion of the third part of the Heidelberg Catechism, which is about sanctification or living as citizens of God’s kingdom. The first part of sanctification is the explanation of the moral law, the Ten Commandments. The second part is about prayer, which we begin today.
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The Third Commandment: “I AM is My Name Forever”
How about calling believers or the church “Jesus Freaks,†“The Revolution,†“Elevation,†“Resurgence†or “The Carpenter’s Shed.†An emergent church is called “The Scum of the Earth Church,†with a newsletter called “Rubbish.†Its pastor says he works for this church because he was “hoodwinked by the Holy Spirit†and wrote a book called Pure…
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The Second Commandment: Fire from the LORD!
We see this pattern of worship throughout the Old Testament: the people offer their sacrifices for sin, God sends fire from heaven, and the people worship with joy and reverence.
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The Benefits of True Repentance: Transformation by the Spirit
Being “led†by the Spirit does not only mean being “guided†by the Spirit, but that the Spirit is actually leading the Christian to put to death his sinful passions and desires. The Spirit obligates and compels the Christian to holiness. When the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan, the…
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A Redeemed Life is a Separated Life
God’s people are holy not only because of their godliness and righteousness, but also because they are separated and distinguished from unbelievers in their doctrine, worship and life.
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Why Does Your Church Have Confession, Absolution, and Communion?
Roman Catholic stuff? For evangelicals, these three words conjure up a nightmare of a confessional, adoration of the host, and other forms of Roman Catholic sacerdotalism. James asked me about these things…
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Reformed: More Than the 5 Points of Jesus and the Apostles
So many people have weighed in the issue of what is Reformed Christianity, or what’s a Reformed church, or who’s Reformed. About four years ago, John MacArthur delivered a scathing attack on Reformed amillennialism entitled, “Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Premillennialist.” Worse, his rant was a bad misrepresentation of amillennialism in a conference where…
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True Comfort for God’s People (Isaiah 40:1-5)
Jerusalem’s destruction and her seventy years of captivity are fitting judgment for a rebellious people, but they are not sufficient to pay for her sins. Rather, the message of comfort for Israel is grounded upon the Lord’s Servant who must come to their rescue.