“Young men, do not be too confident in your own judgment. Stop being so sure that you are always right, and others wrong. Don’t trust your own opinion, when you find it contrary to that of older men, and especially to that of your own parents. Age gives experience, and therefore deserves respect.”

2. Love of Pleasure

“Youth is the time when our passions are strongest—and like unruly children, cry most loudly for indulgence. Youth is the time when we have generally our most health and strength: death seems far away, and to enjoy ourselves in this life seems to be everything… ‘I serve lusts and pleasures’, that is the true answer many a young man should give, if asked, ‘Whose servant are you?’”

3. Thoughtlessness

“Not thinking is one simple reason why thousands of souls are thrown away forever into the Lake of Fire. Men will not consider, will not look ahead, will not look around them, will not reflect on the end of their present course, and the sure consequences of their present days, and wake up to find they are damned for a lack of thinking. Young men, none are in more danger of this than yourselves. You know little of the perils around you, and so you are careless how you walk. You hate the trouble of serious, quiet thinking, and so you make wrong decisions and bring upon yourselves much sorrow.”

4. Contempt of Religion

“This also is one of your special dangers. I always observe that none pay so little outward respect to Christianity as young men. None take so little part in our services, when they are present at them—use Bibles so little—sing so little—listen to preaching so little. None are so generally absent at prayer meetings, Bible Studies, and all other weekday helps to the soul. Young men seem to think they do not need these things—they may be good for women and old men, but not for them. They appear ashamed of seeming to care about their souls: one would almost fancy they considered it a disgrace to go to heaven at all.”

5. Fear of Man’s Opinion

“It is terrible to observe the power which the fear of man has over most minds, and especially over the minds of the young. Few seem to have any opinions of their own, or to think for themselves. Like dead fish, they go with the stream and tide. What others think is right, they think is right; and what others call wrong, they call wrong too. There are not many original thinkers in the world. Most men are like sheep, they follow a leader. If it was the fashion of the day to be Roman Catholics, they would be Roman Catholics, if it was to be Islamic, they would be Islamic. They dread the idea of going against the current of the times. In a word, the opinion of the day becomes their religion, their creed, their Bible, and their God.”

~ J.C. Ryle

HT: JC Ryle Quotes

The Gospel tastes best to those who lie in the straits of death or whom an evil conscience oppresses; for in that case “hunger is a good cook” as we say, one who makes the food taste good. For when they feel their misery, the heart and conscience can hear nothing more soothing than the Gospel; for this they long, on this they are eager to feed, nor can they get too much of it. So Mary speaks in the Magnificat: “He hath filled the hungry with good things” (Luke 1:53).

But that hardened class who live in their own holiness, build on their own works, and feel not their sin and misery, do not taste this food. Whoever sits at a table and is hungry relishes all; however, he who is sated relishes nothing but is filled with loathing at the most excellent food. (Martin Luther, 1522, Exposition of 1Peter 2:2-3 in What Luther Said, 563)

“There are so many things that your marriage can survive. You marriage can survive miscommunication. Your marriage can survive busy schedules. Your marriage can overcome conflict with your in-laws. Your marriage can get through sexual brokenness and unforgiveness. But, there are two words that will eventually bring an end to your marriage…if not legally then definitely emotionally.

The two words are…

…IF ONLY…
If only my wife had sex with me more often
If only my husband looked at me like my boss does
If only we had kids
If only we made more money
If only we lived in a bigger house
If only we would have dated longer
If only she took care of herself like the lady at the gym
If only my high school boyfriend and I would have stayed together
If only we hadn’t had kids so young
If only she understood me
If only he listened to me
If only I knew we were soul mates
If only she cooked more or better
If only he could do things around the house

If only causes you to focus on what isn’t rather than on what is. If only allows your mind to fantasize about someone that isn’t your spouse. If only believes the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. If only paralyzes us in the pursuit of our spouse and convinces us that a perfect marriage is competently up to the other person. If only will slowly destroy intimacy and leave you in a place of resentment. If only will trick you into believing that the best days of your marriage are behind you and and not ahead of you.

The best thing you can do for your marriage today is remove “if only” from your mind and heart.

You can’t change the past, but you can prevent the past from destroying your future.”

“The church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.” (CS Lewis, Mere Christianity)

He calls fathers and husbands to:

1. A Servant Heart

2. A Tone-Setting Attitude

3. An Awareness of Indwelling Sin

4. Studying Your Family

5. Skillful Surprises

6. Intentionally Together

7. Gratefulness to God

Read the whole thing HERE.

GB

Triumphant Lord Jesus, on this Memorial Day we honor the men and women who’ve served our country in various branches of the armed forces. In a world filled with “wars and rumors of war,” we don’t take our servicemen and servicewomen for granted. There’s has increasingly become a thankless, even despised calling. We remember those who have lost their lives; those currently serving, at home and abroad; and the families of our servicemen, who pay an enormous sacrifice.

But on this particular Memorial Day, we want to honor you, Lord Jesus, as the ultimate servant-warrior—the quintessential man of service, the one who on the cross waged the war to end all wars. No one hates warfare among vying nations more than you. No one is more offended even by the petty and pointless squabbles between spouses and friends (James 4:1-2). No one paid a greater price to bring the final and full peace for which we intensely long and hope.

Having secured the defeat of the prince of darkness on the cross, you’re now the rider on the white horse—alone worthy of the name Faithful and True. You are faithful to fulfill every promise God made for the salvation of his people and the restoration of creation. You are presently, actively completing this good work of redemption, for your name is also the Word of God. We praise you. We bless you. We worship and adore you, Lord Jesus!

Though evil hates beauty, your love trumps all evil. Evil will not prevail. It has been defeated and it will be eradicated. You are already the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Your kingdom has come and your kingdom is coming. Consummate peace will replace all petulance and pettiness, hating and being hated, fuming and fighting, of every variety and expression. Hallelujah, several times over! So very Amen we pray, in the memory and victory of your matchless name.

HT: Scotty Smith

Is Your God Like A Stepford Wife?

John Piper Passes The Baton 

Shame Interrupted 

Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?

GB

I am a preacher. I preach every week. I am always thinking about a sermon, writing a sermon, preaching a sermon, or looking back over a sermon I just finished. It is what I do. I have no desire to do anything else. I’d like to maybe write one day or teach in a seminary infrequently, but my plan is to have the pulpit taken from my cold dead hands before I do anything else! I realized several years ago that if I were going to do this for the rest of my life that I needed a plan, something that would guide me every week as I prepare and preach from the Scriptures to God’s people. So whether it appears this way to my hearers or not, I do in fact have a plan, an aim, for my sermons. Here it is.

Text, Text, Text

I want the text to drive everything that I say. I want my outline, my central theme, and my overall message to be driven by the text. This should come as a no-brainer, but there are too many churches where this is not the case. Without the text I have nothing to say, nothing I want to say. I want to know what God has said and then move into what it means for us today. Do I perfectly understand and interpret what God has said in a particular passage every time? Probably not. But the Word of God is too rich and too vast and too deep for me to start anywhere else.

To The Point Introduction

Probably one of the weaker areas of my preaching, at least I’ve been told, is my introduction. To be honest, I don’t like them! I am ready to get to the point when I enter the pulpit. But I also know that my hearers have not been grappling with the text all week the way I have, so I have to be careful here. I want my introductions to get better, but my overall plan with them is to introduce the main theme of the sermon. I want to tell people where we are going, why we are going there, and then go there. I am not big on long, colorful, and detailed introductions. But I do want them to be done well.

Memorably Forgettable Outline

My outlines are pretty simple. I want it that way. Early in my ministry I would literally spend hours on the outline! I wanted each main word of the point to illiterate (you know all R’s) with the other main words in the other points. I wanted the sentences to be pithy and insightful. But looking back, I am not sure why. My sermons often felt boney and mechanical. Now I just want them to be present, but not in the way. I want them to function like lines on a road and simply guide the sermon. Those who hear me know I mostly use questions: why, how, what, when, etc. This helps with my preparation and enables me to simplify the passage for those listening (and me!).

Central Shaft

Whether a sermon has 20 points or 3, there should be one main theme, one central shaft that the entire sermon revolves around. Last Sunday my central shaft was: Fear the Lord. I had three main points, but they each supported this central theme. Some texts and sermons are harder to pin down than others, but I always try to get one main theme running through the message.

Believers and Non-Believers

I want to address Christians and non-Christians in a sermon. This looks different every sermon, but I try not to assume that everyone hearing me is a Christian. I want to give our members a reason to bring non-Christian friends to church. I want to address some of the questions and concerns they might have about Christianity. I want them to feel like I have taken them into consideration when preparing the sermon. I want to think about how they might think toward difficult texts or hard issues in the Bible. This might mean I explain something further or defend a particular doctrine. Sometimes I will say, “Now if you’re new to church or you’re not a Christian, here are a few things to think about today.” My hope is to be clear about what the Bible says but also respect that some people are wrestling with matters of faith. I want to encourage them to continue to seeking out the truth of Christianity. If I expect non-Christians to attend our services and eventually become Christians, I have to speak to them in the message. Hopefully people who are “kicking the tires of Christianity” are helped and served through these attempts. Furthermore I hope to train our people to constantly keep in mind those who are far from God. Knowing when to do this in the sermon can be tricky, but I will take my chances.

In Your Kitchen

A convienent message helps no one. While my goal is never to be too hard on people, I do want to make sure the message gets beneath the surface and exposes the idols of their heart. I want to apply the text in as many ways as I can and provoke further thought throughout the week. I want to help people know why they should obey a particular text and why they disobey other texts. I want to get to the heart and not simply preach morals and good behavior.

Problem

In every sermon I attempt to identify a problem in the text. What I mean is that every text presents an issue that we cannot solve, apply, trust, enjoy, or resist without the grace of Christ. The Bible is not meant to be applied without the grace of God. I want to identify that problem to remind my listens that they cannot and should not attempt to apply the text without a deep love for God and a constant dependence on the grace He has provided in Christ.

Jesus The Hero

Related to the problem that the text creates, I want to lift up the life, death, and resurrection of Christ regardless of the text. I want to show how he fulfills the text and how he is the solution to the problem I’ve raised. I want to make Christ real in during the sermon. I want people to exult in what He has done, not just get more information about it. I want them to know the depths of God’s love in Christ. I want them to adore Christ on the spot. This way believers and non-believers hear the Gospel every week. Believers are strengthened and encouraged by seeing the work of Christ, and non-believers are exhorted to believe the Gospel. I don’t have to decide between an evangelistic sermon or an edifying sermon, the Gospel can do both in one sermon from the same text. The Gospel can be shown from multiple angles regardless of whether the text is a Psalm, a Proverb, or a New Testament epistle. I never want to jump to Christ too quickly, but unless I slowly work my way the Gospel I do not feel that I have preached an effective sermon.

Conclusion

My conclusions are usually brief. I try to go back over what I said, ask some probing questions, and then close with a quote or a brief story. Martyn Lloyd Jones said he would not cross the road to hear himself preach (he got this from Charles Spurgeon). I feel the same way about my preaching. However, I don’t have much time to worry about that because Sunday is coming!

If anyone reading this has some time to kill and would like to listen to my sermons you can find them here.

GB