I’m writing this as I’m meditating on the most beautiful moment in the history of the world. It is the moment when the risen Jesus says, “Mary.” Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows the names of his sheep. And Mary was a most earnest seeker of Jesus. She had a past to be ashamed of, baggage that would embarrass most of us, things we wouldn’t talk about in polite company.
Ran across this powerful quote by R. Kent Hughes on the incarnation:
As a real baby in the cradle he watched his tiny clenched fist in uncomprehending fascination, just like any other baby. He did not feign babyhood. He did not say to himself, “You all think I am a pre-articulate baby discovering I have a hand. Actually, I am God admiring my brilliant invention. I am your Creator, and I understand every word you are saying.” Not at all. He was not pretending. This was not a post-natal spoof. He was a baby!
Preaching the Word – Preaching the Word – Luke, Volume I: That You May Know the Truth.
The last three Decembers, I’ve preaching a series entitled The Characters of Christmas. I’m wrapping it up this year and hope to turn it into a special Christmas book to be released in 2012. I’d like to share with you one of my favorite messages in the series, a message, ironically, on the original villan of Christmas, Herod. I think it gives us a good overview of the plan of God and how it unfolded in the Bethlehem. I hope you enjoy:
One of my favorite contemporary commentators is Pastor Rod Mattoon. His works are featured in Wordsearch Bible Software. Also on his website: Treasures from the Word. He’s a Baptist preacher in Springfield, IL and his commentaries are among the most well-researched, thorough and organized. He’s also a fabulous writer. Here is a gem from his commentary on John 17. I’m quoting it on Sunday in my message:
Long before the first Adam failed in the Garden of Eden, the second Adam, Jesus, was preparing for the cross of Calvary. Before the stars sparkled like white diamonds against the black velvet of space, before the waves of the oceans licked the shores of sandy beaches, before the birds sang sweet melodies on any bush, before leaves offered their applause by rustling on the branches of majestic trees, Jesus was preparing to be our Savior.
From the infinity of history, He was telling us, “I love you.” When Jesus was suspended between Heaven and Hell on the cross, He was showing us His love for us.
From the sunrise of each new day His message continues to be, “I love you.” As He intercedes for us at the right hand of God the Father today and prepares a place for us, He is saying, “I love you.”
For those of us in Christ, when we show up for tomorrow, whether here or in Heaven, His love will be waiting for us and will continue forever like a mirror reflecting an image into another mirror. When He comes again and gives us a new, glorified body, an inheritance, and completes our salvation, He will say, “I told you I loved you.”
Jesus had you and me on His heart before we were ever born.
Mattoon’s Treasures – Mattoon’s Treasures – Treasures from John, Volume 2.
I just finished my third message in a four-part series on the life of Jonah. I can’t say how much this little book had “undone” me. It began by reading Suprised by Grace by Tullian Tchivigian. I thought that perhaps I’d preach this because it had a powerful message for the Church, which it does. But honestly I was a bit like Jonah, because I thought the bad guys were “out there” in Nineveh, needing to be crushed. How often do we pray, “God do a work in those people.”
But maybe God wants to do a work in . . . I don’t know . . . me, perhaps? So God reveals our stubborness, the areas where we go to Tarsus when HE wants us to go to Nineveh. And what I’m finding is that like Jonah, I think its all about me and my message and my reputation, etc. My ministry, we like to say.
God says, “Nah, not really. Watch this. I’ll take a washed up prophet with a five-word message and I’ll work revival in teh most evil country in the known world.”
What a book Jonah is. If you’re in Chicago area on Sunday. Stop by at 6pm at Gages Lake Bible Church. I will also post the message online here and at the church site soon.
I wanted to include the closing part of my message here:
Every day God asks us to face our Nineveh’s, those missions in life that we just don’t want to do. And I think, like Jonah, we don’t want to go, because of the greatness of the task. Nineveh was a giant task. Too big for us. But God says to go and He’ll do the reviving, we just be faithful.
I think of my Nineveh. Honestly, my Nineveh is fatherhood. IF there is one area of life that intimidates me by its bigness, its to be a good Dad. I feel comfortable leading a church and preaching. But doing the hard work of fathering is intimidating and I often want to shrink back. I’ll, like Jonah, go 1,000 miles the other way—work harder at what I’m comfortable with, then go 500 miles to Nineveh.
Maybe for you its obeying God’s call to purity as a young person. Or to love your wife or respect your husband. Or maybe its talking to that neighbor who seems so alienated from the gospel.
Like Jonah, I lack the faith to see that God can take me, broken and incompetent, and help me lead revival in my family. We don’t see the work God is doing in the Nineveh he is calling us to.
But every day God is ready to start anew with me and start anew with you. “The victorious Christian life,” said George H. Morrison, “is a series of new beginnings.
Maybe you’re marriage is your Nineveh. Maybe you’re parenting is your Nineveh. Maybe you’re relationships are your Nineveh.
Today, tomorrow, God wants you to get up and He’ll give you a second chance to do what you know you were supposed to do at the first: obey God’s Word.
I want to close by reading this out of the old set of commentaries, Handfuls on Purpose:
“It is easier doing great things for God than little things for the Devil. It was easier for Daniel to go to the lions’ den than deny his God. It was easier for our faithful Scottish martyrs to go to the fires than to deny the faith. But where did Jonah learn this obedience? He learned it where most of us have had to learn it—in the depths, when the floods compassed him about, when the waves and billows passed over him, and the weeds were wrapped about his head. We would not always pity the afflicted if we understood the purpose of God. May God plunge many more into the belly of Hell, if so be that it will bring them to repentance.
– Handfuls on Purpose.
Here is my latest sermon from our series through the Gospel of John. This is focused on John 15:1-11. This is a popular passage in the Church, but on that is often misunderstood and misapplied. But if we truly understand Jesus’ invitation to abide, we might understand His desire and purpose for the rest of our lives. Take a listen: The Relationship Matrix
I’ve been preaching through the gospel of John at Gages Lake Bible Church for two, going on three years. I’m on chapter fifteen at the moment. I’ve been blessed with some incredibly helpful resources for study. I’m a guy who likes to dive in and really soak up what the text is saying. I like to read a lot. A few people have asked me for some helpful resources on the Gospel of John, so here is my list. I don’t read every single one every single week. Some weeks I have to study more–because the text is more difficult. Other weeks I study less. Even on the so-called “easy texts,” those well-known ones, I really do quite a bit of study, because I believe God wants me and the congregation to learn new and fresh things about the old truths.
So, here is my list. Hope you find it helpful:
Commentaries:
James Mongtomery Boice’s five-volume set The Gospel of John. This is an awesome, thorough commentary. What I love about Boice is that he is a pastor at heart. He brings a depth and clarity and richness and practicality. He’s also very, very thorough, doesn’t skip anything. Some who are not of the Reformed persuasion might be scared off by the former pastor of Tenth Presbyterian in Philadelphia, but you needn’t be. Boice, in his commentary on John, is definitely Reformed, but is balanced. You will get much out of this.
Ray Stedman’s Sermons at raystedman.org. This is a free, treasure-trove of sermons. Not just on the Gospel of John, but on many books of the Bible. Great stuff, from one of the greatest expositors of the Word.
Warren Weirsbe’s Bible Exposition Commentary. One of my favorite pastors, authors, and commentators. I usually read Weirsbe first, just because he gives a really thorough overview of the text, he outlines well, and gives you a snapshot of every chapter, every book. Plus he’s rich with cross-references and language study.
Preaching the Word Commentary with R. Kent Hughes and others. This is a wonderful commentary. Dr. Hughes, now retired, was a fantastic preacher at College Church in Wheaton. I love his background information. He gives such cultural depth.
Bob Deffinbaugh’s That You Might Believe commentary series in John. You can buy the book or you can look them up at the Net Bible (netbible.org). I actually bought Bob’s book, because it was easier than having to search for his John stuff on netbible. Plus I like books. Bob is excellent. Lots of background and language stuff, also is able to see clearly what the purpose of the passage is.
Merril Tenney’s commentary on John. Merril is very succinct, not a lot of extra stuff, but good, original insights on language and culture and structure of the book.
I also regularly listen to these guy’s sermons:
Rich McCarrell, pastor of Byron Center Bible Church
Michael Easley, former President of Moody Bible Institute
I also read these regularly:
Bible Knowledge Commentary
Bible Background Commentary
Harry Ironside Commentary
John Butler’s Commentary
Rod Mattoon’s Commentary
King James Bible Commentary
ESV Study Bible
Ryrie Study Bible
Complete Biblical Library
J. Vernon McGee
Then sometimes I’ll read:
Wilmington’s Guide to the Bible
Archeological Study Bible
Barnhouse – Illustrating the Gospel of John
John Gill’s Commentary
Calvin’s Commentary
James Boyce:
The story has occasionally been told of a contest in which artists were to submit paintings and sculptures portraying their understanding of peace. Some showed beautiful sunsets, others pastoral scenery. But the prize went to an artist who had painted a bird in its nest, attached to a branch protruding from the edge of a thundering waterfall. This is the idea involved in Christ’s legacy. In times of outward peace anyone can be at peace, or at least many can. But it takes an exceptional peace, a supernatural peace, to prevail in the midst of great outward trouble and inner distress. Christ’s peace is just that, exceptional and supernatural. Boice Expositional Commentary – An Expositional Commentary – John, Volume 4: Peace in Storm (John 13-17).
(Had to cut this from my sermon on Sunday)
