Jesus issued a blistering diatribe about the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders in Matthew 23. Scripture offers no greater example of the uniting of divine holiness and divine love than this statement. After delivering this denunciation of sin, Jesus revealed a heart bursting with compassion for sinners.
Spiritual Disciplines
One of His first acts after entering the city was Jesus’ famous cleansing of the Temple, where he overturned the moneychangers’ tables and the seats of those who sold animals. He got away with it because the common people believed in him—and protected him!
We should rejoice in the apparent “triumph” of that Palm Sunday. But we should also remember that for Jesus to be Israel’s Messiah, rejection and suffering were bound up in the initiation of this “Passion Week.”
Old hymns allow us to dig deeper into our faith and add a melody to the life-giving teachings of scripture. Do you need a song of response for baptisms? There’s an old hymn for that. Are you looking for a new Christmas song about the mystery of God becoming man? There’s an old hymn for …
This is the sixth in a series of articles on pastors and the spiritual disciplines. One of the disciplines we can practice either alone or with others is fasting. As with prayer, we fast in the hope that by His grace, God will bless us.
George Müller, one of the most prayerful and faith-filled men in Christian history, prayed the Psalms. The Lord Jesus Christ himself and the apostles of the early church prayed the Psalms. Why not you and your church?
In our focus on the personal spiritual disciplines, we have said the two most important disciplines are the intake of the Word and prayer.
Rather than make New Year’s resolutions that last, we can learn faithful endurance to complete what we start by the grace of God.
Join Alistair Begg every day of the year with a brief Scripture reading followed by exposition of the passage and encouragement for everyday.
Pastors must care for their own souls before they can care for the souls of others. This looks like reading the Bible and meditating on it.
