"There is nothing, surely, which exhorts us more than the Sermon on the Mount to be what we are meant to be and to live as we are meant to live; to be like Christ by being a complete contrast to everyone who does not belong to Christ." Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on … Continue reading Quote of Note #49: A Contrast Community
Quote of Note #48: Finding Happiness
"Happiness is the great question confronting mankind. The whole world is longing for happiness and it is tragic to observe the ways in which people are seeking it. The vast majority, alas, are doing so in a way that is bound to produce misery. Anything which, by evading the difficulties, merely makes people happy for … Continue reading Quote of Note #48: Finding Happiness
Quote of Note #47: Being Part of What God Is Doing
"'The first thing to do in responding to God's presence and Word,' [Basil Pennington] repeatedly told me, 'is to notice what God is doing and to keep out of God's way. The second is to align ourselves with and participate in God's transformational actions in the world.' God is active and present in the world. … Continue reading Quote of Note #47: Being Part of What God Is Doing
Bible Note #33: The Hairy Arms of Esau and the Embrace of God’s Grace — Genesis 33
This event – the reconciliation of Esau and Jacob – has long captured my imagination. The rupturing of their relationship was overflowing with emotion. So, it should be no surprise that the reconciliation here is also full of emotion. There is also a large measure of raw, burly physicality in the reconciliation of these two … Continue reading Bible Note #33: The Hairy Arms of Esau and the Embrace of God’s Grace — Genesis 33
Quote of Note #46: Christ is Lord, Not Party or Nation
"The question to ask about such things -- the identification of the Bible with England in the nineteenth century or American foreign policy in the twenty-first -- is 'What does this do to the reach of the gospel and the church?' The answer is simple: It creates a dividing line in the church, which is … Continue reading Quote of Note #46: Christ is Lord, Not Party or Nation
Quote of Note #45: Humility and Personal Peace
"The strength of humility is that it builds a spiritual defense around your soul, prohibiting strife, competition, and many of life's irritations from stealing your peace." Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds: An In-depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: the Mind, the Church, and the Heavenly Places. Cedar Rapids, IA: Arrow Publications, 2006, … Continue reading Quote of Note #45: Humility and Personal Peace
Pastor Note #82: Learning to Hear God’s Voice
From Digital Camera to Bird Songs When I got my first digital camera, photography opened up for me in a new and exciting way. In the old days of film photography, every time you took a picture, it cost you half a dollar for the film and the processing. That could run into money pretty … Continue reading Pastor Note #82: Learning to Hear God’s Voice
Pastor Note #81: The Problem with Hymns
Recently, in an on-line discussion forum for pastors in the Reformed tradition, I read a complaint by one of the participants that he could not comprehend the appeal of what are sometimes called “7-11” songs – praise choruses that, it is claimed, are seven words long and are repeated over and over eleven times. He … Continue reading Pastor Note #81: The Problem with Hymns
Quote of Note #44: Instruments of Grace to Others
"Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, and malice [Ephesians 4:30-32] are characteristic of words that qualify as ungracious speech. These are forbidden vices that grieve the Holy Spirit. God has a personal concern that His children use their speech in kind and merciful ways and not at all in ways that are harmful: 'But love … Continue reading Quote of Note #44: Instruments of Grace to Others
Bible Note #32: Righteousness, Perseverance, and God’s Grace — Proverbs 24:16
“[F]or the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.” Proverbs 24:16 [ESV] I’ve been coming back to this verse a lot in the past couple of weeks. It’s helped me a lot in thinking about grace, sanctification, and the life of following Jesus. To fallen people living in … Continue reading Bible Note #32: Righteousness, Perseverance, and God’s Grace — Proverbs 24:16
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 