Spiritual Growth / Sanctification and Growth

  • What Is Truth? by Steven Lawson

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2010

    What is truth? This question raised by Pilate, when Jesus Christ stood trial before him, exposed his own worldview. He lived in a world in which absolute truth did not exist. I think Pilate’s voice was dismissive and filled …Read More

  • Designed for Dignity by Jerry Bridges

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2007

    Baked ham or turkey is a traditional favorite on the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner tables of most American homes. And many of us enjoy an occasional steak or Sunday pot roast. For thousands of years, humanity as a whole has …Read More

  • Principle Vs. Pragmatism by R.C. Sproul

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2009

    Some years ago, I drove along the Pennsylvania Turnpike about two o’clock in the morning with a friend after having spent all day at a steel corporation in eastern Pennsylvania dealing with labor management issues. My companion was a …Read More

  • When Doubt Becomes Unbelief by Alister McGrath

    FROM TABLETALK | January 1992

    Doubt is not unbelief. But it can become unbelief. That basic principle should guide our reflections on this important issue. Doubt is natural within faith. It comes about because of our human weakness and frailty. We lack the confidence to …Read More

  • Grace Alone by Guy Waters

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2012

    “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!” “Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt.” “Wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin; how shall my tongue describe …Read More

  • Faith Alone by J.V. Fesko

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2012

    In 1647, a group of Reformed pastors and theologians meeting at Westminster Abbey in London completed a set of documents we now know as the Westminster Standards, which include the Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The …Read More

  • God’s Provision for the Weary Pilgrim by Chris Larson

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2012

    The distractions of the world and the temptations of the Devil would be enough to derail almost any pilgrim on their journey to heaven. But add to these the manifold frailties of our sinful flesh, and this triumvirate of Christian …Read More

  • The Prodigal Son by David Murray

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2012

    Sadly, I can write about the prodigal son from personal experience. Happily, I can write about the prodigal son from personal experience. Come with me inside the head and heart of this young man and hear his thoughts and words …Read More

  • The Story of Two Older Brothers by John Sartelle

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2012

    Self-righteousness cannot exist without producing an attitude of moral superiority, a lack of mercy, and a joyless servitude. The elder brother of the prodigal in Jesus’ parable is a living picture of these characteristics that always suckle at the breast …Read More

  • The Kingdom is Now by R.C. Sproul Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | October 2012

    I am deeply grateful to my Old Testament professor. Though I was young and foolish while in seminary, I have, by God’s grace, been growing less young and less foolish over time. I used to argue with him about …Read More

  • Worthy Eating and Drinking by Iain Campbell

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2012

    One of our Scottish preachers used to say that the believer has three looks at the Lord’s Table. There is, first, a retrospective look. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is a commemoration, a celebration of an event …Read More

  • The Gospel and the Gender Wars by Russell Moore

    FROM TABLETALK | October 2012

    Lewis Grizzard, the famous Atlanta newspaper columnist, wrote frequently of his ill-fated marriages, divorces, and remarriages. Eventually, he said he was going to give up on marriage altogether, that there wouldn’t be another Mrs. Grizzard. “I’m just going …Read More

  • Pray the Scriptures by Scotty Smith

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2012

    I am a recovering self-centered pragmatic pray-er — a believer who spent many of my first years in Christ thinking of God more as a sugar daddy than the sovereign Father. Prayer, for me, had more in common with programming a …Read More

  • Soli Deo Gloria by John Piper

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2012

    We use the phrase glory of God so often that it tends to lose its biblical force. But this glory, like the sun, is no less blazing— and no less beneficial—because people ignore it. Yet, God hates to be …Read More

  • Worship as a Body by Bob Kauflin

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2012

    The psalmist declares, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” (Ps. 122:1; emphasis mine). Worldly distractions, bad theology, or indwelling sin can cause us to lose sight of why …Read More