Spiritual Growth / Sanctification and Growth

  • Castles in the Sand by R.C. Sproul Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2012

    There are, when we disagree, almost always two disagreements. Most of the time the smaller disagreement is the bigger one. Consider election. There are some in the church who believe that God chooses who will believe His gospel. There are …Read More

  • Where and How Do We Draw the Line? by Kevin DeYoung

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2012

    “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity.” Sounds nice, but which are which? Everyone wants to be unified in what really matters, to agree to disagree on what isn’t as important, and to exercise love in …Read More

  • Drawing the Line: Why Doctrine Matters by R. Scott Clark

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2012

    Imagine Mike. He’s an unusual mechanic. Where other mechanics find natural laws (such as gravity) unavoidable and even useful, he suspects them to be arbitrary, invoked in order to stifle his creativity. We can imagine how the story ends …Read More

  • Rekindling the Flame by Starr Meade

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2012

    “You never know what depths of sin and wickedness of hell are in your nature till you turn and start to walk the path that leads to God and Christ, the path that is paved with righteousness and truth, but …Read More

  • The Motivation for Love by Conrad Mbewe

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2012

    In his twentieth century classic, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis imagines the demon Screwtape writing to his nephew Wormwood about the need to discover the secret as to why God loves humans. He writes, “The truth is, I slipped …Read More

  • Preach the Gospel, and Since It’s Necessary, Use Words by Ed Stetzer

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2012

    There’s a popular saying often repeated by Christians. It has found new life on Facebook and Twitter. Maybe you have even uttered these words, commonly at tributed to Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel. Use words if necessary.” I …Read More

  • The Pastor’s Example of Evangelism by Steven Lawson

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2012

    In his final letter, Paul charges Timothy, his son in the faith, to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5). By these words, the aged Apostle establishes the timeless standard for pastoral ministry, not only for young …Read More

  • The Church and Idolatry by Jared Wilson

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2012

    “Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God” (1 Chron. 22:19). All sin is idolatry because every sin is an exercise in trust of something or someone other than the one true God to satisfy …Read More

  • Evangelism: Naturally Speaking Good News by Will Metzger

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2012

    Foundational to speaking of Christ naturally is a strong assurance of your identity: “I am a new creation in Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17, NIV here and throughout). Supernaturally, you are a new person credited with the righteousness of Christ …Read More

  • Heavenly Mindedness by Randy Alcorn

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2012

    Jonathan Edwards said, “It becomes us to spend this life only as a journey toward heaven … to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labor for or set our hearts on anything else, but that …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

  • Someone is Wrong on the Internet by R.C. Sproul Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2012

    It takes two to tango, and that doesn’t even include the band. Our choices, our behaviors, are rarely as discreet as we think they are. Not only do our decisions bleed into our other decisions, they touch on other …Read More

  • The Bible, the Whole Bible, and Nothing but the Bible: An Interview with Eric J. Alexander by Eric Alexander

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2012

    Tabletalk: Describe how God first called you to ministry. Eric Alexander: From as early as I can remember, if anyone had asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would not have hesitated to answer, “I …Read More

  • Not So Fast by Trevin Wax

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2012

    Jim and Sandra were longtime members at Christ Church. They gave generously — of their time, their talents, and their financial resources. Christ Church was known for being evangelistic and putting a priority on God’s Word. And Jim and Sandra …Read More

  • Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus by Burk Parsons

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2012

    The twentieth-century British pastor D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “If we only spent more of our time in looking at Christ we should soon forget ourselves.” Fixing our eyes on Christ is the first step and the entire path of the …Read More