Post Category: Articles by Pastor Jon

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Four Simple (and pretty obvious) Ways to Improve Your Walk With God

Originally posted December 2018 Do you want to grow in your walk with God? Is spiritual progress a priority in 2019? The serious follower of Christ is committed to "grow[ing] in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 3:18). His aim is spiritual maturity, not lifelong spiritual adolescence. God's Word commands his redeemed children to "grow up ...

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The Nuts and Bolts of Sanctification, Part I

The Nuts and Bolts of Sanctification, Part I God's saving grace in Christ is much bigger and more comprehensive than one might initially think. God's grace not only rescues, it renovates. It not only justifies, it sanctifies. It not only reconciles, it renews. It not only propitiates, it purifies. It not only delivers, it matures. Indeed, the sovereign grace of God not on...

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The Nuts and Bolts of Sanctification, Part II

The Nuts Bolts of Sanctification, Part II Definitive and Progressive Sanctification The grammar of God's Word teaches us that believers are sanctified (definitive sanctification), and are presently being sanctified (progressive sanctification). We have been set apart as holy (I Cor. 1:2), and are thus called to be holy (I Pet. 1:14-16; Col.3:1-17). God has definitively ...

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The Nuts and Bolts of Sanctification, Part III

Sanctification is fostered through the Means of Grace God, in his sovereign wisdom, appointed specific and objective means of grace by which he saves, nourishes, grows, and matures his children spiritually (Acts 2:42). Those primary means are the Word of God, sacraments, and prayer (I Cor. 1:18; Heb. 4:12; I Cor. 10:16-17; I Pet. 3:21; Mt. 6:5-15). When faithfully dischar...

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A Confessional Approach to Preaching

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A Confessional Approach to Preaching -- The Larger Catechism's Instruction for PCA Pastors and Congregants...

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Pastoral Letter | The Unchanging God

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Dearest Members and Friends of Christ Church, The world has been turned upside down. Fear and anxiety are escalating. New restrictions are being placed upon us. Indeed, to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, this morning Governor McMaster recommended that no more than three should gather together at this time. All of this is very strange and unsettling, and reminds u...

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What is a Man of God?

Rarely do we hear a Christian man called a "man of God" anymore. Few men in our day live with the kind of sincere humility, biblical conviction, and God-centered passion that would merit such a description. We are more self-centered than Christ-centered. Many years ago, while living in Scotland, I came under an extraordinary level of conviction about my own pride and selfi...

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Luck or Providence?

How many times have you wished somebody luck? People do it all the time. For instance, we wish people luck before big exams, athletic competitions, or job interviews. But why? What is luck anyway? Should "luck" even be a part of the Christian's vocabulary? The Oxford English Dictionary defines luck as "good things that happen by chance" and "chance considered as a force th...

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Scottish Reformation History

The sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation in Scotland was a glorious and dynamic period in church history. The manifold reformers who courageously responded to God's call to reform the Scottish Church included the likes of the fearless George Wishart (1513 1546) who was martyred for preaching the doctrines of the "Swiss Reformers;" the erudite Patrick Hamilton (1504 1...

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Beware of Destructive Heresies

Not only was Peter an apostle (apostolos), called and sent by God to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he was also a bond-servant (doulos), joyfully and willingly serving the One who laid His life down on the cross for the Church (II Peter 1:1; Ephesians 5:25). As an ambassador for Christ, Peter's life-mission was to go forth into all the world heralding the good news t...

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