Dearest Christ Church Family, Please make plans to join us this evening (Tuesday) at 7:45 p.m. on Zoom for a special time of devotion and congregational prayer. The meeting will last one hour. After I lead us in a brief devotional, together we will "confidently draw near to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16). Similar t...

"I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." These familiar words from Paul's letter to the Philippians contain within them both the promise of the Gospel and the call for sanctified Christian living in accordance with God's Holy Word. To put it into terms of the Reformed theologians, Philippians 4:11 reveals both gospel and law, held together in perfect harm...

Dearest Christ Church, Last week, the renovation project at our new worship space at 486 Wando Park Blvd began in earnest as workers began to rip out old floors and prepare the building for the necessary remodeling that must take place before we can worship our Lord there. That demolition process started back up after the holiday weekend, and more progress will be made ev...

Dearest Christ Church Family, Who would have thought that 2020 would begin in such a fashion. Since the new year we've experienced a deadly pandemic, a mandated quarantine, an economic recession, ubiquitous protests over racial injustice, and destructive riots throughout every major American city. These social upheavals have disrupted our lives and schedules in myriad way...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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...

Every Christian home is meant to be a school of Christa place of spiritual nurture, loving discipline, sound doctrine, and biblical piety. This is not a reference to Victorian-era portraits of the Christian family; it is the clear teaching of Scripture and the Reformed tradition. Even so, our hectic schedules, ubiquitous gadgets, and misplaced priorities often make our h...

Listening well to the preaching of God's Word is foundational to spiritual growth and discipleship. Indeed, sanctification is not unrelated to how attentive we are to the faithful proclamation of the Scriptures (c.f. 2 Pet. 1:1921; John17:17). The inspired apostle reminds us that saving faith is created and nourished by the preached Word: "Faith comes from hearing, and hea...