Happy Reformation Day! I wonder, in what areas does the modern church still need reforming? What dangers and blind spots do we face? A few that come to mind…
Lack of reverence for the Lord’s Day
Self-centered theology in our songs
Pragmatism in our church growth
Mysticism that supplants the Word of God
Ignoring biblical male/female roles
Prayerlessness
Earthly mindedness
Politicizing the pulpit
Underemphasizing the Second Coming of Christ
The Reformers used an expression, “semper reformanda,” meaning “always reforming.” We always have room for growth. As Jesus said to the church in Sardis, “Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God” (Revelation 3:2).
Which of these do you think is a major problem? What would you add to the list?
When Heidi was born, Natalie and I decided our little four door Saturn compact car wasn’t going to cut it for a family of four with all the baby and toddler gear in tow. There was only one thing to do. It was time to take the plunge and enter the minivan world.
We searched for used cars online and visited a couple dealerships, then settled on a 2005 Toyota Sienna. It was a great van. We bought it with just under 40,000 miles on it, and put another 200,000 miles on it. We drove it to work, to church, to doctor’s appointments, hospital visits, camping trips, and cross country road trips.
Over time, the van began to break down. Hubcaps rolled off. The automatic door broke. The back windshield wiper snapped. The axel and suspension went bad. Emissions needed repairs. The engine was still purring like a cat, but the van was showing its age and other repairs began to add up. Eventually, it just didn’t make sense to keep pouring money into it. After driving that minivan for almost fifteen years, we agreed it was time to trade it in for something newer. A mechanic at our church said any other model would have died a long time ago, but these vehicles were “built to last.” We eventually bought another minivan, another Toyota Sienna but eleven years newer with less miles on it. We like our “newer” van, but nothing will replace that 2005 silver Toyota Sienna in our hearts. It was like part of the family.
There’s a parallel here with marriage. Marriage is not always easy. As you get more miles, little things may start to break down, and there may be some bumps along the way. What’s important is that you keep Christ at the center of your relationship. Marriage is God’s idea, and any husband and wife who depend on the Holy Spirit and follow the instructions in God’s Word can have a marriage “built to last.”
Some time back, I preached on Colossians 3:18-19, which gives excellent counsel to husbands and wives. Together we learned…
The secret to a lasting marriage
Does a wife really have to “submit” to her husband?
How husbands can learn to love like Jesus
An important caveat – “do not be harsh”
Here’s the sermon audio if you’d like to follow along. Consider it a “tune-up” to keep your marriage running smoothly for years to come!
Thanks for listening. For a complete list of all my sermons, please visit the Sermon Hub on my blog.
The “Worship wars” may have reached their height in the 1990s, but churches still struggle how to remain both doctrinally rooted and culturally relevant.
It’s good to incorporate newer, more modern songs in our repertoire, but we would be remiss to erase all the older hymns from our collective memory. It can be a challenge because some of the language can be antiquated, and sometimes their music style has not aged well. But I believe worship is best when we can find a blended form of both traditional and contemporary, uniting together newer and older songs.
As Bob Kauflin put it, that our worship should be “rooted and relevant.” Rooted in Scripture and 2,000 years of Christian tradition, yet relevant with new songs and melodies and styles continuing to express our hearts before God and to symbolize that the growth and spread of the gospel continue.
There may be different styles, different lengths, and different topics, but most importantly, the church needs to sing, and our minds should be focused on the Word. Meditating on it, reciting it, mulling it over, making new connections, recounting old stories, and overall letting the word of Christ dwell richly in us the whole time we are singing. Every time the church gathers to sin is an opportunity to teach and admonish one another.
To learn more, check out my sermon on Colossians 3:15-17. In this message, we learn…
How I respond when people ask what denomination our church is
How to find peace in Christ
What does it mean for the word of Christ to “dwell” in us?
A brief history of praise and worship
Finding balance between the traditional and contemporary
The centrality of scripture in our worship
Thanks for listening! For a complete list of sermons, please visit the Sermon page.
President Donald Trump watches speakers during the Memorial Service for Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, Sunday, September 21, 2025. (White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
I didn’t have a chance to post earlier on the Charlie Kirk memorial but wanted to share a few thoughts here. My personal response is overwhelmingly positive – with a couple words of caution.
First, the good. We should rejoice that at one of the largest funerals in American history, worship leaders and speakers did not just give a perfunctory nod to Charlie’s faith, but shared the explicit Christian gospel – how we deserve death, how Christ died for our sins, and how forgiveness is possible only through repentance and faith in Christ. We should rejoice that millions of viewers, along with our nation’s highest leaders and so many young people, got to hear and see the effects of the gospel.
I’ve heard reports that many high school and college students are attending church for the first time and desperately asking to get a copy of the Bible. There really are signs of genuine revival. What an answer to prayer that would be! I don’t mind political leaders talking about God and country together. I was glad to hear it. America would not be what it is apart from our strong Judeo-Christian roots. I hope Charlie’s life and death cause many to dig into the claims of the Christian worldview that led to the greatest nation in history (as far as liberty, wealth, innovation, diversity, and opportunity are concerned).
Now, a word of caution. It was just surreal to have a memorial service, worship service, and political rally all wrapped up in one event. At best, it was an inspiring display of civil religion with clear recitations of the gospel. At worst, it could conflate the MAGA movement with Christianity. There is overlap in these movements, but we dare not mistake one for the other. Our faith is in Jesus Christ alone — not in any mortal man. Christianity is bigger than any leader, any movement, or any nation. Jesus did not say, “I will make America Great again.” He said, ‘I will build my church.” Nations rise. Nations fall. But the Word of the Lord endures forever. Certainly we want society to flourish. I believe that conservative, generally Republican, values lead to this (things like free enterprise, limited government, freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, etc.). We also know that true and eternal flourishing comes only through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
Along these same lines, there is also risk of Catholics and Protestant Christians sharing a platform together when talking about our faith. We have much in common, but we also have significant differences that get to the very heart of the gospel (remember the Protestant Reformation). While we can and should be “co-belligerents” in the culture wars, the Apostle Paul made clear that spiritually, we are not the same (see the Book of Galatians). I’m grateful for my Catholic friends, and I pray God will use those in places of leadership to preserve our religious freedom, but insofar as last Sunday’s memorial was a worship service, I don’t think it was helpful to the Christian faith to have Catholics on stage talking about Jesus when Scripture says they preach another gospel. This is the same error Billy Graham fell into later in his life. Maybe the memorial service struck the right balance. Maybe it crossed the line. I don’t know. But we dare not think that when it comes to our understanding of the gospel, that Evangelicals and Catholics are the same.
In spite of all this, we have much to be thankful for in what happened Sunday at State Farm Stadium. To God be the glory, great things he has done!
“I forgive you” is one of the hardest things you’ll ever say, but it will take a huge weight off your shoulders. In our latest sermon podcast from Colossians 3:12-14, we talk all about forgiveness…
Pinch Of Clay 