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In honor of the Matthew Smith/Indelible Grace concert this September, here is a post Philip did for his blog in 2012:

Twelve years ago the loose confederation of Nashville musicians known as Indelible Grace were an anomaly in Christian music. They weren’t out to become famous for sounding like kosher editions of secular bands and they weren’t out to create music for churches that furthered the trend of tunefully sentimentalizing faith. They were out to make music the way jazz musicians once did: by taking a particular canon of songs (in their case, seventeenth and eighteenth century hymns)…

This summer we have been thinking about Personal Reformation in our sermons. The first series was on change—How Can I Change? The second series, Scandalous Mercy, challenged us in many ways through the Minor Prophet Jonah. The third series of the summer, How Firm a Foundation, will focus on the Bible.

To think rightly and live rightly as Christians we have to think rightly about the Bible. If we get off here, we don't just get off a little bit. We create Grand Canyon-sized gaps in our thinking and living. Before long we will be…

Another women's book study is beginning, one which will study Trillia Newbell's Fear and Faith: Finding the Peace Your Heart Craves. It is meeting on Monday nights at 7:15pm through the end of August. Here is an excellent review of the book on The Gospel Coalition website:

Trillia Newbell. Fear and Faith: Finding the Peace Your Heart Craves. Chicago, IL: Moody, 2015. 173 pp. $12.99.

A bright college student is sexually assaulted in the middle of the night. A young Christian lady receives a shocking and unwelcome phone call that her sister has suddenly died. An anxious wife…

Some of us grew up with Mr. Miyagi echoing in our minds, "Wax on, wax off. Wax on, wax off." Danny LaRusso eventually learned that this odd counsel had a lot more to it than he thought. 

God's counsel has a similar ring to it, but a vastly different impact: "Put off, put on. Put off, put on." These words come out of Ephesians 4:17-5:2, Sam's text from last Sunday when we finished out our series on on change. One of the key aspects of this passage is the series of "put offs" and "put ons" that we find…

There aren't many Bible stories that can claim a recent Bruce Springsteen song and a Veggie Tales movie, but Jonah can. And it makes sense. The story offers everything we love: a villainous hero (or is he a heroic villain?), fast-paced action, profound insights about the human condition, and a mesmerizing look at God's scandalous mercy. It is one of the few Old Testament books that seems to speak to everyone—scholar or preschooler, the specialist in Hebrew syntax or one who barely knows English (and it's your mother tongue!).

Of course, the best way…

Mark Prater, Executive Director of Sovereign Grace, wrote on the Orlando shooting yesterday. His post reflects a good combination of compassion for the suffering and help for the Christian as we try to think, act, and speak in a way that rightly reflects our God. You can read it below. One of our sister churches in Orlando pastored by Benny Phillips also wrote on the incident for their blog. Others have offered helpful words: Russell Moore of Southern Seminary wrote for Time.com, and Joe Carter crafted a thoughtful post at The Gospel Coalition.…

Last week's sermon looked at Romans 6:1-14 and our union with Christ. We need to grasp this union to find faith for real change in our lives. Reading Sinclair Ferguson's The Whole Christ this week he explored the idea of our union with Christ and unpacked even more blessings that are ours when we are in Christ and thus possess Christ. In doing so he cited a powerful passage from John Calvin:  

Our whole salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ [Acts 4:12]. We should therefore take care not to derive the least portion of it from anywhere else.

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Reformation. That's not a word we use often, but it has to do with re-forming something that already exists. Ideally, it is re-forming it in a better, more desirable manner. What we call the "Reformation" of the 16th century didn't create the church or the gospel or the Bible, but it significantly re-formed what many people thought about each of these.

This summer we're preaching a set of sermons that all fit together around this broad topic of Personal Reformation. These three mini-series' are brief and practical, and for each one we have selected a book to recommend if you…