Author: Pastor Rich Lusk
-
The Irony of Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a day full of ironies. Palm Sunday is not merely a pep rally for crowds welcoming Jesus to the city. They thought he would be a conquering king who would redeem them. They cried out, “Hosanna,” meaning, “save us now!” or “please save us!” They expected him to be inaugurated king and…
-
Race, Ethnicity, and Sanctification
Most of this was originally posted on X and is related to discussions there: It’s true Paul agreed with the generalization that Cretans are liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons (Titus 1:12). It’s also true that having carried out a gospel ministry at Crete, Paul expected Titus to find Cretan men who met the qualifications…
-
1 Samuel 23: Sermon Follow-up
I preached from 1 Samuel 23 on Easter Sunday. A few notes: The structure of the chapter is obvious. Two stories of David being betrayed (by the men of Keilah and Ziph) are wrapped around a story of loyalty to David (demonstrated by Jonathan). It’s disloyalty/loyalty sandwich, with faithful Jonathan at the center, surrounded by…
-
Lord’s Supper: Hors D’Oeuvres of the New Creation
The Lord’s Supper shows us that creation participates in Christ’s death and resurrection. By identifying his body and blood with bread and wine, Jesus shows that he came to redeem the whole world. This fallen creation will be set free. Grace crucifies and resurrects nature. The kingdom is not an escape from this world, nor…
-
Every Christian a Barabbas; Every Christian a Simon the Cyrene
“Every Christian is both a Simon of Cyrene and a Barabbas. Like Barabbas we escape the cross, for Christ died in our place. Like Simon of Cyrene we carry the cross, for he calls us to take it up and follow him.” — John Stott Stott’s point is even more powerful when we note that…
-
Good Theopaschite Friday
From X: Why is Good Friday good? Good Friday is all about the good news. It’s good because this is the day Jesus accomplished our full and free redemption. This is the day Jesus laid down his life for us. His life was not taken, but given – he gave his life for ours, willingly,…
-
Baptismal Exhortation: Baptism as Adoption
You know him as F but today he receives his baptismal name, JPB. On Wednesday, JP was adopted into the B family and today he is adopted into God’s family and the TPC family. The gift of baptism is the gift of a new family, a new identity, a new name, new privileges, and new…
-
Prayer Blockers
Scripture gives us many example of “prayer blocks” — things that hinder our prayers from being answered. Here are some examples from Scripture: “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; 19 but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.” Psalm 66:18-19 “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as…
-
Slow to Anger, Quick to Forgive
James 1:19 includes the exhortation to be “slow to anger.” The wise man controls his emotions, especially his temper. While it is possible for anger to be a constructive force when it is guided by virtue (see Mark 3:5 and Ephesians 4:26), more often than not, anger is a destructive force and therefore a deadly…
-
Nature, Grace, and New Creation
The gospel = God restores (and glorifies) nature/creation through the death and resurrection of Christ. When we use the slogan, “grace restores nature,” we need to keep two things in mind: 1. Grace doesn’t just put creation back where it started, but ultimately brings us to the eschatological and glorious end God intended from the…
TPC Pastor's Page 