Pastoral

As God sends out Christ as the life and delight of the saints—the Bridegroom that the Bride is invited to enjoy—so we send him out in our preaching.

His very eyes tell us that he understands, and his outstretched hands let us know that he has come to help. The scars from the nails remind us just how far his love goes. Here is One in whom we will find rest for our souls.

The following messages are from the 2023 Union Gathering.

Too many in ministry are burning out. The weight of responsibility builds up over time, and the responsibility can become crippling. How do we maintain mental health in the context of ministry? Michael Reeves charges the 2023 UST graduates to “Come and Behold” from Psalm 46.

What is the most urgent need of the church today? Better leadership? Better training? Healthier giving? Orthodoxy? Moral integrity? Each of these are undoubtedly needs, but underneath them all lies something even more vital: gospel integrity.

One of the gifts in the church that we see in the pages of the New Testament that is so vitally needed today and neglected—we don’t talk about it much—is the ministry of encouragement.

Yes, the Father has eternally loved his only begotten Son. But what makes the gospel such good news for us is that the Father has graced us with every spiritual blessing—chief of which is our adoption as sons to himself—“in the Beloved” (1:7). The gospel transforms obedience.

Behold that dear, that exalted, that condescending Friend of sinners, whom you can never please so well as by giving the fullest credit to his assurance that he is your Friend, your Redeemer, your guide through earth, your portion forever. What a mercy that you have lived to know that such a glorious person exists, is ever present with you, sees every thought of your heart, and listens with infinite delight to every sigh.

We often think of courage simply as a characteristic some sturdy folk are born with. While some are more temperamentally thick-skinned than others, true courage is a gift of the gospel given to ordinary, timid, naturally nervy Christians. True courage is something extraordinary and inexplicable to the world. It is a supernatural marker of grace that makes believers stand out in an anxious world

We are not just called to a glorious task but to a glorious Person. … What is beholding the glory of the Lord but believing the gospel? What is gazing on the face of Christ but receiving his benevolent smile and his gracious kindness?