The Tulip Driven Life

  By: Thomas F. Booher   The following is taken from notes from a sermon I preached on 8-8-21.  I.        QUESTION TO EXPLORE: Why would Jesus submit to a baptism of REPENTANCE? A.       We’ve seen how John affirms His unworthiness to unlatch Jesus’ shoe, much less baptize Him.        1.       John says in Mt. 3:14 “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” to which Jesus says, “Permit it to be so no, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”        2.       So, certainly Jesus had no sin to repent of, but this fulfilled righteousness, by Jesus identifying with His people in their baptism , that He would be condemned in their place as a law-breaker.        3.       Just as Jesus is without sin yet must come t...

Celebration of the Lord’s Supper – Form 1 Preparation and Invitation Brothers and sisters, there are many in the Church today who err by diminishing the importance of coming to the Lord’s Table, and those who err by exalting the Table as the most sacred and vital aspect of all of Sunday worship. Some only celebrate this sacrament once or twice a year, while others partake every week. Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted this sacrament of His body and blood, and said, “this cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me”. That we should partake often is clear, but how often the Lord has left to the discretion of the elders in His churches.  The solemn self-examination that is impressed upon all participants of the Lord’s Supper militates against partaking every week, as the examination required is specific to this sacrament, such that this is an extra-ordinary self-examination, remembrance, and proclamation of the Lord’s death. It is not i...

 By: Thomas F. Booher  The problem in our Reformed and Evangelical Churches today is manifold, but the root of it is an unwillingness to speak the truth in love as defined by Scripture. Instead, it is clear that conservative pastors/elders have allowed the progressives and moderates in their denominations, and in their pews, to dictate how they will speak the truth of God's Word to their congregation and on their Twitter feeds.  There is certainly a problem with ministers who simply rant, or those who are perpetually stuck in the so-called "Calvinist cage stage". But the more prevalent and dangerous problem is the perpetuation of "paddy-caking" in the pulpit, which is to say, ministers wield the word of God with all the might and power to convict as a soft pillow. The truth of God that is meant to cut and convict our souls is spoken to do just the opposite -- comfort and cajole, putting us into a sweet slumber concerning our sins, assuring us that it really isn...