Chris Gordon is the preaching pastor of the Escondido United Reformed Church. my pastor and the host of Abounding Grace Radio. He preaches God’s Word faithfully and graciously each week. This exposition of Genesis 29 is a fine example and an encouraging declaration . . . Continue reading →
Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, . . . Continue reading →
Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose . . . Continue reading →
Below is the sermon from last Lord’s Day morning, by Chris Gordon, primary preaching pastor at the Escondido United Reformed Church. He’s also the host of Abounding Grace Radio (San Diego, Phoenix, Seattle/Vancouver) and on the web. Chris preached on Genesis 22 . . . Continue reading →
“For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to . . . Continue reading →
When it comes to Mary’s Magnificat, I find that I cannot take away the messages often proffered. Both the mode and content of her revelation will never be afforded me in any sense whatsoever. God will never speak directly to me, and . . . Continue reading →
The reason this is a wonderful practice is that this type of preaching demonstrates the unity of Scripture. In reality, different texts from various authors and generations testify to a unified body of truth. This manner of preaching ensures that we develop . . . Continue reading →
UPDATE: Here is the audio from Thursday’s chapel message on John 1:1-3. § One of the things I learned from reading Ned Stonehouse was to ask the question: what does this narrative/passage/text say? In our defense of the essential unity of Holy . . . Continue reading →
One of my favorite radio programs is This American Life starring Ira Glass. I stumbled across this show several years ago, and for a while I did not understand why I was so attracted to it. Glass does not have a classic “radio voice” . . . Continue reading →
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, . . . Continue reading →
One of the dirtiest little secrets about preaching is that many preachers are using what we used to call in radio “a service.” There are, or at least there used to be, businesses that sell jokes and one liners and gags and . . . Continue reading →
This video combines two of my favorite topics: The Nebraska Cornhuskers and good story telling. Can you identify what makes this effective?
As a follow-up to the post on legal preaching Chris Gordon and I sat down in the Abounding Grace Radio studio to talk through the issue of the attraction of legal preaching. Once again, neither the post nor the episode is a . . . Continue reading →
The basic principle in application is to know whether the passage is a statement of the law or of the gospel. For when the Word is preached, the law and the gospel operate differently. The law exposes the disease of sin, and . . . Continue reading →
A legal preacher is a preacher who majors in the law to the neglect of the gospel. In practice, he preaches nothing but law. Continue reading →
The uniqueness and centrality of the official preaching of the Word is diminished when we equivocate between the official, public, ordained administration of the Word and the unofficial witness to the gospel by the laity. The tendency among evangelical is to describe all . . . Continue reading →
Time was that church historians also taught church polity and what is sometimes called pastoral theology. This was, I suppose, because we used to recognize that the study of the history of the practice of the church gives a certain insight into . . . Continue reading →
We’ve been blessed by the ministry of pastor Chris Gordon at Escondido URC. He’s also the proprietor of the Gordian Knot and the host of the Abounding Grace Radio program, currently broadcast in the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix, and San Diego. Recently, he . . . Continue reading →
The time after Christmas, including, in some places Boxing Day—for which different etymologies have been given—is a time for writing thank you notes. The Apostle Paul also wrote a thank you letter and the Spirit of God preserved it for us in . . . Continue reading →
The Rev. Mr. David Strain spoke again this morning to the students and faculty from Colossians 1–2. This time the focus was on the relations between proclaiming, warning, and instructing in preaching. It has been a great joy to have David on . . . Continue reading →