What I Wrote in 2020
I’ve never done this before, but as I thought back on my writing life in 2020, I felt disappointed. I didn’t write nearly as much this year as I have in the past few years. Why was that? Oh, I don’t know. The pandemic, maybe. But in some ways, I had more time to write than ever. I was working from home, which freed up my commute time. But writing is hard when things are uncertain—for me, anyway.
As I thought about my lack of production, I went back to review what I did publish. And, honestly, it’s more than I thought. Not all of it made it into a blog post, of course. But why should it? Sermons are just that—sermons. I manuscript them, but they’re meant to be heard, not simply read. Also, for the first time, I had the privilege of writing for Lifeway’s The Gospel Project. I had two sessions published in the Summer 2020 project and three more in the forthcoming Fall 2021 project. Along with my writing featured here on my website, I also continued to write for Gospel-Centered Discipleship, where I enjoy the honor of being one of their staff writers, and I also continued to contribute to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s For The Church website.
Finally, one other kind of big thing happened. I joined a Writer’s Guild. We’re like the Mandalorians—just as deadly, but with less armor. You can find more information about that here. We’re always looking for more writers who want to join a group seeking to cultivate the writing life in community.
So, mostly for my own encouragement, for the first time, I decided to create a year-end round-up of sorts for my writing life. Below are links to articles, sermons, and resources published this year. I hope these are an encouragement to you.
Articles
I write in three primary places: here at Things of the Sort, monthly for Gospel-Centered Discipleship, and regularly for For The Church. Here are the articles published this year on those platforms.
Things of the Sort:
This world, with its in-your-face-ness, forces us to make opinions about many things. We are judged based on them. But the God of the Bible asks us to be convinced of one thing only—that he is God who saves.
She is Valued for Herself Alone
Why was she here? What was her purpose? History has struggled to answer. She’s been a bit of everything, really. She’s been in bondage and she’s been free. She’s been valued and discarded. She’s been used and abused. She’s been a mother, a sister, and a wife. She’s been the world to many and no one to too many. But what did God intend?
The Disturbing Interaction with the Rich Young Ruler
What is Jesus doing? He’s telling us that salvation is not something man can accomplish. No matter how much we do, we can never gain heaven. We’re a big, smelly camel trying to fit through the narrow holiness God requires. And we just can’t do it.
Let’s beware of missing Jesus. Let’s beware of standing in the presence of God and missing the hope of the gospel. Let’s beware of our knowledge and agreement shielding us from repentance and belief. Let’s not merely discuss matters with Jesus but fall down in worship before him, crying out for rescue. There is only one way to enter the kingdom of God, and the Bible is clear from cover to cover that the one way is faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone.
Are We Building Barriers or Removing Barriers?
We have two options: we can make rules to exclude or remove barriers to include. If God’s church is a house of prayer—a house of worship—then everyone is welcome. Everyone has a chance to meet Jesus.
Of all the benefits of the gospel offers, none is higher than this truth of the Fatherhood of God.
Remember the old school-yard debate? “My dad could beat up your dad.” In a boy’s eyes, no one is stronger or mightier than their dad. It should be this way. Dads are strong and mighty. But though our earthly fathers wither and fade, God never can and never will.
God's Excellent Greatness For You
God’s excellent greatness is that he’s not too great for you. He’s never too busy. He always has time. And nothing ever goes against his perfect plan. Who God is for you is all you need him to be at every moment of your life. He’s not too great for you; his greatness is for you.
What we need to get from our drab, everyday doubts and fears is a big vision of the big God who created this whole world, and who is re-creating it in the redemption of Christ.
That Which is Me Must Become the Me of God
“The Scripture emphasizes that much can come from little if the little is truly consecrated to God.”
The play of a child when no one is watching is beautiful. It is who we all want to be: lost in a world of our own making, where it’s all ours. I left that place long ago, but my children still live there. They haven’t faced the real terrors yet that rob us of make-believe.
Then my mind wandered to the other things I forgot. That email at work I meant to respond to. The request in my personal inbox with an invitation to join a conversation on a podcast. The sermon prep I meant to get a jump-start on. The cheese Danish left somewhere in the back of my car for the church breakfast months ago. The older I get, and the more I do, the more I forget.
The fire’s sparks jump skyward like dancers to the rhythm of a beat I cannot hear. One after another—jumping, jumping, jumping. The constancy reminds me of the order of things, built into the very warp and woof of life. Sparks fly upward. You cannot stop them.
Baseball innings consist of three outs. Get three outs and you’ve won the inning. Even a long inning only lasts a matter of minutes. With life as crazy as it is, let’s not over-complicate it. Getting through 2020 sounds daunting, doesn’t it? And as good as 2021 sounds, we don’t know what it holds yet either. We don’t have to.
Just win the inning.
I never called him Fred. To me, he was Granddad because that’s who he was to Sarah. He was married to Gammie. They were family from the start. I never, even on that first visit, felt like an outsider.
Sixteen years later, when the dance was finally over, like a country song, I carried his casket.
With Me You Shall Be In Safekeeping
It’s in the Christ where once upon a time becomes happily ever after. Maybe not in this life, but surely in the life to come. The good King wins, not by his might but by his weakness, not by his circumstance but in spite of it, not by his force but by his love.
Gospel-Centered Discipleship:
The Hope of Heaven in the Presence of Death
Death comes like a thief. It takes more than you thought it could. And when the funeral’s over, we have to keep on living. But how?
The Rich Young Ruler Went Home Sad, But You Don’t Have to
The rich young man wanted to know what he must do to inherit eternal life. His search is ours, too. But we don’t have to go home sad like him.
Are you grumbling during your quarantine? You’re not alone. In fact, God’s people have been grumbling for thousands of years.
We live in an age of differences. Even Christians disagree and can hurt each other. So what is the solution?
The Certainty of God in an Uncertain World
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to always expect the trouble. But the certainty of God can anchor us amid the uncertainty of life.
God Wants to Answer Your Prayer
We become the kingdom people Jesus calls us to be not by our rugged self-reliance but by our humble prayers.
We some perspective on where true joy comes from in the midst of our trials.
The Kind of Love Every Church Needs
How do we get the kind of love our churches truly need? Let’s look to Paul’s experience with the church at Philippi.
For The Church:
What Jesus Meant About the Lost Sheep
Jesus knew the Bible, and he used David's words to foretell the kind of battle he came to fight and the kind of victory he came to win.
If you throw yourself upon God, no matter how far the fall or how great the impact, he will always catch you in the arms of Jesus.
Gentle And Lowly: A Book Review
Without neglecting the work of Christ in his earthly life, on the cross, and in the resurrection, Ortlund shows the value of the heavenly intercession of Jesus for us right now.
When your sin puts you in the depths of despair, and you have no way out on your own, there is a God above who rules and reigns and forgives and saves.
I treat God like a teenager does a parent, recognizing his presence but longing for him to leave me alone, for crying out loud.
God is not calling perfect people to be His ambassadors in this world.
have three sons.
When we know Christ, we get wisdom—and anyone willing to repent of their sin and trust Christ can get in on this.
Why Honesty Is Key to Gospel-Centeredness
We think comparison makes us winners. But in God’s eyes, it proves we’re losers because it proves we’re self-justifiers, unwilling to trust his justification by Christ.
The Fear of the Lord is Humility
As it always is with God, we get more than we deserve.
When we know Christ, we get wisdom—and anyone willing to repent of their sin and trust Christ can get in on this.
If we are to be with the holy, pure God, we cannot waltz into his presence as we are.
Sermons
At my church, Refuge Church Franklin, we began the year finishing our series through the gospel according to Mark. Then, during the summer months, we made our way through Ecclesiastes. And to finish the year strong, we waded through the Jesus-drenched pages of Philippians.
Mark:
Mark 13:14-37 | Jesus and the End, Part 2
An unknown future with a known Savior is better than a known future without a known Savior.
Mark 14:53-72 | Jesus Before the Council and Peter Denies Jesus
On the cross, Jesus absorbed all of our sins—all of Peter’s denial—as if it was his own, as if he denied God. On the cross, God accepted Jesus as our substitute. He accepted the offer of his life in place of ours. That’s why Jesus could forgive Peter. That’s why God can forgive us.
Mark 15:33-47 | The Death and Burial of Jesus
We’re living in what everyone calls “uncertain times.” But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). His salvation is certain. If he saved you then, he’ll save you today, and he’ll save you forever. You won’t fall through the cracks. You can’t. The dying love of Christ is holding you. He will in no wise cast out! How could he? He was cast out for you! There is no mess he can’t handle. He bore it all. He loves you to the end.
Ecclesiastes:
Ecclesiastes 5:10-6:12 | The Power to Enjoy in an Unenjoyable World
Here’s something non-obvious but available: the enjoyment we want in life isn’t lying out beyond our grasp, but given graciously by the hand of God if we’ll take it.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 | The End of the Matter
As commentator Phil Ryken says, “The final message of Ecclesiastes is not that nothing matters in the end but that everything matters in the end.” And the proof is here in these two verses. One day, you will stand before God and give an account. He will bring every deed into judgment. It’s only right that he will. He created you. He cares about what happens in your life, and what you do with your life, and he has the right to judge the outcome of your life. One day, very soon, you will report in to him to receive his judgment. Because that day is coming, every day matters for that day.
Philippians:
Philippians 1:9-11 | Paul's Gospel-Centered Prayer
What might God do if we learned to pray this prayer? What kind of people might he make us? What kind of church might he make us? What abounding love would we have? What radiant beauty? What purity of heart and blamelessness in Christ? What fruit of righteousness?
Philippians 1:27-30 | A Church Worthy of the Gospel
So much demands our attention and calls us away from Jesus alone. And when opposition and persecution and suffering confront us, as it did the Philippians, it takes courage to keep the gospel central. A gospel-centered church needs gospel-centered courage.
Philippians 2:19-30 | Following Jesus in Selfless Sacrifice
Earlier in chapter 2, Paul presented Jesus as an example of humility and sacrifice. Verses 19-30 read like a travelogue. It feels different. But if we look deeper, we’ll see the connection: two men who exemplify the Christ-like qualities he spoke of earlier. The Lord is our model; and Timothy and Epaphroditus are model Christians.
Philippians 4:1-4 | How to Disagree Well
Paul had to address a problem. Two women couldn’t agree on something. We don’t know what it was, but the disagreement was so big it was threatening the church’s unity at the very time when they needed it most. Instead of standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel (1:27), they were bickering and fighting. Paul urged them to stop. And without taking sides in the disagreement, he marshaled the rest of the church to help these women come together in the Lord because whatever their disagreement was, it was not bigger than the wrap-around reality of their salvation in Christ and his mission for them in this dying world.
Isaiah:
Isaiah 9:1-7 | The Hope of Christmas
What is God doing? He’s overturning our expectations. God has ordered the world such that weakness overcomes power, foolishness overcomes wisdom, a child defeats all evil. It’s an unlikely, improbable, incredible story. When everything else in this world fails, when all our best plans are found wanting, when we’ve reached the very end of what we can do, unto us a child is born.
Other Resources
The Gospel Project:
As I mentioned earlier, I had the immense privilege to write for Lifeway’s The Gospel Project. I can’t link to those resources online, but I would encourage you to look at their material to see if they would be a good fit for your Bible study or Church. They’re a group of faithful men and women who do amazing work for the Church.
Bible Study Papers:
From time to time, I write Bible study papers for our Church, usually for either our men’s weekly Bible study or monthly gatherings. This year, as you can imagine, we had some major interruptions to business as usual. But we started out strong by looking at the Apostles’ Creed. I expect us to pick this up again next year, but for now, here are the papers I wrote.
