mckaycaston.com - living all of life in light of the gospel
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July 23, 2010
 

A Blissful Thought for the Day... and Every Day

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! 
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more; 
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Horatio Spafford, "It is Well with my Soul" (stanza 3), 1873.

Filed under  //   cross   forgiveness   gospel   grace  

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May 13, 2010
 

Jesus + Nothing

"The death of the Lord Jesus is absolutely unique. It is subsitutionary. There is no death like Jesus' death... His substitutionary death on the cross, in space and time in history, had infinite value because of who His is as God. Thus nothing need be added to the substitutionary value of His death, nor can anything be added." 
 
Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality, p. 221 (Complete Works, Vol. 3)
 
In other words, Jesus + nothing = everything. He is my redemption, justification, adoption, sanctification, glorification, joy, hope, peace, strength, etc. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. 

Filed under  //   cross   death   jesus   schaeffer   substitution   true spirituality  

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April 2, 2010
 

God Meant it For Good

"You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, to bring about the salvation of many lives." ~ Joseph, in Genesis 50:20

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." ~ The Apostle Paul in Galatians 3:13

Filed under  //   atonement   cross   gospel   grace  

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March 29, 2010
 

The Cup • Matthew 26:36-46 (Audio Message)

The Cup • Matthew 26:36 - 46 by Mckay Caston  
(download)

How was the cross the ultimate Fear Factor challenge? Find out in this message, entitled, "The Cup."

Filed under  //   cross   gospel   grace   matthew   sermons   teaching  

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February 10, 2010
 

The Secret of Paul's Preaching

In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul provides the secret to his preaching, saying:
"1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of  the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

Why do I feel as if my peaching is often so weak and powerless?  If I listen to Paul, I think I know.  I'm trying too hard. Trying to hard to find "powerful" illustrations and create impressive outlines. Trying to hard to say things just right. Trying to hard to make myself look like a good preacher. 

What if I were completely unconcerned with how I looked as a preacher, and rather about how Jesus looks as a Savior?
Realization of the day: There is NO POWER in preaching save the Holy Spirit illuminating "Jesus Christ and him crucified" in the hearts of the hearers (and the heart of the preacher!). Sermon preparation has its place. The Spirit works through that process, too. However, there is no substitute for the presence of the Spirit to empower someone who is not concerned about "lofty speech," and who stands up as a weak man in full dependence upon the Spirit to move and work among the people. 

So maybe I'm relying too much on my notes and too little on the dynamic, present ministry of the Spirit in the context of preaching. What if I prayed to be filled not with human wisdom, but with the Spirit when I stood to speak?  Yes, that's what I want! So I want to ask that you would pray that I will be delight in self-forgetfulness (my "preacher image") and glory in the message of the cross, so that the faith to whom I preach "might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." Thanks.

Soli Deo gloria.

Filed under  //   2 Corinthians   cross   gospel   preaching  

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December 9, 2009
 

The Cross Chart

Here is the famous "Cross Chart" (thanks to Johnny Long) that we discussed this morning at Fight Club. Click on the graphic for a larger view, or to download.

Filed under  //   cross   gospel   grace   sanctification  

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November 23, 2009
 

Post-Game Message Review: "Discipleship 101: Living in Light of the Gospel"

Main ideas from last night's SNF teaching on Discipleship...

1. Chrisitan discipleship is not primarily about performance and practices (what to do as a Christian), but about identity (discovering who I am as a forgiven and adopted child of the King).

2. "Being precedes doing" / "Being empowers/motivates doing"

3. Four key elements of Christian Discipleship:

- The priority of theology

- The significance of relationship

- The necessity of friends

- The centrality of grace

4. When Jesus says "follow me," he leads us to the cross.

5. Being a disciple (follower, learer) of Jesus ultimately is about learning what it means to live in light of the gospel/cross/grace.

 

Filed under  //   cross   discipleship   gospel   grace  

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