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Posts by Terry Stauffer

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A Springtime Heart Checkup

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For all of us, God says, “Guard and keep your heart.” Why do you do what you do? Why do you love what you love? Check these directions and desires by the light of the Word and the fellowship of God’s people. Keep up with spiritual disciplines. Grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then he will give you the desires of your heart (2 Peter 3:18 a...

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The Idol of "if only..."

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An idol can be a dream or desire for something to be different: “If only I had a better job”; “If only I could find the right life partner”; “If only my parents had loved me more”; “If only my church would live up to my expectations”; “If only my recommendations had been followed.” These wishes can haunt us and dominate our lives. Can we trust God with ...

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Hidden Idols

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Hidden idols may not reveal themselves for what they are until they are violently wrenched from our hands. When we face a debilitating illness or injury; when our career is abruptly ended by a layoff; when a close relationship is shattered by separation; when a loved one is torn from us by sudden death ...

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The Heart of Idolatry

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In Romans 3:20, at the end of his shocking description of the universality and horror of sin, the Apostle Paul used the phrase from Psalm 36:1, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” When there is no fear of God before our eyes, we will turn from him to idols. ...

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Be Careful What You Worship

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One of the key New Testament texts that teaches this truth is Romans 1:18-32. When we exchange the worship of God for the worship of man-made things ...

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Assurance and Righteousness

I've been thinking about the apparent tension between having confidence that we are safely Christian ...

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Motivation for Prayer

Prayer is hard work. External distractions may be managed by going into another room and leaving our phone out of reach, but what about internal distractions, how do we manage those?...

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Do Not Follow the Way of This People

I read the news. I listen to talk radio. I follow political and cultural commentators on Twitter as well as pastors and theologians. I listen to The Briefing by Dr. Mohler online at least a couple times a week. I know I'm not alone at Calvary Grace....

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Confessing Christ at Christmas

I haven’t heard any Calvary Grace people complaining about the culture war at Christmas. I do see complaints on various media sources from professing Christians that municipalities are banning Nativity displays and cashiers don’t say “Merry Christmas.” I think this is because we emphasize good, biblical theology at Calvary Grace and we know that the Gospel will be ...

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How to Defeat Idolatry?

In the first post on idolatry, we have considered what idolatry looks like in the life of the Christian. In the second post, we have reviewed some diagnostic steps that will help us to identify idolatry in our hearts. Now, how do we defeat it?...

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How to Diagnose Idolatry?

How do we Diagnose Idolatry? Idolatry begins in our hearts. Our hearts are tricky to diagnose ...

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What is Idolatry?

Idolatry is a really big deal in the Bible. It comes up over and over again as the most basic of sins, both for Old Testament Israel and New Testament Christians. Both the presence and damage of idolatry is obvious in much of the Old Testament, but its presence in the New Testament is not as obvious. However, idolatry is no less a foundational sin in the New Testament....

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Update on the Elders

On July 1st, Calvary Grace church brought me on full-time as a pastor. For almost four years I have been working at a shop that rebuilds gas turbine engines. I am very thankful that God provided this work so that we could be a part of Calvary Grace (we came to Calvary Grace in September, 2011). I realize that working as a pastor full-time is a privilege. I wanted to share...

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Come, Lord Jesus!

Right at the end of the Bible, in Revelation 22:20, we read, “He who testifies to these things (the Lord Jesus Christ Himself) says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ (To which John adds) Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!...

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Skilful Living - Part 4: Two Women, Who Is Calling?

As we think about wisdom and what it means to find it, we must be aware that both Lady Wisdom and the woman folly are always calling to us. We need to know who is calling. Both of these women promise the same things at the beginning ...

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Skilful Living - Part 3: Words

How we speak is addressed many times in Proverbs. 26:17-28 alone addresses the busybody, inappropriate joking, gossip, argumentativeness, insincerity and lying. All of these are foolish misuses of words. What struck me as I read through Proverbs for this series was how words relate to wisdom in other ways as well. The way we hear words matters. Both folly (the adulterous ...

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Skilful Living Part II: Keeping the Main Things the Main Things

One of the things we want to be known for at Calvary Grace is keeping the main things the main things. We want to be unified on the most important doctrines and practices. This is not to say that secondary issues are not important, but knowing how tightly to hold on to important yet not central doctrines and practices without causing division can be difficult. A basic rule...

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Skilful Living - Part 1: Introduction

Get wisdom. This is not only sound advice from Scripture (Proverbs 4:5,7), it is a fundamental for Christian discipleship. As Christians, we are going to find ourselves increasingly at odds with our world. Our recent conference on the Goodness of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood was excellent and useful, but counter-cultural. The decision this week by the Supreme Court of Ca...

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Christian Grace & Schooling Options

For many Christian families, the stress of the back to school scramble is compounded by decisions regarding how to school their children. Do we choose to home school? Do we send our kids to public school? Christian School? How do we decide what’s best for our family and is right in the eyes of the Lord? I would like to encourage us all to think about how we can encoura...

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The Sure Hope of Good Friday

The people of Calgary and surrounding area have been shocked at the stabbings near the University of Calgary. We ought to pray for the families and friends of the victims. But what should we pray? How should we think about this tragedy? How should we talk about this horror with our friends and family? The stark reality of evil is staring us in the face once again this week...

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Serving One Another With Words

Words have power. They can be used for good or evil. They are useful tools for building up, but can be destructive weapons for tearing down. Gospel partnership requires that we cultivate wisdom in our use of words....

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