Posts by Charles Barrett

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The Grace of Becoming Less

Charles Barrett
Apr 3, 2017
Reflecting upon twenty years of ministry, the gifted Scottish preacher Andrew Bonar wrote the following in his diary. “It is amazing that the Lord has spared me and used me at all. I have no reason to wonder that He used others far more than He does me. Yet envy is my hurt, and today I have...

7 Ways Jesus Shepherds in the Upper Room

Charles Barrett
Apr 15, 2016
The Apostle John’s record of Jesus’ farewell discourse on the eve of his crucifixion and of his high priestly prayer opens a window into the heart of the Savior for his disciples. Earlier in his ministry Jesus announced that he was the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14). Jesus is the good...

The "Light" Motif in Isaiah

Charles Barrett
Mar 7, 2016
Light is an extremely significant motif in Scripture. We first read of it in Genesis 1:3 as the word of God breaks into the darkness of a world not yet created: “Let there be light.” Such is the power of the divine command that we are not surprised to read next, “and there was...

Dietary Laws and the Gospel

Charles Barrett
Jan 20, 2016
It is late January, which means that many find themselves in the tougher portions of the Pentateuch in their daily Bible reading schedules. Each year Christians set out to read through the Bible in a year. Expectations are set and excitement runs high. But it is not long into the reading program...

What's in a Name?

Charles Barrett
Dec 25, 2015
Shakespeare’s Juliet asks, “What is in a name?” She loved Romeo, regardless of his surname. Despite her wishes to the contrary or her desire to minimize the significance, Romeo was always going to be a Montague. In Scripture, names mean something. They matter. The names, or titles...

3 Reasons to Think Much of Christ

Charles Barrett
May 5, 2015
The Prince of the Puritan Theologians, John Owen, once wrote, "Let us get it fixed on our souls, and in our minds, that this glory of Christ, in the divine constitution of his person, is the best, the most noble, useful, beneficial object that we can be conversant about in our thoughts, or...

Salinger and the Incarnation: A Reminder of Hope from an Unlikely Source

Charles Barrett
Dec 25, 2013
One benefit of the religious calendar is that we give a whole month to celebrate the wonder of the incarnation. One disadvantage of the religious calendar is that we give only a month to celebrate the wonder of the incarnation. That the Word took flesh ought to move our hearts and fill our minds...

Thanksgiving and the Supremacy of Christ

Charles Barrett
Nov 28, 2013
Two weeks ago I visited a ministerial colleague and friend in hospice. He was days away from entering eternity to be with Christ and is now with Christ. For just under a year he battled cancer. In that short time he went from receiving a clean bill of health to lying in a hospice bed in great pain...