Recently the Executive Editor of the New York Times said of his publication that “they don’t get...
Evangelism and Culture
Who’s The Boss?
As I sat in the coffee house working away on my sermon for the upcoming weekend - as stereotypical...
SuNee: A Life Rescued From Sex Trafficking, Redeemed By Christ
What follows is the story of a young girl in Cambodia who was rescued from sex trafficking, a...
Sex Trafficking Numbers You Can Trust
When it comes to sex trafficking, sound numbers of who, how many, and where are difficult to find. Most widely reported numbers are estimates. Many have been discredited. The 2014 Trafficking In Persons (TIP) report included this cautionary statement when using its...
Dave Dunham – Studies in Leviticus: A Fungus Among Us (Leviticus 13 & 14)
Spiritual death has a physical component to it. The original curse issued by God in the Garden of Eden came with physical implications: hard labor, painful childbirth, and the promise of eventual “return to dust” (Gen. 3). Death, disease, and pain are reminders that...
Three Features Of A Faithful Christian Witness
Throughout the New Testament, Christians are told to “go therefore and make disciples” (Matthew 28:18-19, Acts 1:8-9). The Christian has been empowered by the Holy Spirit to go and make disciples to the glory of God. This is highlighted by Jesus statement in Acts...
Seven Ways Christians Should Speak During a National Crisis
Last week another horrific mass shooting—this one a terrorist event—happened in California. This followed a shooting at Planned Parenthood in Colorado, which followed a horrific, ISIS-led mass attack in Paris. We’re living in a dangerous world. Terror and all kinds of...
The Absurdity of Abortion and the Importance of Life
While sitting in a moral philosophy class at a community college in Washington State, the professor stated that he could disprove any view by using an extreme example. To prove his point, he stated that there must be exceptions to the pro-life position, therefore, the...
What To Do About Planned Parenthood and Abortion
The news of late has been filled with the disturbing news of Planned Parenthood trafficking in the body parts of aborted babies. Anyone who has watched the horrific videos that have been circling around social media can’t help but notice the sickening glee by which...
The Future of Marriage in America and the Response of Christians
Over the past several years, I’ve written quite a lot on marriage. I’ve done so because I believe that marriage is a divine institution established by God between one man and one woman for life. Today the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of gay marriage. The gay...
The Supreme Court, Perverted Sexual Logic, and the Judgement of God
Today, marks the first day of deliberation between the Supreme Court on the issue of gay marriage. This issue is not a new one. I’ve written on this issue so much because I believe it’s an issue that Christians must stand clearly and loudly on. Following Genesis 1-2,...
The Cruciformed View of Wisdom and Power
The Cruciformed View of Wisdom and Power Living in a pluralistic society where relativism is the norm it is inevitable someone is going to be offended. Those of us who live as witnesses of the Crucified Christ know all to well that mentioning the statement "Jesus is...
Three Ways Pastors Should Address Cultural Issues from the Pulpit
How do pastors preach on contemporary cultural issues? Or should they? This is a question every pastor faces as he contemplates both the spiritual needs of his congregation, the questions swirling in society, and the weighty commission to preach the Word of God. When...
Three Ways Christians Should Process the News Headlines
We live in a time where we are exposed to more news headlines than at any time in human history. In the ancient days of news, anchors checked the AP newswire for stories and reported on them and people in their homes watched or people in their cars listened to radio....
Tony Reinke – Lecrae Confesses Abortion, Invites Others into the Light
As the forty-second anniversary of Roe v. Wade draws near, we are reminded of how large and formidable the abortion industry has become in the United States. Planned Parenthood survives with a heavy dose of government funding, even as overall abortion numbers are down...
Erik Raymond – Parents: Should You Mandate Bible Reading for your Children?
This is probably one of the most common questions I hear from parents wanting to establish Christian disciplines in their kids. Every Christian parent deals with this at some point. They struggle with what they should mandate vs just encourage their kids to do. And...
Timothy Paul Jones – Reza Aslan and “The Jesus of History”
“The more I probed the Bible,” Reza Aslan declares in the introduction to his bestseller Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, “the more distance I discovered between the Jesus of the gospels and the Jesus of history” (xix). The result of this discovery—at...
Tim Ward – An Introduction to the Bible
When we say that the Bible is ‘the Word of God’, what we are actually claiming about it? It is to answer this question, which is both theological and also deeply practical and vital, that the branch of theology called ‘the doctrine of Scripture’ has been developed....
Wilhelmus à Brakel – The Communion of Believers with Christ and with Each Other
In the previous chapter we discussed the nature of the church, as well as the obligation to join and remain with her. We shall now speak of the communion true members of the church have with their Head Jesus Christ and each other, and also how they must exercise this....
R. L. Dabney – Union to Christ
Syllabus for Lec. 51: 1. By what similitudes is the union of Christ with His people set forth in the Scripture? 2. What are the several results to believers, of this union? 3. What is the essential, and what the instrumental bond of this union? 4. Show the...
J. V. Fesko – Union with Christ in Paul’s Epistles
One of the most breath-taking passages of Scripture appears in the opening of Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, where the Apostle literally starts at the very beginning when he writes, “In love he [that is, God] predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ”...
B. B. Warfield – Communion with Christ
2 Tim. 2:11-13 — "Faithful is the saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with him: if we endure we shall also reign with him: if we shall deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he abideth faithful; for he cannot deny himself." The words...
Nick Batzig – The 6 Ingredients of Jesus’ Bitter Cup
When we think of the cup that was placed before Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, we tend to think of it merely in terms of the wrath of God–since that is what the cup most clearly symbolizes in the writings of the OT prophets. While we would never dare reduce it to...
Nick Batzig – Jesus, the True and Greater Gardener
The Scriptures tell us that the Son of God began His sufferings in a Garden and brought them to a close in a Garden. That is an absolutely amazing display of God's wisdom. After all, Jesus is the second Adam undoing what Adam did and doing what Adam failed to do (Rom....
Bruce Ashford – Culture and The Kingdom of God
The best kept secret in the Christian life is that everything we do matters to God. Some Christians have the idea that pastors and missionaries are doing “kingdom work,” but the rest of us are not. In this post, I’d like to show how every dimension of human life and...
Daniel Doriani – The Importance of Sound Exegesis
A Bible scholar walks into a friend’s kitchen and sees a magnet fixing a diet plan to the refrigerator door. It reads, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you … to give you hope and a future’ ” (Jer. 29:11, NIV). Is his dieting...
John Flavel – Pneumatologia A Treatise of the Soul of Man
Among many other largesses and rich endowments, bestowed by the Creator's bounty upon the soul of man, the sentiments and impressions of the world to come, and the ability of reflection and self-intuition, are peculiar, invaluable, and heavenly gifts. By the former,...
Thomas Boston – A Report From Heaven
The gospel is a report from heaven to be believed and trusted to for salvation. First, we shall view the gospel in the nature of a report in general. And, 1. There is the subject of a report or the thing that is reported, viz., some design, action, or event, true or...
Authentic Living in Christ
Authenticity is a buzz word. Do a search for authentic living and you’ll find thousands of articles explaining how to do it—from secular, eastern, western, traditional, progressive, and missional perspectives. Each of these groups offers a different liturgy (religious...
Three Ways to Pray and Support Persecuted Christians
From Asia to Europe, Africa to Latin America, Christians are facing persecution for what they believe. We live in an increasingly hostile culture that no longer values the foundation upon which it was built—that is biblical Christianity. As I have been thinking and...
Donald Sterling, Secret Conversations, and the Image of God
By now you’ve heard reports about the reprehensible and racist comments of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. This is a news story that now transcends sports, with repeated calls for boycotts of Clipper games, demands for punishment for Sterling, and even...
Guns and Bibles: Why Do They Go Together?
At the outset of the American Revolution, many of the early colonials didn’t struggle to connect their faith with their moral obligation—as they understood it—to secede from England through war. With a gun in one hand and a Bible in the other, the American militia...
Gay Marriage and America: The Changing Face of a Nation
In thirteen years since graduating high school a lot has changed, not just in my own life but in the life of America. We’ve gone from having President Bush to President Obama. I’ve gone from being single to being happily married, graduating seminary and leading...
The Myth of Neutrality: Government Education and Non-Religion
When I attended government schools, we said the pledge of allegiance, which was about the only time I heard about God in school—“one nation, under God.” I did hear the name “Jesus Christ” once, but only when the gym coach stubbed his toe. Teachers weren’t allowed to...
A Biblical Approach to the Gosnell Verdict
Recently, I’ve written quite a lot on the Gosnell case. In my opinion it’s one of the watershed cases of our generation as it has opened many people’s eyes to include myself regarding the horror of abortion. Before this case I believed abortion was wrong but I was...
Worldviews in Conflict: Secular Spirituality’s Hearthold on Women
The Bible never promised that sharing the gospel and making disciples would be easy. What we are told is that in all ways we should represent Christ with a love for others that doesn’t call into question our integrity or compromise the message. Even further, 1 Peter...
The Stain of Death on a Generation: The Failure of the Media and the Gosnell Case
A recent Fox New poll shows voters believe a pro-abortion bias in the media is behind the poor coverage of the Kermit Gosnell murder trial. Most national media outlets are either ignoring the trial of the late-term abortion practitioner or providing very little...
Are The Creed The Cure For The Chaos?
Cultural engagement is essentially the objective of gospel preaching and the ministry of apologetics. Ultimately both are about conversion, seeing lives conformed to the image of Christ in terms of justification as well as sanctification. Today, a great deal of the...
Gosnell, The Future of the Abortion Debate and Revival
Today, I posted this on social media, “I think the Gosnell case is going to fundamentally change the way abortion is not only talked about in our culture, but also how its argued.” That statement generated quite a lot of conversation and I told people engaged in the...
Gosnell an American Tragedy: How Christians Should Engage the Pro-Life Issue
Introduction When I first graduated high school, I decided I wanted to study philosophy. One of the first classes I took at a community college in the Seattle, Washington area was moral philosophy. In that class, I heard the world’s take on every moral and social...
True Love and the Culture Wars
Being a follower of Jesus seems like an easy enough way to live. How difficult is it, for example, to obey the Great Commandment and simply love your neighbor as yourself? We know the answer to that. Fortunately, a life devoted to Christ and his mission does not find...
Postmodernism: An Immoral, Coward’s Way Out
“Postmodernism is an immoral, coward’s way out that is not worthy of a movement born out of the martyrs’ blood.” -J. P. Moreland
Atheism and Biblical Christianity: Worldviews in Conflict
Introduction Atheists are “coming out of the closet” and becoming more vocal about their message that “there is no God.” Professor Richard Dawkins (Britain’s leading atheist) is encouraging those who share his views to express their opinion. Author of the God...
Can There Be An Orthodox Postmodern Theology?
Nope.
10 Years Later and Worse
The Peace and Love Hippie Hostel is one of Paris’ most budget-friendly, a dingy sanctuary for under-showered backpackers. It was there that I met Derrick. Derrick didn’t believe in organized religion. Derrick didn’t believe in unorganized religion. He didn’t believe...
The Gospel, Connecticut, and the Great Commission
The tragedy in Connecticut struck a national nerve today as children were harmed and families were left scarred in the wake of the murder of innocent victims. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen these kinds of tragedies happen, and it won’t be the last. The fact, is...
Boundaries, Mere Entertainment, and a More Joyful Way
The problem at the heart of living in a media saturated world is that, like everything in life, media is made up of truth and lies interwoven into a complicated web. All of life is a mixture of grace and idolatry. No created thing is so good as to only be full of...
Being Honest With Our Kids About Death
I wanted to wait at least a week to write about my own response to last week's tragic shooting in Aurora. Partly because I can't even begin to imagine the horror, shock and (just now, I'm sure) onsetting grief of the families who lost loved ones. Like many of you, I...
Will They Find Us Singing or Whining?
What will Christian witness look like in a society that affirms gay marriage? After President Obama's expression of support, Christian reaction was all over the map, from the usual apocalyptic doomsday stuff to serious and thoughtful biblical opposition to progressive...
Why They Dislike Us: Christians and “Branding.”
"and this is why so many people reject the church . . ." How often have you read this in the last year? In the last month? In the last week? It's a premise for a wide variety of ideas about the Church, a repeated refrain that has almost become a cliche. It goes...
III. What is Postmodernism in Layman’s terms?
An attempt to explain postmodernism in terms that most people can understand.
Five Favorite Christian Punching Bags
I've never boxed. I've only seen Rocky I. And I think Mike Tyson is crazy. But as a Christian I do have a punching bag. In fact, I have several of them and so do you. These are rhetorical targets, things we love to hate as preachers, writers, bloggers, etc. I've you...
Why Christians Are Not the Point of Easter
I'm studying for my Easter sermon. I have to be honest, sometimes I get intimidated by Easter sermons. It's not that I don't enjoy preaching about the pivot point of our faith: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's just that I know on Easter there are those people...
5 Attitudes for Christians in a Political Season
So another Presidential campaign season is upon us and Christians are engaged at all levels and on both sides of most debates. As a recovering political junkie, I realize how easily my time, my energy, my attitudes can get sucked into the life force of Presidential...
Sex, Speaking the Truth in Love and the Gospel
Introduction Recently there has been a buzz in the Christian blogosphere about how Christians should think and talk about biblical sexuality. While much of the conversation has been helpful, even clarifying, and I’ve benefited from some of it, I haven’t seen...
Participating in Media is an Act of Worship
Do you believe entertainment is neutral? Or, do you believe that all things must be done unto the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31)?
Atheism, Hitchens, and the Resurrection of Christ
Death plays no favorites, has no enemies and is the great equalizer of all mankind. The death of Christopher Hitchens yesterday should come as no surprise as everyday people die, have funerals and are buried. Hitchens was a member of the “New Atheists,” a group...
The Consequence of Ideas and Worldviews Remember and Living in a Post 9/11 World
September 11, 2001 is a day that will live in infamy among Americans and the world’s inhabitants. This Sunday (September 11, 2011) marks the tenth anniversary to the day of the attacks on the Twin Towers. On September 11th, 2001 I was at a friend’s house hanging out...
Homosexuality, New York and Marriage
Introduction Yesterday June 24th, 2011, the state of New York became the sixth state in the United States to legalize gay marriage. The New York Senate passed the bill earlier yesterday evening (June 24th, 2011) and then Governor Andrew Cumo signed it into law. New...
Bin Laden, Justice and the Gospel
Last night President Obama announced that the United States Military- specifically the U.S. Navy Seals team six raided the house of Osma Bin Laden and killed him. Before I get into my remarks on this issue, I want to preface them by giving you a brief history of my...
Rep. Gifford, National Tradegy and the Gospel
On Saturday, January 8th, 2011 in Tucson, Arizona an event called “Congress on your corner” occurred at a local Safeway. The goal of the event was to give the people a place to voice their opinions and also meet the Rep. Gifford. This event turned tragic as a Jared...
Growth in the Gospel
Why is it important for the Christian to grow in understanding of the Gospel? The Gospel is not an object; it is foundational to our growth in Christ. The Gospel is not a message of self-esteem, improvement, or prosperity. Scripture teaches us: The heart is more...
Burning the Quran, 9/11 and Islam
Like many Americans, I remember where I was on September 11, 2001. A friend and I had spent the night outside in his tent, and his dad had come outside to let us know that the World Trade Center had been hit by an airplane. At first I didn’t believe my friend’s dad,...