Afflictions As Sermons
Chastisements are like sermons that call us to repentance.
When all things go well, it is an easy thing for us to glory in regard to our faith; but in adversity, the grace or beauty of virtue becomes apparent. He that has not been tested by affliction, what knoweth he? “Experience works hope” (Rom. 5:4.). This morning I happend to run across Zacharias... Continue Reading
Q&A With Former Mars Hill Church Executive Pastor Sutton Turner
An interview with Sutton Turner, once one of the executive pastors of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. He presided over the growth and decline of the church that closed its doors in 2015.
Over the last 4 years, I have studied the culture from Mars Hill and talked extensively to people that were negatively affected by the culture and its leaders. I am building a set of material from this research to help other organizations which I have shared with several pastors and leaders. They have identified one... Continue Reading
The Truth Claims of Jesus and Jordan Peterson
Perhaps the deepest mystery Peterson seems destined to grapple with is how the Bible and Christianity apply across the board.
I suspect Jordan Peterson finds himself in a bit of a quandary today in matters of faith, religion and particularly Christianity. By his own admission, he feels boxed in when asked what he believes about God. It sounds like he is still up in the air and not yet ready to come down on one... Continue Reading
Evangelicalism and Tribalism
Evangelicalism is not growing in Europe. What is happening there and in the U.S. is a political phenomenon in which citizens are wanting to recover national identity and sovereignty
The liberal critics of Trumpian evangelicals don’t really want that. What they may think is that voting for Hillary was the Christian thing to do. The hitch there is that committing Christianity to any political party or candidate is to go back before liberal politics separated religion from government, when the king was head of... Continue Reading
Has the Time Come for a New Neo-Evangelicalism?
Evangelicalism is not limited to America and evangelicalism is not limited to any one political ideology.
Journalists listen! “Evangelical” is a spiritual-theological identity not tied to any nation-state or political party or ideology! It exists throughout the world and there are more evangelicals in Africa than in the U.S.! Please stop treating evangelicalism as if it were the Republican Party at prayer. It is not and cannot be that! A... Continue Reading
Setting a Course for Faithfulness
Why is it important to express and defend a biblical Christology?
“Consider this: Can we have the gospel without a biblical Christology? The answer, of course, is no. And without the gospel, we cease to be the church. We are called to proclaim the gospel and live out its ramifications. The heart and soul of the gospel is a biblical Christology. We must confess it, teach... Continue Reading
A Victory for Freedom and the Pro-Life Movement
The pregnancy centers viewed the California law as an unconstitutional infringement upon their rights of speech, not to mention their freedom of religion and conscience.
In yet another narrow decision, this one titled, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra, the high court last week struck down a 2015 California law that forces pro-life crisis pregnancy centers to advertise abortions. These are centers established for the very purpose of not doing abortions and for providing an alternative to abortion. The California... Continue Reading
Communists Officials in China Harassing, Arresting Christians on a Regular Basis
Many Chinese Christians choose to meet in underground “house” churches
The Christian Post is reporting that a Christian church in Guangzhou, Guangdong was the target of government harassment, recently, when thirty members of China’s Communist government broke in and levied heavy fines against the church for “illegally gathering.” The pastor of the church was also arrested in the incident. I’ve been speaking for some... Continue Reading
The Utter Horror Of The Smallest Sins
There are some who argue that there is really no such thing as big sins or little sins
“Our discussion of big sins and little sins tends to revolve around the fact that not all sins are the same and that some are bigger than others. This is true and it’s a worthwhile discussion to have, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that small sins reveal the sheer extent of our... Continue Reading
Paul’s Twofold Citizenship And Ours
Our older Reformed writers regularly mentioned “two kingdoms” in different ways
“As Americans approach another Independence Day celebration and this one in the midst of what seems like a super-heated cultural-political context, it seemed like a good time to reflect again on the teaching of the Apostle Paul where he reminded the Philippian congregation about where their most fundamental loyalties lie.” Our older Reformed writers... Continue Reading