Falling Short of the Solas
How we can restore an understanding of the Solas in the church
Slowly but surely, parts of the Christian church have been loosening their ties to the likes of Luther and Calvin and opting instead for a cacophony of contemporary voices informed primarily by human experience. To its detriment, the church has listened with itching ears to voices that tell us things we want to hear instead... Continue Reading
What to Do When You Can’t See Straight
When we can’t see our situation with clear spiritual vision then we tend to fixate on our earthly circumstances.
If you want to rejoice in the Lord always and not be anxious about anything then you need to see that the Lord is at hand. There is no better place to be reminded of how the Lord is at hand than through his word the Bible. If you feel like the Lord is not... Continue Reading
The War on Generosity
Several examples of recent restrictions on charitable giving
For more than 20 years, Glenn Richter has been collecting food from restaurants and synagogues to donate to the homeless and local soup kitchens. Not anymore. Last year, Nanny-in-Chief Michael Bloomberg banned restaurants from donating leftover food to shelters and soup kitchens. The excuse given by Bloomberg was that the health of the homeless was... Continue Reading
5 Hard Truths for Parents
Through parenting God searches your heart, humbles you, and softens you for His service
The biggest temptation we parents face, I think, is to consider our kids as our kids rather than God’s children. Don’t misunderstand me, when I look at my children, I think all the time, Wow, these are my kids, this is awesome. And yet I have to remind myself that they are God’s children more... Continue Reading
What is Fair?
The difference between “fair play” and “fair shares”
Wright and Rogers explain that in the “fair play” vision, inequalities are fair so long as the rules by which people compete for valued goods are fair. In this framework there are winners and losers. When losers lose, as long as the rules are the same, the first assumption cannot be that they lost because... Continue Reading
The Book of Ruth: More Than a Love Story
In providing for His people then, God was also providing for a future deliverer.
We do a great injustice to sacred Scripture by contenting ourselves with quaint stories and life lessons as if they were the prime products of our study of God’s word. The book of Ruth has undoubtedly received its fair share of undervaluation at this point. For example, the theme of marriage occupies much of the... Continue Reading
Living Well with More: Learning to Love (or at Least Accept) My Kids’ Stuff
Living with less stuff requires control, which is the first thing parents give up when we have children
My children and all of their stuff make my life necessarily complicated. Children bring with them more and more and more, of everything, from small plastic objects and reams of artwork to emotional intensity, germs, and joy. I have heard more than one grandparent say that they hesitate to wipe the sticky fingerprints off their... Continue Reading
How long should a pastor preach?
Think like a shepherd as you determine the length of your sermons.
I had an interesting conversation yesterday that reminded me this question needs to be addressed. I find many pastors, especially younger ones, are regularly wrestling with this question. They should be. The pressure to answer can be self-imposed, or forced by those in your church who complain your sermons are too long. The problem is... Continue Reading
Ten Reasons Why I Will Never Go To Rome
Reasons why the Roman Catholic church is unbiblical
Rome anathematized the gospel of free grace. “If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone…let him be anathema” (Canons of Trent, 43). Scripture, however, teaches that God justifies ungodly sinners by faith alone, completely apart from works (see HC Q/A 60-61). For the past eight years or so, I’ve had the... Continue Reading
If you appoint men who are not qualified for the eldership what happens……
The dangers of unqualified elders
Untheological elders are not going to be able to spot error. In all likelihood it’ll be a matter of emphasis and we start to get unbalanced in our teaching. Elders with a good knowledge of scripture and the Confession will be able to correct us, or at least flag up where we might be becoming... Continue Reading
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