The Echo of Easter
Easter echoes down through the years. He is risen. He is alive. He is powerful and present.
Jesus is very much alive and impressively powerful. If we think of the tour of the troubles in this world, what hope do we find in the many tombs of emperors and kings? None. But one tomb is empty, and death has been defeated – Jesus holds the keys of death and Hades! We all... Continue Reading
Classically Practical
Classical Christian Ed must lay claim to the new “job training”.
What does spending endless hours on Latin, Greek, Logic, Rhetoric, Jurisprudence, Physics, and Metaphysics result in? An elite capable of navigating the scientific, theological, and political milieu of early modern Europe. No wonder the educational system produced such polymaths—renaissance men—able to discourse on law as theologians, theology as lawyers and politicians, and politics as theologians.... Continue Reading
Countercultural Courage
One man’s quest to destroy false narratives and restore the black community to foundational truths.
Qualls decided in high school he didn’t want to become a casualty of a broken home. But it wasn’t until he started dating Sheila that he saw up-close the true blessings of an intact family. Qualls watched Sheila’s father—a former sergeant major in the Army—sit quietly in his chair reading the Bible, then work demanding rotating... Continue Reading
5 Things Science Cannot Explain (but Theism Can)
These features support theism and provide strong evidence against scientism.
The universe is precisely fine-tuned so that life could appear. More than a hundred independent, hard facts about the universe have been discovered in the form of basic constants of nature or arbitrary physical magnitudes which are, scientifically speaking, brute facts and for which there is no further scientific explanation (e.g., the force of gravity... Continue Reading
The Transgender Movement Is Collapsing in England after the Cass Review
The transgender movement conquered the U.K. overnight. It may lose England just as swiftly.
According to Maya Forstater, who was fired for opposing gender ideology, won a wrongful dismissal lawsuit, and founded the campaign organization Sex Matters, these coming changes are a “major step” towards walking back NHS England’s “capitulation to the demands of gender extremists, which has damaged policies and practices, created widespread confusion, and harmed patient care.” ... Continue Reading
How to Read the Bible in Context and Stay on Track
It is God’s word—his divine revelation to us and received by us through his instrument of human writers.
The unity is the gospel message of redemption we have through our Lord Jesus Christ, the suffering servant (Isa. 53, Matt. 8:17, John 12:38, Rom. 10:16, 1 Pet. 2:24, etc.) who lived, died, and was resurrected according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3, 4), and who poured out his Spirit to us at Pentecost (fulfilling... Continue Reading
God’s Blueprint for His Mission
Churches are to use the ordinary means of grace in the ingathering and upbuilding of saints.
If we are to do well at church planting, denominations, presbyteries, synods, or networks will be needed for spiritual, prayerful, and financial support. When Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70, God’s plan continued to be revealed. Christians fled Judea. The temple could no longer be the focal point of assembly. The church was decentralized, and this... Continue Reading
Zwingli: Zealous Reformer, Faithful Pastor
Review: ‘Zwingli the pastor’ by Stephen Brett Eccher.
Zwingli the Pastor shows that pastors are as important today as they were in Zwingli’s time. The pastor has an essential role in times of crisis. As Eccher tells us, Zwingli preached powerful sermons to rally people to theological reform for the sake of gospel renewal. Some were so persuasive that his audience ascribed to... Continue Reading
Amaze the Next Generation with God
Reaching the next generation for God by showing them more of God. That’s just crazy enough to work.
As you try to reach the next generation for Christ, you can amaze them with your cleverness, your humor, or your looks. Or you can amaze them with God. I need a lot of things in my life. There are schedules and details and a long to-do list. I need food and water and shelter.... Continue Reading
The Mission of God as the Grounds of Church Planting
In one sense, the church’s mission is simply to claim the prize that the Lord Jesus has already won.
Having accomplished His mission, Christ has been awarded all authority in heaven and on earth. He has authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom the Father gave to Him (John 17:2). He will build His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). The ordinary ministry of... Continue Reading
Lest Israel Should Glory against God
“But Lord, why should I get any credit at all for this? You’re the one who brought me to the end of myself; you’re the one who enabled me to see that it’s all about you; you’re the one who taught me how to worship!”
Beloveds, when we see our dear Christ like this—adorned with the many-colored coat of God’s own works—we will immediately see something else: the ugliness and futility of our sinful obsession with our own! Like the apostle we will therefore cry out, “God forbid that I should ever again boast in my own works, lest, in... Continue Reading
The Cult Following of the Omnicompetent Pastor
Pastors are not the Christ.
Something has gone terribly wrong when the people have come to view the pastor himself as the mediator between God and man, even if this would never be explicitly stated. This is precisely why the pulpit itself is to be a place of great self-denial. Paul’s preaching was most effective because of his humility in... Continue Reading
A Word of Hope: Reflecting on Luther’s Lectures on Genesis
Yes, we have to tell the truth. There’s death in this world. However, “even the midst of death, the hope of life is kept, since the Word so teaches, direct, and promises.”
God’s word is true, Genesis reminds us. Eating the forbidden tree does bring death. Deceived into disbelief by the serpent, Adam and Eve gave birth to the sad biblical refrain, “And he died.” But God doesn’t leave this man and woman abandoned. He gives them a promise to hold, a confidence to sustain, that just... Continue Reading
The Methodist Sexual Revolution
A rapidly declining denomination jumps into the worldly abyss.
Delegates have already overturned the legislation of the 2019 General Conference. Now, in the coming week, they’ll roll back decades of United Methodist policies on sexuality and centuries of historic Christian teaching. Progressives are also successfully rolling back longstanding language on “respect” for the “unborn child” and “promoting the diminishment of high abortion rates.” Understandably, progressives... Continue Reading
Our Scholars Have Forgotten Themselves
Thoughts on a contemporary movement that contravenes scripture.
There is a twofold error in commending Aquinas: the immediate one being that he is an idolater, and the secondary one being it involves an implicit following of Rome’s lead, commending works by her members, and keeping a measure of company with her. Dominicans have been employed by Credo as teachers, and scarcely an issue... Continue Reading
Petitioning the Magistrate
A response to T. David Gordon’s protest of the PCA transgender surgery petition.
The 1647 Confession affirmed that “magistrates may lawfully call a synod of ministers, and other fit persons, to consult and advise with, about matters of religion” (WCF 31.2 [1647]), and the magistrate may be present at such synods “to provide that whatsoever is transacted in them be according to the mind of God” (WCF 23.3... Continue Reading
He Knows What You Need
“Give us today our daily bread.”
We don’t have to worry about anything. Jesus says, “Your heavenly Father knows what you need” (Matt 6:32). Holding onto this truth, we slowly learn not to put our trust in ourselves or any earthly security, but only in our loving God. And in that is our comfort. Up one aisle, down the next.... Continue Reading
Fake Manliness and the Lost Generation
Why Working-Class Men Have Abandoned the Church and How to Get Them Back
Your manliness does not come from these outward qualities or commitments. It comes from a deep love of the Savior who bought you with a price. Taking seriously the calling of Ephesians 6:1-4 to raise your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, listening to Ephesians 5 and loving your wife as Christ... Continue Reading
Stop Living for Yourself
We are meant to live for the One who created us.
We are not our own because we are bought with the precious blood of Christ. (1 Cor. 6:20) So let us live for God; our rightful Owner; our righteous Master; our all-wise Creator. And as we joyfully live for Him and sacrificially live for others, we know deep inside our hearts that there is where... Continue Reading
Hanging Up Your Cleats?
The thought of quitting the ministry can therefore be quite devastating.
Regardless of how you serve, just because it is no longer as an ordained minister does not mean your life is over. Granted, this might be a very bitter pill to swallow. If you try to pursue the pastorate regardless of the circumstances, even if providential signs are pointing in the opposite direction, you very... Continue Reading
Objections to Church Planting
Church planting is God’s strategy to carry on His plan to take the gospel into the whole world and make disciples.
As we review the data about the church’s situation in the United States, we can see not only that church planting is good for regions and countries that are not Christian but that we need new churches to help Christian nations remain faithful to our Savior. Church planting should not be seen as a threat... Continue Reading
Gospel Audacity Today
All of us are called to trust God and take audacious risks.
God calls us to take risks, accept costs, and make sacrifices too. That’s how the gospel moves forward—be it to Rome, to rural America, or to Ricky in the next cubicle at work. Ambition and risk are the human ingredients God uses to put the gospel into circulation. The word audacious hardly brings to mind serenity... Continue Reading
The Honesty that Brings God’s Grace
If we admit our sin and need, God turns on the Divine supply of grace …
We will find compassion if we “confess and forsake” our sins. The Lord loves us, and His convicting hand is His loving hand, designed to pressure us to release what is hurting us and others. He will rush to our aid if we get transparent with Him and others. Are there sins that you are... Continue Reading
The Antithesis between Legalism and the Gospel
The ancient Jewish leaven of legalism even infected the church in the first century. Let us reflect upon this phenomenon and then draw out some practical applications.
The Jews, steeped in the mentality of legalism, once asked Jesus, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” (John 6:28). This is the typical question of the unsaved person who does not know the gospel: What work of righteousness shall I do? How can I be good enough to ... Continue Reading
The Power of Prayer
Ask, seek, and knock are three metaphors for prayer.
Prayer is a powerful means of grace that God has provided to us. He has good things to give us that we do not have because we have not asked. Some may argue, but God knows what we need even if we do not ask. That is true, but refusing to pray is disobedience, and... Continue Reading
Does John’s Last Supper Chronology Differ from the Other Gospels?
This misunderstanding can be cleared up quickly when we examine the historical context.
It’s likely the case that John’s original audience saw no contradiction between John’s Last Supper chronology and the chronology of the other Gospels because they understood the way terms were used interchangeably in their day. Unfortunately, for modern readers who are unaware of the context, John’s language can sometimes be misunderstood to represent a different... Continue Reading
There’s a Religious Earthquake Coming. Can You Feel It?
What do we need to leave in the rubble heap and what do we need to rebuild?
Here we are in a society paralysed by the fears, anxieties and ennui of a culture that promised so much, yet has delivered so little. And here we are in churches that are in decline census after census, and which we will pull almost any lever we can find to ensure that the earthquake does... Continue Reading
The Judgement of Getting Exactly What We Want
Sometimes God gives us the desires of our heart so that we can see just how unappealing it is.
Things that are otherwise good or neutral that we chase after and desire – that the Lord has been keeping us from for our own good – that he eventually gives to us. In the end, he may give them to us so that we realise the Lord was keeping us from the things for... Continue Reading
What it Means to Be Reformed Part 1: The Solas of Salvation
The Five Solas: Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), and soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone).
A return to the centrality of Scripture and right soteriology is only the first step in letting Scripture shape every aspect of life and doctrine. Just as individuals are progressively sanctified by the Holy Spirit, we should expect the Church as a whole to be progressively sanctified. Semper reformanda means that even today the Church is in... Continue Reading
A Review: ‘A Place to Hide: Equipping Moms to Survive A Public Shooting’
A book on a short, clear work on a dark but important topic.
Sadly, our culture is changing quickly and our cities are disintegrating before our eyes. Violent crime, dangerous immigration trends, and one public shooting after another seem to fill the headlines. McShaffrey’s book will help you and your loved ones to make crucial decisions no matter where the next dangerous outbreak takes place. A Place... Continue Reading