One of the Most Overlooked Arguments for the Resurrection
That fact is simply this: the earliest Christians came to believe, against all odds and against all expectations, that Jesus of Nazareth had been raised from the dead.
At the end of the day we are faced with a remarkable confluence of events. We have an early Christian movement that radically reverses it’s view of Jesus—from defeated would-be Messiah to the true and only Messiah—and also believes that the tomb was empty and that Jesus appeared to more than 500 people at once.... Continue Reading
Didactic Singing
Songs founded on and infused with biblical doctrine are a powerful pedagogical tool.
Music is undeniably an effective means of administering balm to the soul. When the Word of God is set to a beautiful melody, the music can stir within us a zeal and hope that nothing else can. Music is, as Abraham Kuyper wrote, a “means for bringing a worshiper’s soul out of the ordinary and... Continue Reading
Review: World Conquered by the Faithful Christian
The great strength of this book is Alleine’s acknowledgement that we live in a state of tension.
The World Conquered by the Faithful Christian is a military guide for Christians as to how we ought to “fight the good fight of the faith,” and is filled with practical advice for how we can best honour God in this life, for our good and His glory (1 Timothy 6:12). Therefore, it is a... Continue Reading
Mickey’s Mantle of Radicalism
Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who's tried to overcorrect for his silence on the Florida parental rights bill, has managed — in four short weeks — to turn the company from a moderately woke entertainment giant into public enemy number one.
Disney made its bed. They picked a side. Now, Chapek and every other CEO choosing politics over parents will have to live with it. In the meantime, Harding insisted, Americans can’t let up. “[The Left has made] Disney, which is in every home in America… part of their arm of influence. If we do not... Continue Reading
The Responsibilities of a Faithful Minister Part 1: The Light Reveals All Iniquities
Our great concern is simply to be a faithful fragrance of Christ in our Gospel preaching.
Brother pastors, will you renounce all pretense and hypocrisy? Will you hold yourself open to the people you serve, exposed to the light of God’s Word, that it might be plain that you are sun-tested, who minister “as from sincerity”? By the open statement of the truth, be sincere preachers of the Word, not cheap peddlers.... Continue Reading
Ex Nihilo and the LGBT+ Charade: Part 2 Of 2
We take the gifts from God and use them for our own purposes, to fulfill our own desires.
It is God who opens and closes wombs. It is God who blesses those of us with children, and the withholding of offspring is not a sign of His cursing. It is not for us to covet God’s decree at which women are given children and which ones He said “no” to for the time... Continue Reading
You Can Obey
Being made alive by the Spirit means that we are capable of obedience.
Our sinful nature is not zapped away when we trust in Christ. But does that mean we cannot obey? No. We have God’s Word and God’s Spirit to guide and empower us to obey. Which means any time we sin as believers it is not because we are unable to do what is right but... Continue Reading
Her Weakness is Her Strength
Within every church there will be some who are especially weak.
As we relate to those who are weak, we are to ensure they do not draw our censure, our criticism, or our condemnation, all of which flow so naturally from our sinful hearts. We are to ensure we do not regard them as a trial, burden, or embarrassment. Rather, we are to accept them as... Continue Reading
Some Kindness Stings
Why Love Uses Hard Words
Nathan risked offending King David (2 Samuel 12); it’s why Paul risked offending Peter (Galatians 2:11–14); it’s why Jesus risked offending the scribes and Pharisees; and it’s why we are sometimes called to risk offending someone with a painful rebuke. In these cases, if our motive is love and our goal is to remove a stumbling block... Continue Reading
Seminary Faithfulness
While the church of Jesus Christ cannot be destroyed, the institutions serving her often are.
Standing firm has a cost. We should expect increasing marginalization. There will come a time when we ask ourselves whether we really want institutional fidelity after all. It will always seem easier to leave the battles to the next generation. Everyone, from the trustees to the staff, needs to recognize this. But the ministers we... Continue Reading
The Attributes of God: Eternal
God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.
God required no one to exist before Him. He existed before this world. He existed before the angels. He existed before there was any material things at all. There was no time before God. In fact, that is true in two senses because God even existed before time. I am the Alpha and the... Continue Reading
The State of the PCA
In view of the ruling of the SJC and the defeat of Overtures 23 and 37, what is the next step for conservatives?
It is very easy to conclude that a spiritual cancer has been in the body too long and that there does not appear to be anything that those who are committed to God’s Word can do. We have tried and we have failed. Certainly, God can do something to heal the cancer, if He chooses. ... Continue Reading
Two Weeks to Flatten the World
In order to “keep us safe” government policies mushroomed from innocuous instructions into draconian decrees.
The magic act of Covid vanishing from media view and public perception is not due to any medical miracle or the natural trajectory of a virus losing its potency. It was performed by those who manufactured this reality and committed countless crimes, coordinated in an attempt to slip out the back door, avoid further public... Continue Reading
Progressives Seem Willing to Erase Women. Are We Going to Let Them?
Thomas’ season is another reminder that many progressives are willing to sacrifice women’s rights if it means staying in the good graces of those leading the transgender revolution.
Although the assertion that women’s rights should be protected would have been uncontroversial only a few years ago, it is now seen as divisive and hateful even to suggest that biological males are robbing biological females of opportunities and awards. Incredibly, many progressives are in favor of accelerating this trend. But unless people are comfortable... Continue Reading
My Redeemer Lives
In the midst of darkness and loneliness, Job has hope.
As we remember Jesus’ death on Good Friday and celebrate the Risen Christ on Easter Sunday, let us remember the sufferers in the midst of our churches. There will be people that need us to tenderly speak to them and build them up with words of gospel hope. They may come hopeless, even feeling as... Continue Reading
Non-Leftist Employees Appeal for Neutrality After Disney is Shanghaied Into Joining the LGBTQ+ Activist Army
"We watch quietly as our beliefs come under attack from our own employer, and we frequently see those who share our opinions condemned as villains by our own leadership."
The open letter gesture offers the Storytelling world a glimmer of hope. Implications and precedent aside, Disney’s non-leftist employees have brazenly exposed the hypocrisy of “progressive orthodoxy,” and by doing so have drawn a line in the sand, opposing a nihilistic authoritarianism devouring everything in its path. Non-leftist Disney employees have quietly protested Disney’s move... Continue Reading
What A Tangled Web
The West no longer has any consensus on what it means to be a woman or even a person.
We have abortion bills that flip-flop on fetal personhood and candidates for the Supreme Court who defer to biologists while trying to avoid gender essentialism. This conceptual chaos, rooted in a denial of reality and responsibility, can only lead to chaos. To quote Sir Walter Scott, what a tangled web we weave when first we... Continue Reading
The Joy of God in Us
This Joy of God is an eternal joy — it will outlast death and only increase in us forever.
When we experience the joy of the Holy Spirit, we taste the joy that is at the core of ultimate reality. For when we are born again by the Spirit (John 3:6–7), we receive the astounding, incredible, empowering, priceless gift of the Holy Spirit who resides in us, just as Jesus promised. As we... Continue Reading
God’s Sovereignty and Glory
To say that God is sovereign is to express His almightiness in every area.
God is the “first cause” of all things, but evil is a product of “second causes.” In the words of John Calvin, “First, it must be observed that the will of God is the cause of all things that happen in the world: and yet God is not the author of evil,” adding, “for the... Continue Reading
Christian Leaders Write Anti-Christian Trans Letter
It’s not prayer or faithful Christian teaching on transgenderism that will cause harm.
The trouble with the words used by the clerics is that, at a superficial level, they sound nice. Of course we want safety and non-judgementalism but on examination, not only are the words in this letter meaningless and contrary to the teaching of Christ; they cause harm. While attempting to create a ‘safe space’ for... Continue Reading
Religious Schools Need Not Apply?
Massachusetts church complains new school proposal faces potential rejection over Christian beliefs.
A large church outside Boston wants to open a new school, but it is facing off with a local government committee it says is hostile to its religious beliefs. Vida Real church in Somerville, Mass., says the committee is prepared to reject its proposal for a Christian school because of its views on creationism, among... Continue Reading
Why Long-Range Planning Doesn’t Work
Leaders are expected to have a vision for the future, articulated with measurable outcomes. But is that really the best way to lead?
Based on history and the shaping of cultural and market forces, I could easily speculate about what the future might hold, but I don’t plan for a specific future, nor do I work to hit specific growth targets. Having lived Opportunity Leadership for many years now, I know that when I look back to consider... Continue Reading
The Five Emerging Factions in Evangelical Higher Education
Will the culture war flashpoints that are fragmenting American evangelicalism divide evangelical higher education as well?
Two plenary keynotes at the CFH (one from Kristin Du Mez and the other from Jemar Tisby) encouraged Christian historians to embrace activism on behalf of justice, but I suspect that competing evangelical interpretations of what constitutes justice will lead some Christian academics to embrace some causes that are directly opposed to those that other... Continue Reading
The Massive Value of Unpaid Work
Our culture regards the material as more significant—in fact, more real—than the non-material.
The most valuable things we do are unpaid. We live in the faith that by devoting ourselves to relationships—with God and with each other—God is using our labor to produce things of inestimable value. When we take a sabbath rest to worship, when we pray, when we take time for devotions and fellowship, that is... Continue Reading
Why Do We Live in a Sinful World?
Understanding the fact of the fall is important because it shows us that our real need is not freedom from affliction, but reconciliation to God in Christ.
The Bible teaches that sin is our fault, not God’s. While God is in control of every detail of this evil world (Isa. 45:7), He can neither sin nor be tempted by sin (James 1:13). The Westminster Larger Catechism reminds us of three biblical truths about the fall: (1) Adam and Eve could and did fall; (2)... Continue Reading
When Debating Biblical Inspiration, Let God Do the Heavy Lifting
I came to believe the Bible was God’s Word the same way the Thessalonians did, the same way you probably did.
Don’t get into a tug-of-war with skeptics about inspiration. Instead, invite others to engage the ideas first, then let God do the heavy lifting for you. The truth you’re defending has a life of its own because the Spirit is in the words. Once your friend has listened a bit, any further reasons you give for... Continue Reading
Jesus: The Greater Joshua
Although not a biological ancestor of Jesus, Joshua was in many ways a type of Christ.
While Joshua led the people of Israel into the land God had promised them, the greater Joshua, Jesus of Nazareth, will lead us to that heavenly city, a land of pure delight, where there are no more tears, suffering, or pain, and where we will dwell forever in the presence of God. When the... Continue Reading
Dying is but Going Home
This is not a fairytale; it is the blood-bought promise of Jesus.
Spurgeon’s confidence that Heaven is the place of great union with Christ and reunion with redeemed loved ones. As a caring pastor, Spurgeon desires his people to understand that embracing the gospel should change their view of death. He says, “Let no doubt intervene; let no gloom encompass us. Dying is but going home.” Only... Continue Reading
The Notion of Authority in God’s Created Order
Adam and Eve did more than disobey a nit-picky rule; they rebelled against God.
God built authority into creation from the beginning, and Satan’s strategy—his plan for maximizing the humiliation he wanted to inflict on God—was to tear down those good and beautiful structures of authority. Do you realize the importance of this? It’s nothing short of profound: to tear down good, God-ordained authority is to join Satan in... Continue Reading
The Wicked Are Not So | Psalm 1:4
There is hope in this life, even for the wicked.
Do you walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers? Do you take no delight in the Scriptures and never meditate upon them? If so, then you certainly cannot claim to be rooted like a tree in God’s Word as the blessed are. You, therefore, meet the criteria of the wicked. Thankfully,... Continue Reading
