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
Alexander T. Rankin, Missionary to Kansas Territory & Denver
Rankin’s understanding of his work was to start churches so younger men of greater stamina could become their pastors and face the challenges of the West.
One trip from Denver for church planting involved taking the stage to both Central City and Missouri City because several Presbyterians were interested in having churches organized. During the trip other settlements were visited with services held. It was an efficient way to reach what were often settlements located at sites where gold could be... Continue Reading
We Are Resident Aliens
Peter gives us categories for political identity and action.
The spiritual house of God, full of living stones (us) who serve the cornerstone (Christ), live their lives as a holy nation among the nations. We are like resident aliens—long-term residents of a city or world that is not our own. For we are seeking a better city “that has foundations, whose designer and builder... Continue Reading
Even When You Don’t Know the Steps, You Still Know the Way
Jesus didn’t tell you the specific steps to take, but He did both tell and show you the manner in which those steps should be taken.
The “way” is the posture you should take as you take these steps; it’s the attitude and manner of what you do. In the scenario above, the steps involve all kinds of things, but the manner in which you take those steps is much simpler. It’s the way of lowering. The way of service. The... Continue Reading
Presbyterian Church In America Invites Professional Polarizer David French To Lecture Christians On Getting Along
If the PCA wants to have David French talk about polarization, it should be as a poster child, not a panelist.
I emailed the PCA General Assembly and its Administrative Committee’s head Bryan Chapell that very question and received no response. An email obtained by The Federalist that was apparently sent to many people who complained about the French pick, however, said the PCA is “currently seeking to discern the accuracy of concerns that have been... Continue Reading
Devoted … Apostles’ Teaching (Acts 2:42)
One of the key themes of this book is that the word of God spreads with an unstoppable force.
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he declares that the church is God’s household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ himself as the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20). Take away Christ crucified and you are undermining the very foundation of the church. Everything is likely to collapse! I remember reading about the... Continue Reading
Overture 26 to Assist the Accused To Be Considered By the 51st PCA General Assembly
Overture 26 seeks to keep accused church members in the process for their own good and reclamation.
The proposed amendment’s solution is to expand potential representatives to “a communing member in good standing of a PCA church or any member in good standing of a PCA court (meaning all elders, ruling and teaching)….Another possible benefit of ensuring that accused church members have competent representation is a reduction in the number of appealed... Continue Reading
Perversion is Not Christian
Revoice has adopted the language of contemporary homosexual activism in asserting that homosexuality is an inborn, unchangeable inclination or orientation.
When it comes to forbidding homosexuality, the Church should just explain why it is shameful and what it keeps the homosexual from becoming. Some examples of arguments I think are good: Homosexuality destroys family life and robs parents of grandchildren and the community of its youth. Wealthy homosexuals acquiring children through surrogacy is going to... Continue Reading
Synopsis of A Purer Theology
The Synopsis represents a full, yet streamlined, summary of theology as it was understood in the Netherlands following the Synod of Dort (1618–1619).
These two volumes deserve to be the shelf of every busy pastor and every serious theological student. While the work should not be read as the final word on every theological question it raises, there is no doubt that the Synopsis will help the careful reader arrive at purer and better understanding of the historic... Continue Reading
What Happens When Children are Exposed to Pornography?
Pornography proves to be especially detrimental to children and adolescents.
Educating children and youth about the harms of pornography is also key. Such education could teach children how to react when they see pornography and who they can turn to for guidance and counsel. One study found that only 57% of children reached out to someone after exposure to pornography, leaving many youth to grapple with the experience... Continue Reading
The Snag in Stupid Questions
Finding our worth in God's story.
It’s the same old lie. And it leads to the same old deathful dead end. Leave the good, time-tested way, and there’s a better path just over there. But there is no life, there is no story, apart from our Creator. So is it worth it? To get married? To follow Jesus? The answer is yes... Continue Reading
I AM: Eternity
All moments are present for God.
Every moment in the past, present and future is known, seen and experienced fully by God. No moment in time becomes remote for God. No moment in time is only probable or possible. No moment in time is anticipated or hoped for. For God, past, present, future have full and equal existence. All of time... Continue Reading
16 Lessons from 16 Years of Ministry
Worship, not influence, is the goal of ministry.
An encourager will never lack ministry opportunities. Impulsiveness is deadly. Even though it often masquerades itself as zeal for Christ, impulsiveness is a destructive force that can cause deep hurts in the body of Christ. What the Lord is doing in us is far more important that what it appears He is doing through us.... Continue Reading
The War for the Soul of the World
From the Gospels, we will see how this Kingdom that put down its enemies in the first century will build and grow throughout all centuries until there is nothing left for it to conquer.
The torch now passes to us, the revived company of Christ’s End Times army. Having been lavished with incomparable blessings and equipped with Heaven’s full authority, it is our charge to carry His unstoppable advance into every sphere of society. Through the weapons of the Church, the means of grace, faithful evangelism, and multiplying discipleship,... Continue Reading
Choose Better
Book Review: T. David Gordon’s brief and reader-friendly new book is a fascinating look at the different models of decision-making.
Christians have arrived at five different models for making ethical decisions. Each of them asks different questions and these different questions bring different insights to the ethical question. Yet each has the same goal of pleasing and honoring God. The book is framed around these models, with each receiving a chapter-length treatment. Over the... Continue Reading
Why We Need to Read the Cass Report on Gender Ideology
The report should be used at all levels to counter the pseudoscience of altering kids’ bodies in the name of mental healthcare.
The report affirmed that so-called “gender-affirming care” is built on “shaky foundations.” Far from being settled, the evidence supporting the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries to “treat” gender dysphoria is “remarkably weak.” According to the report, most of the studies cited in support of social, chemical, or surgical “transition” were found... Continue Reading
In Search of the Baptism of the Imagination
How can Christians be about the business of the transformation of our present cultural milieu?
C.S. Lewis described his own conversion to Christianity, from a fashionable and rather mindless form of atheism heavily tinged with late Romanticism; and he depicts that transformation as beginning with the unexpected effects of a chance reading of George MacDonald’s book Phantastes on a train ride. Lewis says very clearly that, even in the wake of this... Continue Reading