Really loving your child might well mean telling the experts to get out of the way – or telling the drug pushers to butt out because there might be better ways to proceed. And good parenting will often mean just letting our kids be kids: letting them learn by trial and error, by failure, by... Continue Reading

Wisdom is not the pursuit of the old and gray in hair, but is best found in the formative years of development — from childhood onward. In the pages of the Bible the voice of wisdom cries aloud: “Young Men, Listen!”Parents and churches need to harmonize their voices with wisdom. Boys and men, enlisted in... Continue Reading

So often, Spurgeon saw great crowds turn out for his open-air preaching. But he often observed that after the service, the people would simply disperse. There was little opportunity for follow-up. But at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, as people were converted, they were baptized, brought into the church, discipled, and engaged in the work of the... Continue Reading

Jesus was a master at engaging people within their culture, whether they approached Him as friend or foe. He related to people without typical cultural filters. Even His primary followers had different backgrounds and livelihoods. A classic example is Jesus engaging a woman of questionable character at Jacob’s well near Sychar in the region of... Continue Reading

Christianity should not only influence what we support but also how we engage in the political sphere, namely, in a spirit of humility, charity, and good-faith deliberation. Christians should reject Christian nationalism, but not allow the moral panic surrounding it to shame them out of fully engaging in the public square, and doing so as... Continue Reading

There is the temptation to trust our own wisdom. Proverbs warns us: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (3:5–8). To believe that our own wisdom is sufficient to guide us not only is foolish but is the essence of sin. That belief led the first... Continue Reading

If I’m unwilling to do the work, then it’s time to retire. I see too many pastors who want the paycheck, prestige, and honor, but are in cruise-control and are phoning in their sermons and counseling sessions. These are just some of the things I presently take into consideration as I think about what things... Continue Reading

When we say, “I’ll pray for you,” it can often also become a way of exiting the conversation. When someone is sharing details that are too intimate or too uncomfortable or too painful, we can extricate ourselves pretty neatly with a statement like that. But in asking, “How would you like me to pray?” we... Continue Reading

What makes me sad is that over the centuries hundreds of thousands, or perhaps millions, of brave men died successfully protecting the West against the invasion of Muslims. Yet, in the last thirty years or so, our governments have essentially surrendered to Islam and turned places like London, Malmo (Sweden), the Twin Cities, the Paris... Continue Reading

I think we make a mistake by believing we are keeping this commandment by not bowing down to images. Of course, there are modern controversies that could be discussed, such as the Catholic practice of veneration of saints and the use of icons. There is also the distinction that some have made between religious worship... Continue Reading