Graham has been criticized by some Reformed observers for embracing “revivalism” and “decisionism.” Opinions will vary on those questions, but regardless of their soteriological preferences, most evangelicals still believe that God used Graham to contribute to the salvation of thousands of sinners over his ministry. The L.A. Crusade lets us reflect on the mysterious relationship... Continue Reading

Pride isn’t just the bombastic statements like the boxer Muhammad Ali declaring, “I am the greatest.” It comes out in making God a footnote to our accomplishments. Pride always lowers our estimation of God. Charles Spurgeon’s peer Archibald G. Brown preached on pride and said, “The proud man is simply one who bends the knee... Continue Reading

We know he does not always answer, ‘yes’. He sometimes says, ‘no’, and often he says, ‘wait’; but we must get to the point where we are aware he has heard and answered. The call to prayer is a call to perseverance – Jesus tells us to ‘ask, seek, knock (Matthew 7:7-12)’, to keep on... Continue Reading

Intentionally or not, the writers of this screenplay portrayed the sinful downside of popular, image-driven piety as well as has ever been done. While saying grace, the narcissistic and vapid Ricky reveals that he prefers an oddly specific (8 pounds, 6 ounces!) version of Jesus—the pudgy, non-threatening, cute baby version common to the seasonal piety of... Continue Reading

Sadly, the blessing that was enjoyed in paradise was lost as a result of the fall. The rest of the Bible tells the unexpected story of how God’s blessing from creation is rediscovered by means of God’s gracious covenant. Hints of how this would be accomplished were given to Adam (Gen. 3:15), Noah (Gen. 9:1),... Continue Reading

In a world that prizes autonomy and convenience, the church can model a different way—a way of sacrificial love, covenantal commitment, and the beauty of generational faithfulness. It’s true the “nones” are on the rise in the West, but globally, Pew Research Forum predicts “secular” people in 2060 will make up a smaller percentage of the world’s... Continue Reading

Humanists UK fail to acknowledge that every organisation has its reasons for what it does and every organisation operates in line with its core convictions. What they seem to believe is that such is fine when those core convictions are secular humanist ones, but not if they happen to be Christian. Even, it seems worth... Continue Reading

‘The best, the only explanation of the psalms….is this: that [Christ’s] Humanity found in them a collection of appropriate devotions: Prayer-book, liturgy, hymn-book, fitted and pre-harmonised for a Divine Sufferer and Pilgrim…They are lyrics primarily of the Humanity of our Lord, secondarily of ours’.  ‘Read these psalms without this thought; they are petrifactions for a... Continue Reading

It’s puberty-blocking drugs—not puberty itself—that require consent. Even so, children can’t possibly understand the long-term effects and implications of synthetic hormones that pause a critical physiological process like puberty. Adults should be responsible for the welfare of their children, but sadly, too many have been deceived by society’s infatuation with transgender ideology.   The United... Continue Reading

We are not ultimately in control of this world we did not create. In fact, as Job learned when he asked why all of the bad things had happened to him … a good person …, his questions were answered with other questions. They were harder questions asked by God that revealed Job’s ignorance about... Continue Reading