The Vatican, home of the pope and the Roman Catholic Church, ruled last year that priests cannot bless same-sex unions and that such blessings weren’t valid. But the ruling also reignited a debate on the matter, and there was considerable resistance against it in some parts of Germany.   The Roman Catholic Church in Germany on Sunday faced renewed... Continue Reading

For the disciples, receiving the Spirit was like Jesus was with them again. Except as they travelled around and spread across the earth, as they’ve been told to, he was still with each one of them. He could now be everywhere, including inside each of their hearts and minds speaking tenderly to them and empowering... Continue Reading

The primary means of transforming culture is through the family. Families focused on the three things suggested here will be strong, and our civilization will reflect this standard. We didn’t get to this point in time overnight, and we won’t get out of it overnight. It will take time. In the meantime, the most important... Continue Reading

In modern America, morality is nothing more than the sum total of the tastes of the moment. When free love and throwing off the sexual restraints of earlier generations was hip, Hef was a godlike figure who was the public face of a family restaurant chain. Now that the human cost of this revolution has... Continue Reading

Progressivism demands heaven here and now and shames anybody who tries to resist its utopian agenda. Even though it portrays itself as all about “justice” if we take its own claims seriously, we must conclude that it cares nothing for justice except as a concept it can use to attain total power.    It is... Continue Reading

Christians are ready to die, for we know what awaits us on the other side. We know death is the doorway that leads to true, eternal life. Death is not the end, but only the beginning.   Readiness to die is the first step in learning to live. (J.I. Packer) Are you ready to die?... Continue Reading

It now falls to you, young man, to be worthy—as worthy as any man can be—to receive from his hand what he counts more precious than jewels, more valuable than his own heart, of greater worth than his own name and even his own life. It falls to you, young man, to honor his diligence... Continue Reading

Creationists only point to a divine Creator when the laws of science themselves point us unequivocally in that direction. And while there will always be an important faith element to belief in God, the creationist argument for God’s existence arises directly from a proper understanding of the laws of science, not because of ignorance of... Continue Reading

Pursuing Christ in private and in community with others is the only way to survive the train crash of a culture that promotes an anything-goes, sexually insane agenda. Only then can we discover that the gospel offers so much more real life for the soul than short-term, temporary “fixes” that compromise our very selves.  ... Continue Reading

The fact that we have reached a crossroads is a good thing. It indicates the divisions that mostly remained out of sight except occasionally (e.g. during the 2010 proposed “Strategic Plan” or sometimes during the Review of Presbytery Records Report) are now staying in the forefront of the discussion.   As we wait to see... Continue Reading