The Westminster Larger Catechism asks in Question 160, “What is required of those that hear the Word preached? The answer is, “It is required of those that hear the Word preached, that they…receive the truth…as the Word of God…” (Obviously the answer is heavily edited for emphasis.) Did you read that correctly? Preaching is to... Continue Reading

Those who trust in Christ as their Savior shall be raised even as he was raised. The resurrection of Jesus Christ in the first century is the primary reason for the believer’s confidence in this future reality. Because Jesus has already been raised from the dead in real time, space, and history, all Christians can be... Continue Reading

Your body is good as it is because God called it good. Very good, actually. And it is still very good with its cavernous wrinkles and silver stretch marks. It is still very good with its creaking joints and the litany of scars that tell your story. It is still very good with the weight... Continue Reading

I naturally think of the image of the Shepherd with the sheep, when I read of Paul’s joyful affection for other believers. Though the sheep are often difficult, the Shepherd does everything to care for the sheep (John 10). Though they wander, he expends all of his time and energy seeking out the lost sheep... Continue Reading

The worship system is not designed to keep God safe and clean from those grubby people, but to keep those grubby people safe from the God of whom a very glimpse would make you melt like the Nazi bloke in Indiana Jones who opens the ark of the covenant.  Eyeballs dropping all over the place. There... Continue Reading

Spurgeon saw himself primarily as a pastor-evangelist. He had a strong foundation in the theology of the Puritans. He was a Calvinist, though not a high or hyper-Calvinist. He once confessed, “I have been charged with being a mere echo of the Puritans, but I had rather be the echo of truth than the voice... Continue Reading

There is no one story that controls all other stories. There are no universal beliefs through which all people should be viewed like creation, fall, and redemption. They believe all metanarratives are a masked play for power. This, of course, is the one overarching story they use to control all other stories. It is the... Continue Reading

Many twitterers (who think him/her/them/zir/xirselves quite witty) point out how these Texas city councils are a bunch of old, white men making decisions about women’s bodies, and how dare they. But, the same crowd is quiet when it comes to city councils who are not at all qualified to make environmental decisions about plastic use,... Continue Reading

Christians are not free to speak our mind in any kind of careless or uncharitable way. We are to speak the truth, yes. But we are commanded to speak the truth in love. As one preacher said, truth should be used with the kind of care and precision with which a surgeon uses a scalpel.... Continue Reading

When God brings new life, a genuine re-generation, to sinners like us, more than our future is changed. In addition to the promise of eternal salvation, we are given new minds right now. God’s Spirit gives us a “new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” (Col. 3:10) While... Continue Reading