“When you think of home, what place do you think about?” he asked. Without missing a beat Jessica replied, “Heaven.” When a woman is gripped by this perspective, she will sacrificially care for her own family and the family of God. She will do all she can to put them under the protective, cleansing blood... Continue Reading

Jesus reminds the Israelites that they went to the wilderness to hear John speak. They did not sit in plush auditoriums with fresh brewed coffee to hear God’s word at their convenience. They were willing to endure discomfort to hear from God. Would we go into the wilderness, sit in uncomfortable chairs, suffer through less than professional... Continue Reading

Researchers Karen L. Blair and Rhea Ashley Hoskin published their findings in an article Transgender exclusion from the world of dating: Patterns of acceptance and rejection of hypothetical trans dating partners as a function of sexual and gender identity published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.  They asked nearly a thousand participants, in the words... Continue Reading

Names tells us who we are. They tell us our cultural boundaries at macro and micro levels. As humans (or “man”) our name is “image of God.” That name sets the boundaries of our relationship to God, to one another, and the world around us. “Image of God” establishes the God-ordained culture in which we... Continue Reading

Of all the ancient writers, she particularly liked Terence. She loved his wit and eloquent style, but had some problems with his overall message. Christianity had drastically changed the world by restoring dignity to all human beings as made in the image of God, and by emphasizing humility, compassion, and self-sacrifice. Why couldn’t there be... Continue Reading

I believe it is absolutely vital that the Spirit of God direct the church. I want the Lord to set the agenda and not myself or anyone else. I believe going through books at a time will do this. No matter how much I think I know a text and what I’ll be preaching on... Continue Reading

If I serve in something that is easy enough for me, that I can put in my diary and then tell myself I have fulfilled my service duties, I can keep my guilt at bay. So I serve, and am happy to do so, because it stops me feeling guilty that I’m not. But what... Continue Reading

Perhaps we no longer hear about the worship debate because everyone is simply tired of fighting. Positions have calcified. No matter how well-intentioned, few minds are being changed. Bringing up the subject only tears open wounds that haven’t quite healed.   A couple of decades ago, churches split in a grand debate over worship. Contentious... Continue Reading

The sad reality is that many people have witnessed fighting, church splits, abuses, hatred, contentions, jealousies, all undergirded by a hard kind of legalism within the confines of a closed community that demonstrates little of the joy of Christ.  What are we to think of these things? Are there legitimate criticisms of Reformed theology, piety, and... Continue Reading

“There is a widespread skepticism about many sorts of knowledge claims today, and this skepticism has been promoted from both the right and the left. The skepticism is largely based on the realization that knowledge is always connected to power. But there is uncertainty about what follows from this: is it still ‘knowledge’?”   Postmodernists... Continue Reading