A brief survey of the New Testament will quickly reveal the importance of the idea of union with Christ. This idea is given special emphasis in the writings of Paul, as one finds the Apostle describing virtually every aspect of Christian privilege and experience as “in Christ” or “in Him.”   I was born and... Continue Reading

“But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.”   Is there any such... Continue Reading

I belong to a What’sApp messaging group with scores (or more) of Brad and Megan’s family, friends, and fellow church members. Brad offers updates, which alternate between the grieving and the inspiring. His friends offer encouragements and prayers. On Wednesday morning—five days after normal ended—Brad shared the following (lightly edited, including removing children and church’s... Continue Reading

It’s hard to imagine a statement that better captures the ethos of progressive Christianity than this one.  It marks a profound pivot away from matters eternal and toward matters earthly.  Let’s not worry ourselves about what happens after death, we are told, because no one knows anyway.  All that matters is helping the poor, feeding... Continue Reading

There is a truth that every person in ministry must eventually confront: God may only give you a small audience. He may only grant you a few supporters. He may only bless you with a small team, a short reach, a limited influence. The question for us back then was how would we respond?   “If... Continue Reading

Both of these figures, on public platforms, testified clearly and boldly to the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. The media honored them greatly. Denhollander and Trent spoke the good news of the gospel to huge numbers of people. Christians too often bemoan that they are shouted out of the public square, but that has... Continue Reading

“Wow, I still can’t believe it. Imagine, of the millions of children that Compassion is sponsoring, I was chosen by the president of America to be his sponsored child from many miles away. He became my sponsor when I was 7 years old and he went by the name of George Walker. Looking back, now... Continue Reading

There had been four centuries of divine silence in Israel. The God who had progressively revealed his plan and purpose in redemption through the pages of Holy Scripture, had added nothing to his revealed word throughout this time. Even though it was a period marked with major national and international crises that affected God’s people... Continue Reading

Every seven days Adam and Eve would stop their pleasant work of tending the garden and studying the animal and plant life, to spend the day in meditation on the works and the word of Almighty God. Perhaps, especially on this day, they would commune with their Creator as he walked with them in the... Continue Reading

Human marriage can be a beautiful gift. But Paul talks about marriage in the context of Christ’s gift to the church to teach us that the best human marriages are but shadows of the glorious marriage between Christ and believers (Eph. 5:32–33). In the gospel, Christ gives himself as the new life we need. He... Continue Reading