In pursuing reform for the church, they rejected two extremes. On the one hand, they rejected those who insisted that the church was essentially sound and needed no fundamental changes. On the other hand, they rejected those who believed that they could create a perfect church in every detail. The church needed fundamental reform, but... Continue Reading

Sometimes we rely on sermons and the worship gatherings alone to get us ready to worship. Friends, we are prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love. True worship is a daily dwelling that Paul is talking about in Colossians. This is a dailyrecognition that what we deserve is death, hell, the wrath... Continue Reading

Whatever suffering God allows you and I to go through, is suffering that He takes us through. Meaning, He never leaves us to our own devices to deduce or figure out how to endure or tolerate it, but instead walks hand-in-hand with us in the midst of it (Ps. 23:4). God grants to His people the gift of suffering... Continue Reading

The hookup culture is supposedly about freedom and autonomy. Priest’s radio show reveals that the playing field is not really equal. But she doesn’t see that the whole premise of self-interest and self-pleasure in the hookup culture is enslaving.    Radiolab did a series of three podcasts called “In the No” in collaboration with radio maker Kaitlin... Continue Reading

Ask God to give you joy when other ministries succeed. Ask God to free you from coveting their success. See their success as kingdom success, and remind yourself that we all work for the same master.   There’s something in us that discounts our current circumstances: our lives, our location, our role, our life. We... Continue Reading

Rather than being a cause for alarm, the dying-away of cultural Christianity should be seen as an opportunity. It used to be too easy to be a Christian in America; so easy that one could adopt the label simply by being born in this “Christian nation” and going to church once or twice a year... Continue Reading

Pray your church is a place where confessed sin is seen as a godly triumph. Yes, there should be consequences—especially if the sin is particularly severe and the servant is in a particularly public ministry. But don’t gloss over the fact God kindly brought it into the open. Your leaders now have the opportunity to... Continue Reading

 A pro-life culture in church is fuelled by the fact that there is not only life after death, but as Tom Wright says “life after life after death.”  A robust doctrine of resurrection, steeped in God’s plan to renew the whole creation (as opposed to souls floating around like cling film on wispy clouds), fuels... Continue Reading

From the beginning, Spurgeon’s goal for the Pastors’ College was “not only to train students, but to found churches.”[2] As much as he emphasized the importance of evangelism, Spurgeon understood that “no amount of occasional evangelistic services will ever render needless the abiding work of organized Christianity.”[3]    Charles Spurgeon lived during a time of theological... Continue Reading

Two of the world’s foremost experts confidently dismiss the timeless truth that sex and gender identity are chromosomal and embodied realities—while admitting no one knows where gender identity originates or, for that matter, what constitutes male or female. This admission means humanity is left with no stable definition of itself.    Last week, within the... Continue Reading