Historically, the church orally instructed children and new converts in the Bible’s teaching and its doctrines; therefore most catechisms have a question-and-answer format. One of the earliest catechisms is the Didache, or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles.   The Importance of Catechesis During my childhood, my friends and I used to run home after school and... Continue Reading

Robinson says it’s not unusual for him to roll into church service wearing the same clothes from a gig the night before, but playing Sunday mornings typically discourages him from being “too reckless” on Saturday evenings. There are always exceptions.   Musicians take gigs from almost anywhere. Want them to play in a dirty old... Continue Reading

The church, founded in the Willow Creek Theater in Barrington, Illinois, also remains an evangelical powerhouse—and a model for churches around the country. It boasts a worship attendance of more than 25,000, making it the sixth-largest church in Outreach Magazine’s list of America’s 100 largest churches.   When the #MeToo movement arose this past fall, Willow... Continue Reading

For all that what on earth is “settled science” anyway? It used be “settled science” that the earth as the center of the known universe. Then Newtonian physics was “settled science” and so on. It seems to me that “settled science” is an oxymoron. Hawking was sure that certain things could not be true of... Continue Reading

We should recall that, unlike Christ, we are ourselves sinful, each of us actively contributing to the faults of our own societies. So we should judge our nations, present or past tense, modestly and reluctantly. Smug contempt for our own people can be self-righteous.   Recently I had the pleasure of presenting a paper on “godly nationalism”... Continue Reading

There is a better story. It begins with men and women, made in God’s image and living in paradise, throwing it all away by believing and acting on a lie. Everything in the world is hard because of Adam and Eve’s fall into sin. Work is futile and frustrating. Childbirth becomes a painful ordeal. Relationships... Continue Reading

Feminine ideals vary within the Christian community. Although purity is still given the highest premium, and some form of courtship is a must, maybe you imagined becoming a Christian mom and effortlessly balancing work, home, and PTA meetings. Perhaps you imagined being on the mission field and falling in love Elisabeth Elliot style.   t’s... Continue Reading

Prayer is a skill that can be learned and cultivated. It may become reflexive through constant use, where turning to God in times of great trial is the natural response of having walked with Him in the ordinary course of events. But, like all skills, practice and perseverance are called for in the development.  ... Continue Reading

The following is a guest post by Dr. Ram Rao. Ram became excited about physics and mathematics while a student at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India. He came to saving faith in Jesus Christ while studying Electrical Engineering at Caltech. Ram has a Ph.D. in Computer Science and has worked for several decades... Continue Reading

The most striking expression of this kind of joy is found in Romans, where Paul shows how the experience of deep joy is bound up with the great truths of the gospel. Having just explained how justification through faith, by grace is the basis of our new standing before God, he says, ‘And we rejoice... Continue Reading