It is of growing concern to me that more and more preachers in the Reformed tradition seem unable to discern when they are importing their own ideas into a sermon, as opposed to saying what the text says. I would give $100 to hear a boring man tell me what a text says and help... Continue Reading

Grace moderates our expectations of ourselves and others. At the foot of the cross, we have seen our sin and our sinfulness. We have learned that we are not perfect and never will be. Therefore, when we fall and fail, we don’t torment or torture ourselves. Instead, we calmly take our sins to Calvary knowing... Continue Reading

This year may have been hard, but the Lord has been faithful to get all of us through. His mercies have been new every morning, He has given us all we need for life and godliness, and the message of Christ’s redemption and victory for His children is as true today as it was 2,000... Continue Reading

If we only focus on what is happening in our immediate context, and that immediate context happens to be protected from many of the ills of this world, we can start believing the lie that people are generally good. However, if we look beyond to the heartache that has plagued every generation, we understand that... Continue Reading

Democracies and republics are rare success stories in history.  At their best, they are worthy of imitation.  For a moment, Alabama and the wisdom of the ancients overlapped in this last election.  The lessons of Greece and Rome prove valuable.  The lesson of Alabama may yet as well.     Democracies are notoriously fragile. Athenians who... Continue Reading

This is loaded with theology, most of it dead wrong. Where is God the Creator and Jesus the Redeemer in this worldview? Or when Yoda says of his coming death, “Soon will I rest, yes, forever sleep. Earned it I have,” how does this stand up against the biblical worldview of Heaven and Hell? Where... Continue Reading

There is commonality among the children of the same parents, to be sure; however, the unique personality of each child–more than the commonalities–is what often draws the attention and focus of parents. This is no less true in the ecclesiastical world than it is in the home. The church (universal) owes her origin to the... Continue Reading

Ever since the fall, being yourself is the opposite of what God desires. Since the fall, our authentic selves are unsurpassed in self-absorption; they hate God by refusing to treasure him above all things. Therefore, the authentic you is worthy of death.   She struck terror in all who met her. Her voice, like an... Continue Reading

Without realising, this man had offered a fine theological defence of the regulative principle of worship. I daren’t argue that I wasn’t quite a fully paid up regulative principle adherent – though I’m not so far away in practice – because, despite our divergent logical paths, we both alighted on the same conclusion: that’s not... Continue Reading

The problem here, aside from the shell game of politics and theology, is timing. When Keller adopted evangelicalism as his identity, did he really not know that Billy Graham, the poster-boy for post-World War II neo-evangelicalism and a board member at Keller’s seminary, Gordon-Conwell, had conducted religious services in the White House for Richard Nixon?... Continue Reading