The human preacher is to put for the time and effort to be schooled in preaching, to study and prepare and exegete for preaching, to hone and craft his sermon for preaching, but, in the end, “success is God’s work.”[1]As humbling as that is for preachers, it is absolutely true.   From Toastmasters to TED... Continue Reading

As I noted in Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry (2007), almost as soon as the Reformation achieved clarity on salvation it came under attack from two sides: the antinomians, who would not tolerate the abiding validity of the moral law as the norm of the Christian life and the nomists, who would not abide free salvation earned... Continue Reading

Being clear about policies is fine. But even more central is being clear about what a church believes. A church’s policies ought to be grounded in clear biblical teaching, but “Church Clarity” does not aim at “evaluating theology or doctrine.” And yet this is precisely what the Lord expects churches to do.    On Wednesday,... Continue Reading

My purpose in outlining the classical case for marriage isn’t to bolster the NO-campaign. It is to clarify why being un-persuaded about same-sex marriage is not necessarily thoughtless or heartless. What follows, then, is a kind of ‘eulogy’ for traditional marriage, a tribute to a venerable idea that seems to have failed to commend itself... Continue Reading

The great tragedy of “Me too” is not just that the world can say it. It’s not just that sin is so pervasive. It’s not just that it might wake us up to the reality that evil men and women are everywhere. “Me too”, while it may offer a temporary comfort of not feeling alone,... Continue Reading

Luther preached about a direct encounter with the Lord, and preached in a way that expected listeners to experience the Lord directly. At the heart of the success of the Protestant Reformation was its bold and clear proclamation of Christ.   It’s not just in Wittenberg, Geneva or Cambridge that you can find one. In... Continue Reading

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, Europe had been without a Bible the people could read for something like a thousand years. Thomas Bilney had thus never encountered the words “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). Instead of the Word of God, they were left to the understanding... Continue Reading

How did Descartes hit upon this conservation law? Not simply by observing nature. “In fact,” he points out, “it often happens that experience may appear to conflict with the rules I have just explained.” Descartes believed that the methodology of physics resembles mathematics more than the “scientific method” we learn in school — beginning not... Continue Reading

 “I believe in God, and religion is also my constant companion, and has been for the whole of my life. We as Christians should above all not be afraid of standing up for our beliefs.” Merkel, now 63, was a preacher’s kid: Her father was a Lutheran pastor. She does not attend church regularly but... Continue Reading

But the disappearance of paths leads to the disappearance of meaning. In the past, those who transgressed well-worn paths found the experience exhilarating precisely because there were paths to transgress. Today, with pathways quickly disappearing, even the most brazen acts are met with a yawn. Some LGBT writers mourn the normalcy brought by gay marriage, because... Continue Reading