We can communicate our delight in the Bible by the way we conduct family worship. Let our body language, our expressions, and our tone of voice all transmit vigor and vitality. Work at showing how even one part of the passage applies to our children’s lives.   The Obstacles Parents face huge obstacles in trying... Continue Reading

We should certainly preach about the blessings God bestows, so long as we teach that the purpose of every one is the praise of God’s glorious grace (Eph. 1:3–6). He secures an inheritance for us, not ultimately for our comfort, but for his glory (Eph. 1:11–12, 14). He saves us in such a way that he alone... Continue Reading

Singing in parts is a reflection of the Body of Christ that serves one another with different functions. The melody is supported by the harmony, the inner voices contribute tension and release, color, and enriched harmonic textures. The sopranos need the basses who need the altos and tenors.   I love plainsong chant and the... Continue Reading

An undisciplined child will grow sullen, angry, depressed, frustrated, and ultimately shameful in behavior. And just because they may not be under roof does not mean they should be overlooked. Young adults need their parents more than they know.   Recently in class, I was reminding pastoral students that they learn to shepherd a congregation,... Continue Reading

They—like all of us—still need discipleship. They may not always understand how deeply they need discipleship, but I’ve always found senior adults open to learning from someone who loves them.   If you’re a church leader, you need to spend intentional time with a senior adult – or with a lot of them. Even a monthly... Continue Reading

In Western culture, self is king. We judge the merits of almost everything by the degree to which it brings us self-realization and self-advancement. Ralph Waldo Emerson charged, “It is easy to live for others, everybody does. I call on you to live for yourself.” And we have. The pursuit of dreams and the fulfillment... Continue Reading

We are to worship God how God wants us to worship Him. This is the apparent crisis in the revolution of worship in our day. The driving force behind the radical shift in how we worship God today is not because of a new discovery of the character of God but rather through pragmatic studies... Continue Reading

“Warn [God’s people] before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.” “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.” “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.” It’s the desire to... Continue Reading

The first English edition of Acts and Monuments was published by John Day, who invested much time and money on this project, paying for expensive woodcuts portraying terrifying scenes of burnings and torture. The result was a massive volume, containing about 1800 pages. It included the Commentarii rerum and an introductory overview of church history, linking the suffering of... Continue Reading

Wycliffe challenged a wide range of medieval beliefs and practices: pardons, indulgences, absolutions, pilgrimages, the worship of images, the adoration of the saints and the distinction between venial and mortal sins. He gained the greatest opposition by rejecting the doctrine of transubstantiation, the belief that in Christian Communion the bread and wine (or juice) become... Continue Reading