“Our belief that Heaven will be boring betrays a heresy—that God himself is boring. There’s no greater nonsense. Our desire for pleasure and the experience of joy come directly from God’s hand. He made our taste buds, adrenaline, and the nerve endings that convey pleasure to our brains. Likewise, our imaginations and capacity for joy... Continue Reading

“We grieve the loss of people we love, yes, but also the loss of circumstances. I had longed to celebrate our son’s 2nd birthday, but this day came and went with no boy in my arms. I had longed to see him in that crib in our room soon after it was assembled, but months... Continue Reading

“Charles died in 1558, having placed other family members to administer the parts of the empire. The shifting political alliances continued throughout his life and beyond making political solutions impossible without strong military backing. And the hoped for reforms from the Council of Trent were slow in coming and received throughout the western churches with... Continue Reading

“Just a word to other guys who use their iPad. Check to make sure you have your notes before you leave your house or at least before the service starts. This point goes back to the assumptions and false security of technology. If we’re using technology then anticipate something going wrong and rejoice when it... Continue Reading

The primary goal of government, we said, was to seek peace by doing justice. Several times I’ve mentioned 1 Kings 3:28, which gives us the political philosophy of the Bible in a nutshell: “Israel stood in awe of the king [Solomon], because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.”... Continue Reading

“How did this OT form of leprosy have any relevance to their spiritual wellbeing?  And for that matter, what does OT leprosy have to do with us? Some scholars understand the snow-like nature of this leprosy to come from the scales and flakes of the skin disease. This particular effect of the disease indicates that... Continue Reading

“Playing God is the greatest temptation that human beings face. In Genesis 3, the first sin involves wanting to be like God. So it’s not surprising that governments, made of human beings, face the same temptation.”   In the first half of this course, we thought about what government could ask of Christians. In the... Continue Reading

“One of the most crucial conversations during the Reformation concerned the marks of the true church. This is understandable. Prior to the Reformation the only church was the Roman Catholic Church. (In the West, of course, as the Orthodox Church dominated the East.) Then along came the Reformers, who raised the question: What is the... Continue Reading

As the pastor continued to describe the truth of Jesus Christ, I felt as though the verses he shared were written specifically for me. Looking across the aisle, I saw my client. He smiled, nodded, and gently patted his Bible as if to say, “Now do you understand?”   Like most people, I was born... Continue Reading

“Whenever we take one biblical truth, then conclude that another teaching of Scripture is incompatible with it, we presume to act as judges of Scripture, rather than submitting to what it says. Hence we become our own authority, defining God’s love on our own terms in a way that is incompatible with Hell, whereas Scripture... Continue Reading