“If loneliness can lead to pornography use, and pornography use may bring about or intensify loneliness, these circular linkages may create a vicious cycle, pulling the user even further from health-promoting relationship connections.”   Quality relationships and close social connections are associated with decreased mortality risk for all causes.1 Yet among teens, loneliness, isolation, despair,... Continue Reading

“To identify victims, traffickers sometimes employ women who are also in prison, who scout potential inmates who could be groomed and recruited. Women recall receiving letters from pimps who woo them with promises of financial and emotional security upon release, and describe feeling like there was no choice but to go along with the trafficker... Continue Reading

“So before you go to sleep, or as your rise to greet the dawn, be full of glory hopes as you breathe this prayer for light – framed according to these texts – crave such surpassing understanding and illumination of heart, with the goodness and grace of God, in the face of Jesus Christ.”  ... Continue Reading

“Do not use the spiritual disciplines so you can tell other people about how godly you are, or even so you can show off to yourself. Don’t read the Bible so you can Instagram your devotions or humblebrag about it on Twitter. Examine your heart to ensure you are using the spiritual disciplines for the... Continue Reading

“Consider this: Can we have the gospel without a biblical Christology? The answer, of course, is no. And without the gospel, we cease to be the church. We are called to proclaim the gospel and live out its ramifications. The heart and soul of the gospel is a biblical Christology. We must confess it, teach... Continue Reading

The Christian Post is reporting that a Christian church in Guangzhou, Guangdong was the target of government harassment, recently, when thirty members of China’s Communist government broke in and levied heavy fines against the church for “illegally gathering.” The pastor of the church was also arrested in the incident.   I’ve been speaking for some... Continue Reading

“Our discussion of big sins and little sins tends to revolve around the fact that not all sins are the same and that some are bigger than others. This is true and it’s a worthwhile discussion to have, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that small sins reveal the sheer extent of our... Continue Reading

“As Americans approach another Independence Day celebration and this one in the midst of what seems like a super-heated cultural-political context, it seemed like a good time to reflect again on the teaching of the Apostle Paul where he reminded the Philippian congregation about where their most fundamental loyalties lie.”   Our older Reformed writers... Continue Reading

“Sacraments are not practices the church made up or that evolved over time. The sacraments are specific practices Christ himself gives to Christians for their sake. Thus, these things are vitally important for the church and Christians to practice and should always be done with the Word of God and in the way the Word... Continue Reading

“The apostles regularly make reference to the wilderness generation without comment or explanation. When Paul is warning against idolatry, three of his four illustrations come from Numbers (1 Cor. 10:7–10). Balaam’s story comes up several times to make a variety of points: immorality (Rev. 2:14), greed (Jude 11 and 2 Pet. 2:15), and Messianic expectation... Continue Reading