“It is true that knowledge will need to become understanding and understanding must grow into wisdom.  True enough.  But if we fail to provide our children with the Biblical and theological knowledge found in the catechism, well then, we might one day find them doing the spiritual equivalent of yanking pork fat from their throats!”... Continue Reading

“Martin Luther, a scholar, took quill in hand, dipped it in his inkwell and penned his 95 Theses on October 31, 1517. These were intended to spark a debate, to stir some soul-searching among his fellow brothers in the church.”   A single event on a single day changed the world. It was October 31,... Continue Reading

“In the Bible, one reads of the love of the Heavenly Father. One then sees him prove his affection for the world by sending his own son that whoever believes in him might not perish but find eternal life. Likewise, the affection of the Son for both the Father and the Elect is legendary.”   Christ looks at his... Continue Reading

“Some insisted it boils down to personality. I’m a pretty serious extrovert. I’m comfortable in a lively conversation. Does this mean I should pastor? Not necessarily. Many of my pastoral heroes are serious introverts. Besides, my most skilled professors took a relational approach to students and were also devoted churchmen.”   John Calvin was certain God had called and... Continue Reading

“Are you standing petrified on the end of some diving board in a faith crisis while your heavenly Instructor is exhorting you to jump? Is he making precious and very great promises (2 Peter 1:4) to you that if you jump, you will discover new dimensions of swimming joy?”   When I was six or... Continue Reading

“As intelligent design theorists have pointed out, unguided, natural processes always degrade information — they never increase it. If life at its most fundamental level is a digital code, then mutations are glitches that, if they accumulate, will eventually kill the organism.”   What’s the greatest discovery in the history of biology? If you said... Continue Reading

“We are not setting out in prayer to change the mind or will of God, but simply to make known to Him our “wants and our desires.” We do so while simultaneously settling in our hearts that it is God’s will –and not our own– that we ultimately long to see fulfilled.”   Should Christians... Continue Reading

“This are just a few of the small things that have changed me throughout life. If you’ve known me for any length of time, you’ve probably heard me talk about one or all of them. I hope even more, though, that you’ve seen me live them.”   There have been seven or eight lessons I have... Continue Reading

“When we start to take on the language of violence—“culture war,” “attacks on values,” “faith under siege”—to describe ideological differences that are actually relatively peaceful in practice, we not only overstate reality. We risk losing perspective on what real persecution looks like.”   It’s been an eventful few months in America’s so-called culture wars. In... Continue Reading

Ryle was a deeply committed and non-compromising evangelical Christian. In fact, Charles Spurgeon referred to him as an “evangelical champion.” His book ‘Holiness’ has been reprinted numerous times since its original publication in 1879. It is deservedly considered a Christian classic on the subject of sanctification.   In the early centuries of the church’s existence,... Continue Reading