“At first I wasn’t sure about this movie. In the first 45 minutes there was no specific mention of Jesus or even anything that could be considered exclusively Christian. Up to that point if the Christian elements were removed the movie would still have made sense, and still have been interesting, to the non-Christian.”  ... Continue Reading

“I felt sorry to the 400 some fellow churches and colleague pastors who remain in the denomination,” Lee added. “In some ways, our decision to leave the denomination was an easy one. I think the other Korean churches that decided to stay in the denomination and bring reformation from within made a more difficult and... Continue Reading

“Why would I make it more difficult for the Helper to provide heavenly assistance? Oh, because I am in love with everlasting love, I cannot totally thwart him, for he is omnipotent and irresistible. But why would I “kick against the goads?” Why would I grieve the the one, proceeding from both the Father and the Son, from... Continue Reading

While Catholicism presents a “linear” framework in which the Christian journeys in progress toward holiness, Lutheranism posits a “dialectic” one which precludes any self-perfecting tendencies. In this view, “Christians make no progress in righteousness; they simply return time and again to the word that announces pardon, a word that invites and elicits faith.”    As... Continue Reading

“We can justify anything if we try hard enough, right? But the only way to justify adultery is closing our eyes to the terrible costs it exacts in our lives and the lives of those closest to us. We can all do the math for ourselves, but by my counting there are at least eight... Continue Reading

As powerful as the Evil One may be he is not as powerful as he would like us to think he is. He is not omnipresent and further he is, as Luther taught us, defeated by “one little word:” Jesus. We should say to him as our Lord said to Peter, “Get behind me Satan.”... Continue Reading

“I’ve seen what church can be. It can be the poor helping the poor, Jesus serving his own; the lonely opening up their doors to one another, praise and worship in the midst of sorrow. A shelter for the orphan and widow.”   The rain is like hundreds of bare feet on the roof of our tent trailer... Continue Reading

“Even great and good kings are sometimes followed by monsters. And wicked kings have godly sons. Josiah was the son and grandson of two of the most wicked kings (Manasseh and Amon). He became king at eight years old. At sixteen he turned the nation on its head with a righteous reformation (2 Chronicles 34:1–4).... Continue Reading

One of the greatest benefits of extemporaneous preaching is that you have to know–and, I mean, really know–the exposition of the passage that you are preaching. It has to be a part of you. As John Owen said, “No man preaches that sermon well to others that doth not first preach it to his own... Continue Reading

“The judge has not shown much regard for the legal merits of Davis’s claims, and it’s far from clear that she’s chosen the right venue for her complaints. But this is a political fight as much as it is a legal one. Increasingly, religious conservatives fear there will not be space in public life for... Continue Reading