What Churches Can Do to Reconcile with Those Who Left
How the Church Can Model the Covenant of Grace
It is likely some pastors and elders, however few, erred and even sinned in their response to Covid and to the congregation. Where that happened they must confess those mistakes and sins and ask for forgiveness from their congregations. That act might be the most powerful sermon they preach to their congregations all year. ... Continue Reading
De-creation?
The loss of the sacred and the marring of humanity.
President Biden’s pathetic use of the image of God language to justify irresponsible policies toward children and to displace the role of parents is a damning indictment of his administration. Perhaps even more significantly, it is also a sign of the cadaverous stench of de-creation that now marks what is left of our culture. ... Continue Reading
The Grammar of Puritan Preaching
Understanding the basic components of Puritan preaching.
This twin focus upon God’s Word and the agent of that Word, namely Christ, was the essence of Puritan preaching. Every nuance and detail of their sermons was a mere reflection and out-working of those twin principles. Christ and His Word were the most basic facts of Puritan preaching—indeed they were the grammar of Puritan... Continue Reading
Let’s Study the Beatitudes! Part 2: The Poor
All self-sufficiency must be abandoned.
Being poor in spirit is being someone who knows that you have nothing, spiritually, to offer and therefore you stand completely dependent upon God—upon his grace, his mercy, his provision, and effort. Being poor in spirit is accepting that you are spiritually needy. There’s a bright thread of connection between the Tree of the... Continue Reading
Love Like Men (Part 3 of Biblical Manhood Series)
This is our warfare, brothers: to know and understand what the Bible says about Biblical manhood, to orient our lives in that Godward direction, and refuse to be moved from off that spot.
Do not let the enemy win in your marriage. And do not let the enemy win in your season of preparing for marriage. Repent when you fall short. Stand up, trust the Lord, obey His Word, and repeat when you miss the mark. Introduction Over the last couple of weeks we have been talking... Continue Reading
Jonah—The Preacher of Repentance: Who Was Jonah?
The story of Jonah is simple enough to be understood by a child, but profound enough that theologians and biblical scholars still debate its meaning.
When we look at the message of Jonah through the wider lens of redemptive history, his prophecy takes on a whole new and expanded meaning—God’s mercy extends to the ends of the earth–not just to Israel. Jonah’s actions must be interpreted in light of YHWH’s greater purpose. Moral Tale or Historical Event? A Well-Known... Continue Reading
When Repentance Hurts: The Grief of Losing What We Love
We experience grief even though we pursue holiness and obedience.
If you’re coming alongside someone who is experiencing the painful loss of false comforts and pleasures for the sake of Christ, don’t miss her heart. Be careful not to minimize or dismiss the heartache because what she is feeling is real, even for misplaced desires. Grief is a loaded word. It is something we... Continue Reading
Don’t Let the Culture Train Up Your Children in the Way They Should Go
The world catechizes your children by normalizing sin.
Even if you homeschool your kids or send them to a Christian school, they’re getting the world’s catechesis. So we need to be intentional about catechizing them with what is truly good, truly beautiful, truly life-changing, and life-saving, and God-glorifying. The World’s Catechesis Our family loves to watch the Olympics. As we’ve watched the... Continue Reading
How the Person Became a Self
Affirmation of the sexualized self is the key to our new politics.
The modern self seeks to give expression to our individual inner lives, rather than seeing ourselves as embedded in communities and bound by natural and supernatural laws. Authenticity to inner feelings, rather than adherence to transcendent truths, becomes the norm. The following is adapted from the foreword to Carl R. Trueman’s new book Strange New... Continue Reading
Clarification and Retraction re: Greg Johnson’s Book
The problem is the claim that “gayness” cannot be sanctified; an idea that violates the Creation Ordinance (Gen. 1:27) and the biblical understanding of personhood: We are not our desires.
After thinking through all of this more carefully and more clearly, I can no longer in good conscience stand by my initial endorsement of Greg Johnson’s book because of its “Side B” underpinnings and faulty anthropology (and therefore faulty theology). I’ve gotten a lot of emails and messages lately regarding my endorsement of Greg... Continue Reading
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