Next to loving God comes giving way to Dad. The general principle taught by the fifth commandment is to obey lawful government (Ex. 20:12). The specific application is that children honor parents. Children must please parents in everything (Col. 3:20), with careful qualification (Eph. 6:1–3). Positively, you should elevate and esteem your parents. Negatively, you should avoid any... Continue Reading

Preaching is a certain kind of speech carried out by certain kinds of people. Of course, there are other kinds of word ministries given to all believers (Eph. 6:13-17; Col. 3:16; 1 Thess. 1:8; 1 Pet. 3:15) but preaching (especially the speech signified by kerysso) is a ministry set apart.   One of the best books I read last... Continue Reading

Churches don’t need administrative support staff or a custodian. They don’t need a nursery or a dynamic children’s ministry. Of course, all these things can be greatly advantageous for the sake of Christ. But all over the world, churches are thriving without them.   It’s amazing how many things churches don’t need. Churches, for instance,... Continue Reading

Recently people across America have learned about the hoards of homeless people living in tents in Los Angeles and other cities. These “Tent cities” seem to be growing accompanied by growing infestation of diseases and other illnesses (typhoid!?!). This of course prompts the question, How should this be dealt with?   Nuance seems to be... Continue Reading

If you want celebrity, you can’t simply expound the Word each week: you need some unique schtick to distance you from the pack, and create hype around your personality. Some Christians are so embedded in the celebrityism and exhibitionism of the web that they cannot see that these are hostile to the gospel.   Church leaders... Continue Reading

Before a church evaluates a pastoral candidate’s gifting or talent, it must first evaluate his character. To be sure, for a man aspiring to ministry, it may help to be winsome, to be eloquent, or to possess a magnetic personality. Yet, before one looks for these secondary—and tertiary—strengths, one must first meet the qualifications of... Continue Reading

We want to see churches enveloped by a real joy in God because of what He has done for us in Christ. You see this in Colossians 1 as Paul, himself in prison, prays for a church full of people whom he has never met—that they would understand the greatness of God and joyfully respond... Continue Reading

What can we learn from the Methodists of two centuries ago? I am staunchly Presbyterian and am not arguing that we should change our standards, but we can surely learn from history. Omitting a number of critiques we might explore, two positive lessons stand out.   Learning from the Methodists What can we learn from... Continue Reading

Come to be known as the “Oxford Movement,” due to its beginnings at Oxford University, theologians such as John Keble (1792–1866), John Henry Newman (1801–1890), John Mason Neale (1818–1866), and Frederich Faber (1814–1863) sought to forge a middle way between Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism.   Over the past month I have been exploring the various... Continue Reading

When first in Corinth, Paul financially supported himself by making tents with Aquila and Priscilla. Paul later told the Corinthians that though he had the right to receive compensation for his spiritual labors, he did not make “use of this right” in order to keep from putting “an obstacle in the way of the gospel... Continue Reading