Foreseeing this circumstance, Pastor Wang Yi wrote the declaration below to be published by his church should he be detained for more than 48 hours. He wrote his first draft on September 21, 2018 and revised it on October 4, 2018. In it he explains the meaning and necessity of faithful disobedience, how it is distinct... Continue Reading

As Augustine says, God delivers us from ourselves — from our own miserable errors. Though our sin nature draws us to worship other things, God made a way to redeem our hearts back to him, our first love, through the death of his Son.   Augustine would have made a great mother. Though he was... Continue Reading

Where vicious words were being used by the world to tear down others, the church should be set apart as those who use words to give grace and build up in a way that fits the occasion (Eph. 4:29). Where allegations of racism were being thrown around liberally, the church should be setting the example... Continue Reading

I once asked Dr. Ferguson advice on selecting commentaries for use in preaching and teaching. He gave some wonderful counsel.  He told me to buy the best commentary on the book I happened to be preaching through, and then he added, the best book may not be the one with which you have the most... Continue Reading

“They want to completely eradicate Early Rain Covenant Church from this country, but the will of God is to stamp this church even more firmly onto this country and to engrave it even deeper into their hearts. The Lord’s Church is the only community that will endure forever. Today, may we who bear the weight... Continue Reading

Li, the elder, asked the global church to pray for them and to continue spreading the word. “Pray that God would give us the courage and the strength to deal with this persecution,” he said. “That those [in detention] would be a good witness, and that the church members wouldn’t compromise, but instead … they... Continue Reading

Oden’s story provides a rare glimpse into the world of modern liberal scholarship from the perspective of someone who used to believe all the standard critical views but then changed his mind. Thus, there are a number of lessons we can learn from his journey.   Over the last couple of weeks, many evangelical scholars... Continue Reading

I remember reading about Daystar Church in Good Hope, Alabama, where the pastor had a month long focus on sex in his sermons and it was explicit. In fact, the church raised a billboard throughout the county that advertised the Sunday worship services with this new series: “Great Sex God’s Way.” Citizens were confused. A... Continue Reading

Because of the institution of slavery in America, race and ethnicity have been the focus of many tensions in our society. What are race and ethnicity? Are these important concepts, or should we focus our attention on other things? How should we as followers of Jesus Christ view these things? Many believers will point to... Continue Reading

Don’t get me wrong; meeting someone’s needs it important. It’s important, but it’s easily outsourced. We can just write a check. We can just meet our quota of serving once per year. We can pop in and pop out of given situations. It is entirely possible for us to meet people’s needs and yet never... Continue Reading