Most say their church would be a safe haven for victims of domestic violence. But many don’t know if anyone in their church has been a victim of domestic violence. And only half say they have a plan in place to help if a victim comes forward, according to a new report on churches and... Continue Reading

What Scot laments is the loss of evangelicalism’s soul in center-left to far-left circles, where, unfortunately, the experiential elements of evangelical identity became paramount, leading to theological drift that robbed churchgoers of the gravity of eternal judgment, the authority and relevance of Scripture to today’s situation, and the urgency of conversionistic evangelism. I, too, lament... Continue Reading

With the availability of so many new songs, we often become haphazard in our worship planning, pulling songs from so many sources without reinforcing the songs and helping the congregation to take them on as a regular expression of their worship. In the old days, the hymnal was that repository. Today, we need to create... Continue Reading

In far too many churches, the Bible is nearly silent. The public reading of Scripture has been dropped from many services, and the sermon has been sidelined, reduced to a brief devotional appended to the music. Many preachers accept this as a necessary concession to the age of entertainment. Some hope to put in a... Continue Reading

Certainly worrisome, fearful, sinful, or competing thoughts can prevent us from connecting with God as we worship. Yet the problem with this type of call right at the beginning of a service is that it is actually burdensome and guilt-producing rather than freeing. We are what we think according to Jesus, for thoughts come out of our hearts (Matt. 15:18-20). Like that young mom with little kids, our thoughts come with us into the sanctuary yanking on us left and right. So how does one just leave them outside or, in a sense, click his fingers and make them go away? As with the whole of the Christian life, God’s people need the help of Christ through God’s Word and Spirit.

Our churches must continue to be bastions of worship and Christian teaching. However, the social aspects of church life are also valuable. To the extent that societal personal relationships are challenged in a culture in which family instability and mobility are common, it is critical that our churches provide the social stability, strength, and support that our teens and emerging adults so badly need. Our churches cannot ignore their duties in Christian teaching, but neither can they ignore the social needs of the Christian community. Our church is not just a social club, but it must provide the social support necessary to facilitate stability in a culture of secular pressure.

“The printing press was an amazing ditto device that seemed to work like magic. Printing by woodcuts was known before the time of Gutenberg. This was a laborious process that involved carving letters or pictures onto a block of wood, inking the finished product, and pressing it onto vellum (a surface made from calfskin) or... Continue Reading

You close with a declaration of faith.  You are confident God’s love will prevail.  God is with you.  You will overcome because Christ overcame for you.  You are His.  He is the Good Shepherd who sought you, keeps you and guards you.  He will not lose you.  A new start. A first step.  With your... Continue Reading

In his ruling, Superior Court Judge Eric W. Norris cited a 1981 letter written by Rev. James Andrews, the PCUS Stated Clerk at that time, regarding a similar trust clause proposed by that denomination, stating that the new trust clause “would not change the Presbyterian Church’s historical position on property.”   A Superior Court judge... Continue Reading

In a nutshell then, Women’s Bible studies help to drive out the individualism and isolationism that has plagued mankind all through the history of redemption, pointing us to Jesus Christ, who took the curse of our sin upon Himself, freeing us from self-reliance to God-reliance, and freeing us from isolation to interdependence in the community of grace.