No Easy Answers
As Christians, we see in life’s complexity the beautiful power of the Gospel which we believe.
Our hunger for tweet-length solutions, for snackable, bite-sized redemption plans has collapsed our ability—both as a church and a nation—to build towards sustainable healing. This type of healing takes place over generations and centuries, yet we seem to prefer to patch things up with a flashy band-aid (perhaps one printed with our favorite superhero). Blame... Continue Reading
Street Tactics – Part 5
The key to navigating effectively with others in choppy spiritual waters is to use questions.
Step one has a single purpose: Gather information. What precisely is the complaint, the objection, or the challenge your friend is offering? Step two: Find out the specific reasons—if he has any, and if he can articulate them—for holding the contrary view he’s advancing. These two steps provide you with a kind of map you can use... Continue Reading
How To Lead and How To Follow
Obedience to God involves nothing less than willingly leading those who follow us and willingly following those who lead us.
Each of us leads and each of us follows. Each of us is called to lead and to follow in a distinctly Christian way. According to Jesus’s Golden Rule, that must look something like this: Lead in the way you’d want to be led; follow in the way you’d want to be followed. Even... Continue Reading
What Reformation Looked Like in the Old Testament Church: Family Heads and Officers
God has begun a good work of reformation in us.
When reformation came to the Old Testament church, family heads took the lead to seek out teaching, and they were obedient to what they were taught. Church officers applied their abilities to the congregation’s need for teaching, discipling them to do what God required and keeping watch over their response to that teaching. In this... Continue Reading
The Underwhelming God: How to Drive Men Away from Church
We will see more men of God in the church as we introduce men to the real God.
A vegetarian theology, devoid of doctrinal meat and served with the sparkling water of religious platitudes, is not hearty enough to make stout Christianity which leaves an imprint on this world. It is bloodless, boneless, tasteless, colorless, lukewarm, allergic to depth and substance. It may borrow Christian terms and phrases, but it does not carry... Continue Reading
Disabling Idolatry
Ableism is ungodly preferential treatment which exalts the able-bodied and dehumanizes the physically less capable.
As church buildings reopen (or stay open), it is tempting for relatively able-bodied folks, eager to exercise our religious and civic freedom, to claim the best seats in the house. But what of those who are physically unable to enter the assembly, or who are hesitant because health precautions are being ignored or boastfully defied?... Continue Reading
Improving in Preaching
Here are some practical steps a minister can take in order to improve his preaching.
Since the preaching of the gospel is the primary means by which God saves His people, ministers of the gospel should concern themselves with pursuing growth in their ability to skillfully communicate the truth of Scripture. Pastors should avail themselves of all the means of growth that are at their disposal. In so doing, we... Continue Reading
CRC Study Committee Report to Articulate a Foundation-laying Biblical Theology of Human Sexuality
The Report from the Committee to Articulate a Foundation-laying Biblical Theology of Human Sexuality will be considered at the Christian Reformed Church Synod 2021.
The CRC Synod 2016, in response to multiple overtures, adopted the following: That synod appoint a new study committee to articulate a foundation-laying biblical theology of human sexuality that pays particular attention to biblical conceptions of gender and sexuality. The central aim of this theological task will be to provide concise yet clear ethical guidance... Continue Reading
A Reformed and Confessional View of Missions Part 2
Calvin taught that establishing Christ’s kingly reign on earth “ought to... absorb all our thoughts.”
I’m thankful for the way the PCA began. We committed ourselves to be “True to the Scriptures, the Reformed Faith, and obedient to the Great Commission.” Our denomination has sent missionaries around the world and engaged itself in establishing local indigenous churches to the glory of our Savior. May we continue to hear the call... Continue Reading
What’s The Point Of Family Devotions?
The main purpose in our family has been simple: to gather the family together with God.
While family devotions is nowhere explicitly commanded in Scripture, it is surely commendable as one way a family can pursue God together. I’ve often thought that it is one of those habits, one of those disciplines, that delivers more than the sum of its parts. Its simplicity belies its significance. We don’t have little kids... Continue Reading
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