Every Good Parent Will Have Regrets
Advice to My 30-Year-Old Self
Once, a man told me about a parenting event titled “No Regrets.” I assumed it was an event organized by parents of newborns. The parent with no regrets, after all, probably needs to think a little deeper. If you have no regrets in parenting, just ask your kids. What would I tell my younger... Continue Reading
What the Left and Right Both Misunderstand About History
Speculative philosophies of history generally fall into one of two types: the teleological type and the cyclical type.
Hegel’s immediate successors are typically distinguished into two streams—the Right Hegelians who used his thought to promote forms of conservative social thought, and the Left Hegelians who used his philosophy as the foundation for radical social and religious criticism. When one of the latter—a young man named Karl Marx—turned Hegel’s philosophical idealism on its head... Continue Reading
The Assurance of Faith
People ask God to give them an experience which will confirm their faith, which will give them power, which will make them bold, which will, as some say, release the Spirit's energy into the world.
Today, through the impact of postmodernity, there is a new focus. It’s not as though the intellectual problems have disappeared or that the problems of guilt and sin have gone away. But the focus has shifted, and Christians now sense that they are weak, vulnerable, and powerless. They are being asked to hold on to... Continue Reading
What Does it Mean to be a Christian, Really?
It is easy to make up your own version of what it means to be a Christian that is not grounded in what Jesus really calls people to be.
The term “Christian” was first applied to followers of Jesus in Antioch. Before that, followers of Jesus were called disciples. Today, the term Christian is more predominantly used than disciple, but in the New Testament the two terms were synonymous. The New Testament story tells us that disciples were people who were called by Jesus... Continue Reading
Prosperity Gospel Taught to 4 in 10 Evangelical Churchgoers
Survey finds most Protestants believe God wants them to prosper financially. But views diverge on whether they must tithe to receive it.
Researchers found more than a few churchgoers believe giving to God leads to financial rewards, said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research. “A significant group of churches seem to teach that donations trigger a financial response from God,” said McConnell. For some Americans, dropping a check into the offering plate at church is... Continue Reading
Spokesmen for God
Prophetic ministry sought to soften hardened hearts and reclaim seared consciences by urging a return to the old paths.
When in an act of sovereign grace the Lord instituted His covenant with Israel, it was indisputable that He was the senior partner in the relationship. He alone had the right to dictate the terms on which fellowship with Him could be maintained. Consequently, if the people failed to adhere to His laws and commandments,... Continue Reading
Liturgies: their Value and their Limitations
The issue is not about the presence of liturgy, but rather, its faithfulness to the Scriptural paradigms for worship and its effectiveness in genuinely engaging the worshippers in attendance.
Many expressions of contemporary liturgy are found wanting. They are often shallow in content, repetitive in nature and more inclined to draw attention to the person or persons leading worship than to God as it true object. Regardless of its pursuit of spontaneity and authenticity, too often it loses depth and vitality because it has... Continue Reading
Womanhood and the Story of the Gospel
Neither the “you can do it all” slogan nor the “you can challenge your biology” mantra is helping young adults wrestle with their gendered identity in a constructive way.
Defining womanhood is a great challenge in our day. Our children are exposed to differing concepts of gender early, shaping how they are growing up and thinking about their own sexuality. They are hearing conflicting messages about males and females being interchangeable and gender being maleable. Beyond the rejection of God and his created order,... Continue Reading
Sound the Alarm – Bell (a review of Rob Bell’s Premier Interview)
Christians in the UK are being fed poison by a false prophet – and far too many of us seem to drink the poison.
If you listen to this interview you will see that Bell is no longer teaching the Gospel – indeed he is teaching against the Gospel and against the Bible. He has become his own one-man cult. When you listen to an interview like this – its not enough to take the good bits (the bits... Continue Reading
A Few Humble Suggestions for Reformed Worship Services
We may begin to lose sight of the beauty of Christian worship through its sheer weekly repetition.
When we worship week after week and follow roughly the same order of service, some things that are deeply meaningful can become merely routine. For that reason there can be benefit in taking the time to explain them and thank God for them. As Christians, we set aside the first day of each week... Continue Reading