Because God has promised to give his Spirit, we can pray with shameless, persistent, urgent impudence. The specifics of our prayers will involve God’s glory and worship, the advancement of his kingdom, our temporal and spiritual needs, our sins and relationships, and our protection from evil.   When we think of the Lord’s Prayer, we... Continue Reading

One of the Messiah’s great promises is that he will “turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6). He does this as he draws us into the perfect and eternal reality that parent-child relationships point to.   “He who does violence to his father and... Continue Reading

We should be humble, cautious and sympathetic when we make judgments. And then those judgments should never be based on one’s own authority opinion or interest, but solely on God’s authority—the only infallible judgment of faith and practice.   Matthew 7:2-6 “What did Jesus mean by Judge not? In a word, ‘always-finding fault.’ The follower of Jesus... Continue Reading

The mercy of Christ is urgent as it draws us to him. It is complex as it meets the needs of body and soul. And it is curious in its defying the world’s categories and provoking astonishment. The church has always wrestled with the question of how best to demonstrate the compassion of Christ. Believers... Continue Reading

Corrupted hearts can make only corrupted choices. To make truly God-pleasing choices, the heart must be transformed, made new, regenerated by the Holy Spirit.   The question of free will has plagued the minds of philosophers, theologians, and ordinary people for millennia. The debate over what free will is and whether we as humans possess... Continue Reading

Some evangelicals think we should only proclaim a gospel of salvation of individual souls, and have no concern for the world around us. Liberal Christians can put all their emphasis on making the world a better place with little or no concern about getting people saved. Both positions are wrong and unbiblical   The other... Continue Reading

We must take the Word of God seriously in how we read it, how we teach it, and how we interpret it. We must read both the Old and New Testaments the way the biblical authors did. Follow their interpretive method. Ground your exegesis in context, repetition, and theological themes.   Have you ever listened... Continue Reading

There are still places in the world today that have never heard the clear and clarion call of the gospel.  These lands have within them some elect people.  God will bring the glorious tidings to them via His faithful church.   Again, I am writing some of these treatises to try to satisfy my own curiosity; to... Continue Reading

All church members have gifts as Paul instructs us in 1 Corinthians 12 including those with physical challenges. Those who are challenged should not be forgotten because they also can contribute to a church’s ministry as it glorifies God and enjoys him forever.   For a time, I worshipped with a small Presbyterian Church in America... Continue Reading

Truth can stand the debate test. Poke it. Probe it. Explore it. Expose it. Turn it upside down. Turn it inside out. Put it under the microscope. Place it under the harshest of conditions. The truth will endure. It will always show itself to be true.   God is truth (John 14:6). In fact, truth... Continue Reading