Are We Using the Word “Brokenness” Biblically?
Four reflections on how "brokenness" is used today by Christians
Our number one problem is our sinfulness—having sinned against God. Our number one problem is not our brokenness—others having sinned against us or facing suffering because of living in a fallen world. That’s why I have a significant problem with the first use of “brokenness”—where we use it to describe the underlying reason we sin. ... Continue Reading
The Israel of God
Is Jesus's kingdom an earthly kingdom?
Classic Dispensationalism has long held that the Pharisees had the right method of interpreting the Bible, they simply reached the wrong conclusions. It is the Dispensational-Premillennial belief that God made a promise to Abraham (Genesis chapters 15 and 17) that he would give to him an earthly, national people with the result that, in the... Continue Reading
Why “Left Behind” Should Be Left Behind
To the surprise of many, rapture-based theology has only been around for the past couple hundred years and predominantly in America.
Unfortunately, however, while “Left Behind” may prove itself to be a mediocre box office success, it represents a severe misinterpretation of what the Bible actually says about the topic. To put it bluntly, and perhaps to the chagrin of some readers, the idea of a “rapture” is simply not biblically based (and that’s where I’ve... Continue Reading
Should a Pastor Take a Day Off Every Week?
Here is my simple and straightforward answer…yes. No caveats. No disclaimers. Just, yes.
Regardless how we spend our evenings or how hard we try, the pastor never completely checks out. Even if the phone does not ring or no one stops by, the sermon is still on the mind and heart, that elderly saint’s battle with cancer still weighs on the shoulders, and there just is not a... Continue Reading
Reformed Theological Seminary, Redeemer City to City Announce Strategic Partnership
CTC will work with RTS to provide a seminary program in New York City that will prepare ministry leaders "in the city for the city."
Redeemer City to City (CTC) and Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) are pleased to announce a strategic partnership to provide a seminary education in New York City. This advances the vision of RTS to provide graduate theological education globally and that of Redeemer Presbyterian Church and its founding pastor, Dr. Timothy Keller, who started CTC to prepare ministry... Continue Reading
Biblical Versus Systematic Theology?
Systematic Theology is often contrasted unfavourably with the newer discipline of Biblical Theology
“Systematic Theology, by contrast with Biblical Theology, approaches the Bible as a completed divine revelation, taking account of all that has been said and carefully noting what has been superseded and what is ‘truth unchanged, unchanging’. This means that Systematic Theology gratefully accepts and assimilates all that Biblical Theology has to offer. But it also... Continue Reading
Alone, But Never Alone
A person who is truly justified is never merely justified!
“This may sound like theological hair-splitting, but actually it is tied in with one of the most vexed issues of Christian experience that goes back to the earliest days of the New Testament church and further back still. Because that is so, we are reminded that every pastoral problem has theological dimensions and every theological... Continue Reading
What Does Repentance Look Like?
Jesus assures us that when we grieve over our sin, God by His Holy Spirit will comfort us
“The Bible tells us explicitly and shows us implicitly that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. David knows this to be true. As broken as he is, he knows God and how God relates to penitent people. He understands that God never hates or despises a broken and contrite heart. This... Continue Reading
Peter Berger’s Many Altars
Sociologist of religion Peter Berger has a new book entitled "The Many Altars of Modernity"
“Sociology can tell us where we are, but it can only make best guesses as to where we are going. Sociological conclusions are true until they are not (think the previous theory of secularization). History is too full of remarkable and unanticipated turns of event for us not to enter into this discourse with a... Continue Reading
When Your Church Is Not Revitalizing
For every story of a declining church that turned around and began to reach its community, there are hundreds of stories of pastors working hard but seeing few visible results
“Pastors can be tempted to shift into neutral when the church doesn’t appear to be doing well. There are many ways a pastor can look like he is busy while accomplishing absolutely nothing. The fire is gone, and he just clocks time to get a paycheck. Pastor, fight this temptation with every fiber of your being... Continue Reading