When Scripture Is the Controversy
The real controversy among evangelicals in the coming days will be about the Bible, not homosexuality
It’s not simply about our grasp of what Scripture is, or our conviction of Scripture’s inerrancy, or even where we land with different interpretations. It’s fundamentally about how we approach the words of God, even before we get to the interpretation part. It’s about how we look when we’re looking at Scripture. The question is: What... Continue Reading
Ministering to the Sexually Broken: An Interview with John Freeman
Freeman is president of Harvest USA, a ministry that helps the church in bringing the power of the gospel to transform the lives of those affected by sexual sin
While all sexual sin carries with it a deep sense of guilt and shame, those who struggle with same-sex attractions and with past or previous homosexual behavior are often among the most broken of sexual strugglers. There is often a deep spiritual stronghold over the heart. Not only has the evil one spoken many lies,... Continue Reading
Are Your Efforts to Contextualize the Gospel All about You?
Wherever you live—whether city, suburb, or rural—are you willing to contextualize the gospel to all, even people you don't like so much?
In every sport I’ve played I’ve been coached to stay on the balls of my feet. Back on your heels, you are unprepared to react. But if you stay on the balls of your feet, you are ready to move toward the action. For Paul, contextualization was about doing gospel ministry “on the balls of... Continue Reading
Maybe It’s Because You Believe in Nothing
If you believe in everything, you really believe in nothing
But real faith has content. And so Paul speaks of the ministers Christ has gifted the church with so that we can attain unity in God’s Word, acquiring true knowledge of the faith, maturing in Christ….Why are there so many who claim to be Christians who refuse to take a stand for truth? Perhaps it... Continue Reading
What Are 3 Ways For A Pastor To Prepare His Heart For A Funeral?
Do not underestimate the emotional and mental drain in comforting the grieving while preparing and performing a funeral
Wearing your administrator and facilitator cap through the process is necessary. It will serve you as a helpful companion to maneuver through all the details and demands that always accompany funerals. Nevertheless, you are ultimately a pastor and evangelist who is called upon by the Chief Shepherd to prepare and conduct funerals of dead men... Continue Reading
Insanity and the Gospel of Grace
We will always get the gospel distorted when we think it is only for the functional, the repectable
William Cowper, born in 1731 one hundred years after the death of his ancestor and fellow poet John Donne, was one of those with great needs, special needs. He was one of the insane. Bouts of insanity, even attempted suicides, odd behavior, dark depression, at times feeling himself a castaway, “whelmed in deeper gulfs” than... Continue Reading
The Death Of A Covenant Child
Andrew Hart Kerr, Jr., 13, died of cholera just one day after the close of the 1866 PCUS General Assembly; his father had served as Moderator
“Calmly he bid each one present goodbye, exhorting them to meet him in heaven, and gave to his sister, who was present, a kiss for his ma and sisters, who were absent, calling each by name, saying, “tell ma not to be distressed about me, that I died happy in Jesus, and have gone to... Continue Reading
Noah: A Man Who Walked with God
Word of God describes Noah as “a righteous man, blameless in his generation”
And like Noah, we will be remembered for what we did in our lifetimes, and more importantly, who we were in our lifetimes. May it be said of us that we were blessed by God because we stood for righteousness and for the cause of Christ, and may it be said of us that we... Continue Reading
Why the Church Can Never Embrace Gay Marriage
In his teaching about marriage, Jesus reaffirms that marriage is the coming together of a man and a woman in accordance with the pattern of creation itself
Gay marriage is untenable biblically; it is a capitulation to the culture; it is a caricature of real marriage. As Kenyan Anglican Archbishop Eliud Wabukala noted, marriage is under attack and the homosexual movement has become an ideology that attacks human identity as male and female created in the image of God. He also said... Continue Reading
Restoration of Protestant Work Ethic Preferred Over Entitlement Mindset
John Wesley got it right: earn all you can, save all you can and give all you can
…are the middle and upper-middle income American children with college degrees who refuse to work because they think they are entitled to high-paying jobs with prestigious assignments that allow them to seek employment only when they feel like it. They expect first-rate material items – cars, clothing, the latest technology. They are, after all, entitled….... Continue Reading