I think they can deal with it by doing exactly what the Apostle Paul did with Peter: to confront on the basis of the gospel, and to seek repentance and reconciliation. That’s what I think they should do, and will do.

And maybe we need to remember these words of wisdom: "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways" (James 3:1-2)

Harman brings out quite a few interesting tidbits that are not widely known. Henry worked on the the last half of the book of Ezra for his commentary in the middle of the night when his wife was in labor!! He also brings out the fact that Charles Wesley's hymn "A Charge to Keep I Have" is based on Henry's comment on Leviticus 8:35.

"For example, 'John the Baptist' was really like 'John the Dunker,'" Hoffman said. John was doing something new by submerging people in water to cleanse them of their sins, but that is lost on people 2,000 years later, Hoffman said. Today, people hearing John's title might think it refers to a Baptist denomination rather than his then-strange behavior.

In a new prayer letter Billy Graham writes: "My heart aches for America and its deceived people. The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance."

The words “freedom of belief” do not appear in the First Amendment. Nor do the words “freedom of worship.” Instead, the Bill of Rights guarantees Americans something that its authors called “the free exercise” of religion.

Despite our long-standing ties to the Southern Baptist Convention, Calvary has for some time been at odds with many of the policies and public positions of the SBC. There have been many specific issues, like a rejection of the ordination of women, for example, over which we disagreed. But increasingly these differences became more foundational.

As I read Thabiti’s book there was something that I was feeling that I couldn’t immediately put words to, and then it hit me. Thabiti, a black man himself, writes of the black church and culture as if he was a visitor to a land he’d never been to before. Granted his work is historical by nature, but it comes across as if it’s written by an outsider.

Pride is the single most destructive force on Earth. It blinds us, isolates us, and calcifies us. Jesus died for messed up, broken, selfish, incomplete people. Me, you, everybody. No exceptions.

Atheism, he suggests, fails in providing real community, education, and perspective. It does not foster kindness or tenderness. It produces pessimism and fails to create a true appreciation of art, architecture, and important institutions