It would be nice if we didn't need to ask questions such as these and be able to trust what is marketed as "Christian." But reputable publishers have been known to print less than sound fare. An author may be the sweetest person imaginable who we'd love to chat with over a cup of tea, but orthodoxy consists of more than having an engaging personality. The bar is set high for those who would be teachers and rightfully so. The Apostle Paul commended the Bereans for verifying what he taught against Scripture, and he wrote a good chunk of the New Testament! If any writer objects to his/her books being scrutinized against the Word, then maybe we shouldn't be reading them in the first place.

Kennedy doesn’t pick all the easy verses either. She pulls devotion to God out of what may have seemed random acts in history. Our days are kind of like that, aren’t they? Circumstances often seem arbitrary and we sometimes question if it really matters how we get through them. This is what I especially appreciated about the book---Anne weaves all the tapestry together and helps the reader see the significance of God’s holiness, mercy, and love in Christ working in our own lives now.

Our primary motivation for evangelism should be love of God and love of neighbor. Those who love God will joyfully obey His commission to evangelize and disciple. Those who love their neighbor will desire nothing greater for them than eternal life. Their aim will be to see God glorified through the salvation of sinners like... Continue Reading

“I have visited congregations where the pastor told me about the influence of The Trellis and the Vine and how he modeled his church after it. Yet when I participated in the worship and listened to the sermon and saw the programs, even for just a Sunday or two, I was not convinced he really... Continue Reading

“I saw yesterday that Carl Trueman proclaimed this volume as his pick for “Book of the Year.” This is theology as doxology and devotion. As I read it I couldn’t help but give thanks given the fact that the Son has been diminished within some conservative circles. I place God The Son Incarnate alongside my... Continue Reading

Spirituality becomes self-determined, self-administered, and self-verified. I identify my felt needs, and as a consumer in the religious marketplace, I look for someone or something to satisfy those needs. The ultimate question is less "Is it true?" but "Is it pleasant?"4 Thus the final arbiter of the validity of a spiritual experience is me, myself, and I. So if I desire to be a better wife and mother does it matter if the author teaches an unorthodox view of the Trinity as long as that need is met? If I want to pursue a closer relationship with God, does it matter if an author's depiction of deity bears no resemblance to the Triune God of the Bible provided it gives me feels?

“If your heart veers toward reputation over reality, toward applause over substance, D.A. Carson’s Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor could be the most important book you read in 2017. It’s the story of his father, Tom Carson, an unheralded twentieth-century Canadian pastor who served humbly for almost six decades.”   Many of us lived as... Continue Reading

“I pretty much agree with Mike Horton’s review though I thought he was too easy on the book. I’d like to add three thoughts to Mike’s review. I’m not going to do any summary, just critique. For summary read what Mike wrote.”   This week I read Wright’s new book on the crucifixion, The Day... Continue Reading

“I and others have emphasized the contrast between Ben Franklin’s self-professed Deism and his longtime friendship with the Calvinist evangelist George Whitefield, but Lepore convinced me that his sister’s influence likely had an even stronger tethering effect connecting Ben to the faith of his childhood.”   In my Baylor graduate seminar on the American Revolution,... Continue Reading

While I applaud many of Tripp’s helpful tips on Christian parenting, I think it is unhelpful and unbiblical to view our children as “lost.” Are they sinners who need Jesus like I do? Yes, for sure! But a healthy biblical and covenantal perspective won’t let us call our kids “lost;” we’re not missionaries to our kids. Like the Heidelberg Catechism (Q/A 74) says, “Infants, as well as adults are in God’s covenant and are his people. They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sins through Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith.” Our job is to teach them what it means to be a child of God: to repent, believe, and follow the Lord!