In a personal letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne upon completing this novel, Melville said, “I have written an evil book.” What is it about the book that Melville considered evil? I think the answer to that question lies in the meaning of the central symbolic character of the novel, Moby Dick, the great white whale.   It... Continue Reading

Sometimes we may doubt the “first day sabbath” principle because there isn’t one or two clear texts that teach it.  However, when considering the Bible’s bigger picture and the flow of redemptive history centered around Christ, it does make biblical sense to call the first day of the week the Lord’s Day, the day of... Continue Reading

A number of years ago I did something different for my evening sermon. It was the week before Christmas and instead of preaching through the next verses of whatever book I was in, I wrote a story. I read the sermon that Sunday night like I was reading to my kids. I told them to... Continue Reading

I’m not intending to bash movies altogether. Some, including some romances and romantic comedies, are quite charming and innocuous. But it’s time we stop taking our dating cues from Hollywood. It’s time to instead get a biblical view of dating, relationships and marriage. How do we do this? For starters, we read the Bible and... Continue Reading

Of course, every child is different. There’s no one right way to communicate the gospel to children. Every parent has to decide for himself or herself. The point, though, is to be careful about “softening” some of the more gruesome elements in Scripture. We don’t want to misrepresent Scripture, and we certainly don’t want to... Continue Reading

If God chooses for some to remain single, she argues, that doesn’t mean He intends for them to spend their lives in a state of gloom about it. There are good things that go with singleness as well as with marriage, and those blessings are meant to be used and enjoyed.   Lisa Anderson’s new... Continue Reading

The second critique I have of this book is that it is sort of a guilt trip.  In fact, it reminded me of David Platt’s book, Radical.  Greear does refer to Platt from time to time, so there are parallels.   I realize Greear said he was trying to avoid the guilt-trip aspect of evangelism, but... Continue Reading

“If Anderson were really the prejudiced, hateful crank his critics declare him to be, liberals would not be desperate to bury his book. They would be trotting it out at every opportunity. “Extra, Extra! Fresh installment of crazy from Mr. Marriage!”   Ryan T. Anderson is the most dangerous man in America. His new book,... Continue Reading

“Given this apparent cultural distance between New York and rural America, it may surprise you to hear me say Keller’s new book on preaching should be required reading for all preachers, precisely since it equips us to preach to our culture. But that’s my point.”   “Most Christian speaking and preaching still assumes that listeners have... Continue Reading

“The book presents a standard Reformed view of the church. This is seen in two primary ways: first, in its references to the Scriptures as the basis for all principles regarding the church; and second, in its frequent reference to Reformed doctrinal confessions and catechisms.” A Well-Ordered Church, by William Boekestein and Daniel R. Hyde... Continue Reading