A pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), Brown deftly deals with the issues that are involved in lay evangelism. He correctly tells his readers to begin with God, telling us who He is with regard to His attributes, why mankind is alienated from Him by sin, and how we can be reconciled to... Continue Reading

It is amazing to contemplate the wonder of the condescension of God to man. The almighty God has humbled himself to assume human properties so that he can reveal himself to us, to even ”relate to us in a way that would be suitable to who we are” (212), and he ultimately humiliates himself beyond... Continue Reading

Finally, worriers are immune to reason. As worry is added to worry, as anxiety compounds and leads to irrational behavior, loved ones try to help. They explain that worry has never accomplished anything or ever made a situation any better; they show and explain that worry is more like astrology than prophecy. When nothing else... Continue Reading

God can save people immediately. He has done it in the past and he will continue to do so. However, there are times when he chooses to plant seeds over an extended period of time. It may take months, even years–it requires time. Are you willing to spend the time it takes to befriend unbelievers, plant the seed... Continue Reading

Not surprisingly, this episode ends by casting doubt on the resurrection itself.  However, I was disappointed by the trite (even flippant) alternative explanations given for the empty tomb. They are just not sufficient to explain the early Christian belief in the resurrection. For example, James Tabor argues that the tomb was empty on Sunday morning... Continue Reading

The book attempts first to characterize and classify the movement of new Calvinism. This in itself is a chore, I’m sure. And after he helps readers have a better sense of what he is talking about, he begins by pointing out several good qualities and positive effects of the movement. He then rounds out the... Continue Reading

Wells explains that “some critics have complained that [these earlier five books] contain no answers to the church’s current parlous state. The criticism has some merit. In my mind, I assumed an answer to the dilemmas unearthed and was not always as explicit in setting this out as I should have been.” This book is... Continue Reading

I don’t think Jeremy’s caveat that “New Calvinism” is a nebulous phrase exempts him from the need to shed some definitional light on the matter. The alliterated headings of Calvinism, Characters, Conglomeration, and Consolidation do not seem to sufficiently define boundaries for the movement.  And, so, while Piper and Driscoll are almost constant topics of... Continue Reading

In the end, we are again left with a very disappointing episode.  Yes, it was entertaining.  It was certainly provocative.  Unfortunately, it is simply not not historically accurate.  For a History Channel production, that proves to be sadly ironic.   This is the third installment of a new series reviewing the History Channel series entitled Bible... Continue Reading

I don’t want to throw Tchividjian under the bus here.  I haven’t read anything else he’s written and I don’t follow his ministry at all.  Maybe he’s clarified this elsewhere.  I just wanted to point this out, echoing what Mark Jones said in Antinomianism (p. 111-121), that we should be careful when speaking about biblical truths and doctrines. ... Continue Reading