Milton admits that the primary work of pastors, like himself, is the gospel ministry of Word, Sacrament, and Prayer.  Fulfilling the role of shepherds, pastors are to be on watch to announce with clarity the enemies of truth who are storming the walls of our soul.  So pastors, who are being faithful, must stand in... Continue Reading

My ultimate freedom is not in my choice of books. I long for that ultimate freedom that I will have in eternity, when I will be free from sin. I won’t have to worry about separating the truth from the lie, because I will only being living in 100% pure truth. I will no longer... Continue Reading

This is really a fantastic resource for those who minister to, and want to understand, the present generation of 18-30 year olds. As a College Chaplain, I found the work full of practical insights that will contribute to how I relate to, communicate with, and preach the gospel to my students.   David P. Setran... Continue Reading

For Worthen, though, the problem is not that the evangelical straw man doesn’t have a brain; it has too many.  The evangelicals of the American Century want to have it all: faith AND reason, status AND separateness, the Great Commission AND Great Low Prices.    Molly Worthen’s Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American... Continue Reading

There are doubtless those who live by the law and don’t quite get grace, but is that the world most of the readers of this book inhabit?   Maybe it is, but maybe it has just become the accepted norm to repeat that there are lots of people out there drowning in legalism endorsed by... Continue Reading

Taking a cue from Gibson’s success with “The Passion,” film marketing campaigns now go after pastors’ endorsements through special advance screenings to secure endorsements from big-name religious leaders. As more people are sitting in front of the TV on a Sunday morning rather than in church, “filmmakers are the new high priests of our culture,”... Continue Reading

Throughout his prolific ministry, Spurgeon was consumed with a gospel zeal. He made it his practice to isolate one or a few verses as a springboard to proclaim the gospel. He asserted, “I take my text and make a beeline to the cross.” Every time Spurgeon stepped into the pulpit, he set his gaze intently... Continue Reading

“There were always wars in human history—new ones, generation after generation—because wars spring from the human heart itself,” Novak writes, citing St. Augustine. “Peace never lasts.” He eventually turned against “progressivism” because it “overrates human innocence and goodness and underrates human weakness and preference for getting things for free rather than as a result of... Continue Reading

What is the takeaway for publishers? “It’s counterintuitive, because you’d think success is good, but the problem is too much success,” Le Peau said. “Every product has a bell curve, and all bell curves have a downslope.”   The Message, published in 2002, is still the ninth best-selling Bible translation, according to the Evangelical Christian... Continue Reading

According to Duguid, we live in a Disney-deluded world in which we are taught to believe that we can be and do anything we please. But this make-believe fairy tale inevitably collides with reality. We are limited, weak and sinful people whose default mode it is to live for self.  Just like the Barbie doll,... Continue Reading