The lesson of the great masking crusade is important. We need to admit now that forcing unproven, divisive, and ultimately fruitless policies on the population has been a mistake. Universal mask mandates have not made a difference in fighting COVID. Rather, they have divided our country, provided a surplus of garbage, and caused some dental... Continue Reading

Life on this side of eternity is attended with many sorrows and losses, many sins and failures, many trials and temptations. There is no end of reasons to grow weary, despondent, and discouraged. Thankfully, there is no end of opportunities to bring assistance in the weariness, the despondency, the discouragement of others. It is the... Continue Reading

Do not be surprised when your weakness increases. And don’t be tempted to conclude God has left you when you experience it. As Packer notes, “Paul went unhealed, though not abandoned.” In fact, he says, the opposite of abandonment was true: Paul’s weakness was the result of God’s deliberate, loving, fatherly work in his life for a... Continue Reading

Being in community with other believers may look slightly different for everyone depending on church and context. For me, community is found in my couples’ small group. Our church likes to call the arena of small groups ministry “The Circle,” and it is one of our essential components of discipleship… If I weren’t immersed in... Continue Reading

Advocates of the Equality Act want you to think of it as a basic civil rights measure necessary to protect people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender from unjust discrimination. What it actually does is impose a radical ideology with sweeping implications on all Americans, including making it a form of unlawful discrimination... Continue Reading

This description of original sin is extraordinarily similar to the Reformed doctrine of total depravity. The Westminster Confession of Faith describes it this way, “By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the parts and faculties of soul and... Continue Reading

Jesus is portraying the goal of the gospel as one of deeply satisfying relationship of communion with God. Yes, the gospel frees us from the penalty of sin and secures us a home in heaven, but it accomplishes far more than that—the gospel restores fellowship with God and renews our hearts to find satisfaction in... Continue Reading

While this article could not realistically address exhaustively every impact reported in the scientific literature or the media, it does highlight the necessity for a serious re-evaluation of priorities by bishops, pastors, counsellors, and administrators at every level, of the more detrimental consequences of the measures taken to purportedly combat COVID-19. It is hoped that... Continue Reading

The man who loves to be a source of encouragement will first encourage the ones who are closest to him, then over time encourage the ones who are a little more distant. His life-giving, hand-raising, knee-strengthening words will begin to blaze a trail through this wearying life and others will follow in it. Others will... Continue Reading

If your organization sends the signal that its best days are in the past, even if inadvertently, don’t be surprised that your most creative team members grow frustrated, disillusioned, and eventually just leave. Furthermore, unmitigated nostalgia—the kind that is never interrogated—will suggest that the challenges and opportunities of the present are reflections of declension, of... Continue Reading