But this great act of condescension and self-humbling is not limited to the manger—it stretches to the cross. “And being found in appearance as a man, Christ humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). In short, Mary’s baby is born to die.    In the incarnation, we encounter the... Continue Reading

What a wonder to think that the second person of the Trinity would forever add humanity to Himself.  Does this not teach us about the creative glory of God?  God does things that astound the imagination.  He performs the unthinkable.  And He performs it in such a way as to not only magnify His fame,... Continue Reading

Where Erhman attacks the faith is to quote the number of variants, for him around 400,000, and then follow up with a question along these lines: with such a high number of variants, how can we know what the original manuscripts of the Bible actually said? The ignorant, uneducated, blind, and overly simplistic just nod... Continue Reading

“Let me offer six mistakes to avoid when preaching the story of Jesus’s birth. My concern is to help you proclaim, in the power of the Spirit, the birth narratives in a way that raises your listeners’ love and affection (and yours) for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. “   For preachers, the Advent... Continue Reading

“In many ways, I see 2016 as a pivotal year for thousands of congregations. Unfortunately, many church leaders and church members will elect not to change anything. Those congregations will be among the 100,000 rapidly declining churches.”   In my previous post, I shared trends 1 to 8. Today, I conclude with trends 9 to... Continue Reading

“Perhaps nowhere was this irrepressible triumph of sovereign grace more clearly seen than in the dark days of the wilderness experience of Israel under the leadership of Moses. In the desert, Israel was confronted with many difficulties and challenges. In most of these tests, she failed miserably.”   Unhindered by man and unrestricted by Satan,... Continue Reading

“Many favor a date in or around 4BC, and for the sake of argument, let us take that as accurate. If so, the birth occurred during or near a truly dreadful time in the history of what was already a troubled and turbulent land. Although these events are familiar to scholars, they are not at... Continue Reading

“While the ordinary (usual) means may appear ordinary (boring), they are actually extraordinary. That is to say, they are the primary and usual ways in which God has promised to do what man, by his innovative ways, is always attempting to do. Man’s attempts to worship God and be satisfied in Him by human means are actually unsuccessful... Continue Reading

Before I respond to her five reasons below, it may be helpful to understand how unusual articles like this really are. The reason most Christmas articles simply want to rewrite the story of Jesus is because virtually all scholars agree–liberal and conservative alike–that there is little reason to doubt his existence.   Well, its that... Continue Reading

At Christmas, we have an opportunity to consider these two kings and our own lives in the light of their contrasting reigns. Here’s your Christmas question: Which king are you following? No one deliberately follows Herod, of course. But we do follow Herod if we live for ourselves. Herod’s kingdom was build for his own... Continue Reading