Christians who display joy will bring something positive to the workplace that the world cannot provide. When we go through a trial and have confidence in God’s ability to work out all things for good, those who do not know him may ask us where this joy comes from. At that moment, we have earned the right to... Continue Reading

A little consideration of the hearers will go a long way to making sermons more understandable. Are many of your hearers from a different culture to you? Then keep your vocabulary as simple as possible and try to avoid idioms. Are there likely to be those with little to no Bible knowledge? Then don’t use... Continue Reading

Christians need to go to church. We grow to be more like Jesus as we repeat the actions of a Sunday: hear the word read and preached, say the creed, pray, sing, take the Supper, speak in tongues, hear and receive prophetic words. We grow to be more like Jesus as we eat with other Christians... Continue Reading

I don’t write this in anger or seeking my “pound of flesh” as I was accused of at a presbytery council meeting when seeking to expose this behavior at the presbytery level. We must all pursue the path of forgiveness just as we have been forgiven. So, I must pursue it as well. Yet we... Continue Reading

The ten commandments were not given as a means to self-righteous achievement, reward and pride that often seems to be the goal of public displays.  Rather, they were given as a consequence of the humbling gift of deliverance from slavery to sin in order to teach God’s people how to live in freedom.  The Ten... Continue Reading

If we don’t understand a person’s view, we should ask for clarity. And when we get that clarity, we should take them at their word. In sum, we should just follow the golden rule when we disagree with others: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matt 7:12).... Continue Reading

Even more, in an age like ours, God’s people should be a notable exception or, as historian Tom Holland put it, “weird” in the sense that we are committed to the truth even if everyone else abandons it.   President Biden’s announcement to not seek re-election punctuated one of the most eventful and historic months... Continue Reading

Students contribute to the family of God as gifted brothers and sisters. Within the local body, seminary students may participate in a scaffolding of opportunities for leading, teaching, and serving in all sorts of capacities…local church participation coheres seminary coursework with the Great Commission.   For many pastors, time spent in formal seminary training is... Continue Reading

Another problem with dragging politics into Christian forums is its effect on other believers. If political claim A is presented in Christian forum B, it implies that A is the Christian position. Other believers who disagree are implied to be anti- or unchristian for differing, put in the difficult position of arguing against the implied... Continue Reading

The Woke-Right crowd commits idolatry as they do the bidding of those aligned with the Left. Unlike the vague slanderous charge of political idolatry to those on their right, those in the Biblicist category can clearly define the idolatrous participation of those to their Left. The secular ideology of Social Justice can and has been... Continue Reading