Verse-by-verse preaching generally gets a head nod from preaching books as a technique for the overly-zealous Bible expositors who view the Bible more as a lecture than a sermon. But I’d like us to reconsider not simply expositional, but verse-by-verse preaching as a means to bridge the gap between this generation and the millennial generation... Continue Reading

“To breed or not to breed, this was the question,”  pondered one married woman writing for The Seattle Times. Her article, “Why I Am Not Having Kids,” offered many reasons for her decision, including: “Not having a child is the most important thing I could do to reduce my carbon footprint.” I might add, another way... Continue Reading

Is sanctification to be viewed as entirely a work of God, or does the Christian work together with God? On the face of it, the answer to this question is not immediately obvious. On the one hand, our sanctification is clearly the work of God’s grace–it is rooted in the triumph of Christ over sin... Continue Reading

Certainly, we want to keep Christ in the gospel as the reason for the season.  But we also want to avail ourselves of the season to speak with others about why the eternal Son of God became incarnate.  We want to use the season to give the reason for the hope that is in us.... Continue Reading

That is why the health of the Christian subcultures in our society depends to an important extent upon the freedom of the Christian press; and that in turn depends upon having plenty of public voices and different groups presenting their different perspectives without the threat of being silenced by those with power and money.  ... Continue Reading

There is a time for fasting in the Christian life and a time for feasting. The Old Testament teaches us that. And so does Jesus. If Western Christianity is selfish and bloated, let us be the first to say so and the first to show a more excellent way. But let us be the last... Continue Reading

Events like the Christmas Truce are worth celebrating. But they lack something. They lack permanence. Such impermanent peace is what we often find in our quest for the real meaning of Christmas. If we are looking for permanent and ultimate goodwill, love, and peace, we must look beyond our gift-giving, get-togethers, and office parties. We... Continue Reading

Because of the personality-driven leadership inherent in contemporary evangelicalism, the tribalism it nurtures, and the reality that most of American evangelicalism subsists in some variation of the free church tradition, the final outcome of this story is clear.  There is no authority that can adjudicate this matter other than the authority upon which both Driscoll and Mefferd... Continue Reading

What effect will that have on the young child who cannot yet participate? Well, he will have the gospel preached to him such that conversion might happen. Further than that, he will learn about the Lord’s Supper. Both of these things should help create a longing for that communion. This creation of a longing for... Continue Reading

This supposed parallel between Christians in the past using the Bible to justify slavery and the contemporary Church using Scripture to condemn homosexuality is both misleading and confused in its account of church history. Historically, there is no connection between Christian attitudes towards slavery and homosexuality.   One approach of gay-affirming scholarship has been to... Continue Reading