Why do we check email compulsively? Or Facebook? Or Twitter? Or the old fashioned mailbox? Because we believe there is news for us—there’s something there. Someone may have just put up a sweet video of a cat or a status update about someone who made a nice lemonade. Really important stuff like that. We check... Continue Reading

What then are the evident marks of experimental Calvinism? Calvinism is not a theological theory, a religious philosophy that compels the mind but leaves the shape of your life untouched and unmoved. Biblical truth reforms and re-styles the believer’s life. So with Calvinism, it leaves it indelible marks wherever it takes root in a person’s... Continue Reading

There are those who believe it necessary to discern whether a hindrance is of God or of the devil.  I’m not sure we need to pin it down.  The reconnaissance report given us in Scripture alerts us to our spiritual enemy, his character, his schemes and tactics, and his goals.  We don’t have to know... Continue Reading

The goal of preaching is simply this: to proclaim the life-saving Gospel of Jesus Christ, and then to edify, comfort, encourage, and confront the congregation with God’s Word. Yes, this will include the ethical implications of God’s Law, which will inevitably lead churchgoers to draw certain conclusions on how to vote. There is nothing wrong... Continue Reading

They refuse to let the Great Tradition (the Catholic-Protestant-Orthodox consensus which C.S. Lewis dubbed “mere Christianity”) ever trump an individual’s interpretation of Scripture. This is what can be called nuda scriptura—the idea that the Bible is self-interpreting, needing only the Christian individual to make sense of it.   A new battle is brewing over the future... Continue Reading

“The purpose of preaching is not preaching. Preaching is not an end in itself. We do not preach so that people will go away saying, ‘That was good preaching.’ The purpose of preaching is performance—not the performance of the preacher but the corporate performance of the whole assembly whose lives and relationships are shaped by... Continue Reading

But all of us have also adopted labels which are not so good. “My grandpa was an angry man, my dad was an angry man, and I’m an angry man.” Or, “I’ve always struggled with body image issues. It’s just who I am.” Or, “I’ve always wrestled with same sex attraction. It’s just a part... Continue Reading

We could not grow without being teachable since we cannot do what we do not know. The Christian life is not lived by human imagination or intuition but by divine revelation. In being teachable the Bereans were not gullible; they refused to be misled by preachers who were not handling the Scriptures accurately. This practice... Continue Reading

Sadly, some of the busiest churches actually diminish discipleship fruitfulness. And ceasing certain activities in the church can be extremely hard. You can run into sacred cows and favored ministries. Still, most churches should pursue a busyness diet for at least seven reasons.   Most churches-more than eight out of ten-are busy. Too busy. These... Continue Reading

The cross declares how dire is our condition apart from Jesus. It announces how deep the sin goes, how profound the rebellion is, how impossible is our plight apart from Help from the outside. There’s nothing we can do, no effort we can exert, no law we can follow. The message of Christ crucified says you’re... Continue Reading