Through sobs of deepest sorrow, Monica was barely able to choke out her plea: “Pastor, please come immediately! There’s a family emergency.”  As I drove towards their home, I tried my best to get ready for whatever it was I was about to walk into.  But, the truth is, there was nothing that could have... Continue Reading

Parenting has helped me understand and love the gospel at a deeper level than I had ever known before. I see traces of the gospel story every day in the things I encounter as a mother. Each time I confront sin in my children, I see my own sin reflected back at me and I... Continue Reading

God has spoken and is, in fact, still speaking to us through the Scriptures. We don’t need any more special revelation. What we need is illumination, and this is exactly what Jesus has promised the Holy Spirit will give to us as his word abides in us. The Holy Spirit of God works through the... Continue Reading

It stands to reason that the church’s relation to the world would be similar to Christ’s, provided we understand that we can never replace Christ. The church is no substitute for Christ, or the Spirit, or for immediate union with Christ. Rather, our role as the church–in relation to the world–is to bear witness to... Continue Reading

Carpenter’s group was on the forefront of advocating for homosexual rights within the military, calling for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to be revoked and for the Defense of Marriage Act to be struck down. At the same time, his group assured the nation that this moral revolution would not lead to any major exodus of... Continue Reading

Our great God lovingly condescends. He has “come down to reveal himself to us” (70). Because of this, we have real knowledge of our Creator and Redeemer. In critiquing Immanuel Kant’s philosophy, Oliphint does agree that the finite mind cannot begin to raise itself to the infinite. But that doesn’t mean that the infinite cannot... Continue Reading

Is there any greater help to interpreting and understanding the Bible than a deep sense of one’s own sin? 1. When I feel my sinfulness, I am much more motivated to search the Scriptures for grace to help in my time of need. 2. When I am convicted of my sin, I doubt my own... Continue Reading

Pastors, and all Christian men for that matter, if you battle selfishness as I do, you might do well to begin to pray something similar.  The Lord is powerful and gracious enough to root out what is so deeply ingrained in so many of us.  But we must cry out for help.   I’m selfish.  I’ve... Continue Reading

Simply put, we do teens a disservice when we segregate them from the life of the church. When we build youth ministries that don’t fold students into the life of the congregation, the unintended consequence is a future of empty pews. Pew Research reports that 20- to 30-year-olds attend church at half the rate of their parents... Continue Reading

How exactly does the Bible—an ancient book written thousands of years ago—reveal God’s way to people today? There are several key questions we must ask, the answers to which reveal to us the way. Here they are: 1. Is there a command to obey? The Bible is filled with divine commands for you and me to... Continue Reading