In keeping with the journalistic tradition of looking back at the recent past, we present the top 50 stories of the year that were read on The Aquila Report site based on the number of hits. We will present the 50 stories in groups of 10 to run on five lists on consecutive days. Here... Continue Reading

‘Cultural Sanctification’ by Stephen O. Presley. In this excellent book of cultural apologetics, Presley argues that the church today must look back to the doctrine, practices, and priorities of the early church to properly navigate life in a culture hostile to Christ and Christians.   Daily Doctrine by Kevin DeYoung  This is my pick for... Continue Reading

The fact that people can listen to Messiah and miss what’s being said tells us that musical works on their own, no matter how inspired they might be, don’t always communicate what people need to hear. It’s not far removed from the people of Ezekiel’s day who likened his prophetic judgments to “one who sings... Continue Reading

The message seems clear: the national leadership can communicate as it wishes, while the rest of us should practice restraint. For commissioners who care deeply about the EPC’s future, this feels less like a call to unity and more like an attempt to avoid dealing with the real issues. It is an approach that risks... Continue Reading

Christianity bears the brunt of modern criticism. It was oppressive to me—too limiting and too judgmental. I strived to resist it at all costs, believing “Bible thumpers” the most viciously opposed to my identity as Andrea, even more so than the strangers shouting mean comments in the streets. But then I was transformed.    “It’s... Continue Reading

It’s not always people who appear good, beautiful, and powerful by worldly standards who truly know God. (After all, Jesus didn’t look glorious on the cross.) “One deserves to be called a [true] theologian,” Martin wrote, “who sees God even in suffering.” The Bible says that even broken and weak sinners can know God if... Continue Reading

I discovered that I had some gifting in public ministry. This was confirmed by the people whom I served. Theologians refer to this dynamic as the “external” call, that is, the confirmation by others that this might be what the Lord has in store. Of course, the consummation of the external call is the confirmation... Continue Reading

We must guard ourselves against looking to the Bible for confirmation of our longings rather than looking to the Bible for truth that may contradict our longings. Elisabeth Elliot’s admonition is an appropriate one: “We must quit bending the Word to suit our situation. It is we who must be bent to that Word, our... Continue Reading

The First Hymn might have sounded melodically similar to something a Westerner would hear today. However, finding pieces of ancient music like this is not entirely unusual. What set The First Hymn apart was its theological message: that one true Lord proclaims this hymn — is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This mention of... Continue Reading

When God’s Anointed King appears, He will not accomplish salvation by divine fiat, nor will He conquer the world with a battlecry and simply declare the deliverance of His people. Rather, His appearing will be subtle, almost obscure, like the slow growth of a young plant or a root out of dry ground (Isa. 53:2).... Continue Reading

Fulfilled prophecies and testimonies, not beliefs “governed by passion,” are the proofs that ground Christian conviction. Justin also goes on to cite, almost in its entirety, the amazing prophecy of the Suffering Servant from chapters 52 and 53 of Isaiah. “[H]ear what was…said by Isaiah,” Justin writes, “‘Because they delivered His soul to death, and... Continue Reading

 While one might think of the Christian life as a journey, what is important is that one makes certain the path on which the journey takes place is the right path—the straight and narrow according to Jesus. However, as the extract of Douglas A. Sweeney’s The Essential Evangelicalism Dialectic shows: “In the fifty years since... Continue Reading

Each day, like providential fireworks, God’s grace lights up our lives. Just like John the Baptist, each exploding glory is meant to call us out of our spiritual stupor. Each testifies to our soul about the light. Yet more often than not, we are deaf to these calls and blind to their brilliance.   “Praise... Continue Reading

Nehemiah’s response to the fear tactics of the enemy was to turn to God. “O God, strengthen my hands” (Neh. 6:9). He did not cower but he did realize his need for God. The Lord was his refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. The strength needed was not simply to withstand but to... Continue Reading

To think little or not at all about the centerpiece of history, is to guarantee that you will have no place in heaven. It is not enough to merely be religious by going to church on holidays or even every Sunday, or doing a few other well-meaning duties. It is not religion that makes you... Continue Reading

Birth and burial. In Luke’s Gospel, the scene of Jesus’s birth involved him being wrapped and laid, and the scene of Jesus’s death involved him being wrapped and laid. Mary wrapped him in Luke 2:7, and Joseph of Arimathea wrapped him in Luke 23:53. In 2:7 Jesus was laid in a manger, and in 23:53... Continue Reading

The peace and mercy of God are only for those who place their entire confidence only in what Christ has done for them and not in anything that they are able to do. You see, the beauty of the new creation is that it is like the original creation in the sense that the creation... Continue Reading

When Solomon built the temple in 1 Kings 6, he paid attention to some intricate details. If I’m honest, I often blow past them. After all, what does the width of doors, or the kinds of wood and stone used for the interior of the temple, have to do with me today? I believe the... Continue Reading

God knew what was coming. He would one day send His Son, the Adam of a new Kingdom to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He was born into this earth as a man, lived and died, and rose again to pay the penalty for our sins so that we could... Continue Reading

I’d like to gently suggest that economics, not race, is the real story here. Time is trying to sell magazines. ESPN is trying to sell subscriptions to its services and ads during its televised content. The NBA is trying to sell you on the idea that it cares about professional women’s basketball even though audiences have proven... Continue Reading

Spurgeon points to the sorrowing Savior to defend those of us who experience depression from people like Job’s friends, friends too hasty with their help. Is another’s sorrow and fear warranted and proportional to what he or she is experiencing? After all, to cry about crying things and to feel frightened by frightening things are... Continue Reading

There are many different kinds of gifts that God gives His people (see, for example, 1 Cor. 12:8-10, 28-30; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Pet. 4:11). We should help one another recognize our gifts and encourage one another to use them for the edification of the church. Our gifts are “for building up the body of Christ”... Continue Reading

So how can America become more Protestant? That project is not mainly political or even cultural but evangelistic, ecclesial, and catechetical. Churches will need to focus on making new converts, reclaiming lost converts, and teaching their own flocks about the Protestant tradition. They will have to be less afraid to identify as “Protestant” or as... Continue Reading

The bottom line is that the Sabbath’s moral component is two-fold: first, the purpose of the Sabbath is for rest and worship (with allowance – as Jesus taught – for genuine works of necessity and acts of mercy/piety); and, second, one-seventh portion of time is to be consecrated to God (Exodus 20:8-11).   For brevity’s... Continue Reading

Maybe you failed significantly this year. Maybe you feel like you’re wandering in a purposeless wilderness. But don’t be “governed by present appearances”! The truth is far better: God “works all things after the counsel of his will” (Eph. 1:11). You can’t mess up his plan. And there is a plan, even in the small... Continue Reading

We are priests of God, and as such we are called to a certain quality of life and a certain commonality of function. All believers are called to be holy, as God is holy—that is, to increase in Christlikeness day by day, that the perfect holiness of Jesus might increase in us and manifest itself... Continue Reading

If God can summon light into existence when there was only darkness, surely he can send his light into the world with assurance of complete success, no matter how impossible the odds. For this is the miracle and the wonder of Christmas: The Light of the world was born in the darkness of night, as... Continue Reading

God’s name is holy. It is not to be spoken lightly, lived casually, or carried thoughtlessly. So how should we respond? By treasuring His name. By reflecting His character. By living in a way that proclaims to the world that God is worthy. This isn’t about legalism or guilt. It’s about awe.   In the... Continue Reading

Jesus often spoke of another world that should govern how we live in this one. That’s not to say this world doesn’t matter…Jesus was opening our eyes to realities that had prior to been unseen.   “Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.” —C.S. Lewis... Continue Reading

A true pardon is only something a King can grant and herein lies very good news for us all, including Hunter Biden- The King of the Universe grants a full, complete, just, and satisfying pardon, to all those who place their trust in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as their substitute.   I have... Continue Reading