The Power of Prayer
Ask, seek, and knock are three metaphors for prayer.
Prayer is a powerful means of grace that God has provided to us. He has good things to give us that we do not have because we have not asked. Some may argue, but God knows what we need even if we do not ask. That is true, but refusing to pray is disobedience, and... Continue Reading
Does John’s Last Supper Chronology Differ from the Other Gospels?
This misunderstanding can be cleared up quickly when we examine the historical context.
It’s likely the case that John’s original audience saw no contradiction between John’s Last Supper chronology and the chronology of the other Gospels because they understood the way terms were used interchangeably in their day. Unfortunately, for modern readers who are unaware of the context, John’s language can sometimes be misunderstood to represent a different... Continue Reading
There’s a Religious Earthquake Coming. Can You Feel It?
What do we need to leave in the rubble heap and what do we need to rebuild?
Here we are in a society paralysed by the fears, anxieties and ennui of a culture that promised so much, yet has delivered so little. And here we are in churches that are in decline census after census, and which we will pull almost any lever we can find to ensure that the earthquake does... Continue Reading
The Judgement of Getting Exactly What We Want
Sometimes God gives us the desires of our heart so that we can see just how unappealing it is.
Things that are otherwise good or neutral that we chase after and desire – that the Lord has been keeping us from for our own good – that he eventually gives to us. In the end, he may give them to us so that we realise the Lord was keeping us from the things for... Continue Reading
What it Means to Be Reformed Part 1: The Solas of Salvation
The Five Solas: Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), and soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone).
A return to the centrality of Scripture and right soteriology is only the first step in letting Scripture shape every aspect of life and doctrine. Just as individuals are progressively sanctified by the Holy Spirit, we should expect the Church as a whole to be progressively sanctified. Semper reformanda means that even today the Church is in... Continue Reading
A Review: ‘A Place to Hide: Equipping Moms to Survive A Public Shooting’
A book on a short, clear work on a dark but important topic.
Sadly, our culture is changing quickly and our cities are disintegrating before our eyes. Violent crime, dangerous immigration trends, and one public shooting after another seem to fill the headlines. McShaffrey’s book will help you and your loved ones to make crucial decisions no matter where the next dangerous outbreak takes place. A Place... Continue Reading
Alexander T. Rankin, Missionary to Kansas Territory & Denver
Rankin’s understanding of his work was to start churches so younger men of greater stamina could become their pastors and face the challenges of the West.
One trip from Denver for church planting involved taking the stage to both Central City and Missouri City because several Presbyterians were interested in having churches organized. During the trip other settlements were visited with services held. It was an efficient way to reach what were often settlements located at sites where gold could be... Continue Reading
We Are Resident Aliens
Peter gives us categories for political identity and action.
The spiritual house of God, full of living stones (us) who serve the cornerstone (Christ), live their lives as a holy nation among the nations. We are like resident aliens—long-term residents of a city or world that is not our own. For we are seeking a better city “that has foundations, whose designer and builder... Continue Reading
Even When You Don’t Know the Steps, You Still Know the Way
Jesus didn’t tell you the specific steps to take, but He did both tell and show you the manner in which those steps should be taken.
The “way” is the posture you should take as you take these steps; it’s the attitude and manner of what you do. In the scenario above, the steps involve all kinds of things, but the manner in which you take those steps is much simpler. It’s the way of lowering. The way of service. The... Continue Reading
Presbyterian Church In America Invites Professional Polarizer David French To Lecture Christians On Getting Along
If the PCA wants to have David French talk about polarization, it should be as a poster child, not a panelist.
I emailed the PCA General Assembly and its Administrative Committee’s head Bryan Chapell that very question and received no response. An email obtained by The Federalist that was apparently sent to many people who complained about the French pick, however, said the PCA is “currently seeking to discern the accuracy of concerns that have been... Continue Reading
Devoted … Apostles’ Teaching (Acts 2:42)
One of the key themes of this book is that the word of God spreads with an unstoppable force.
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he declares that the church is God’s household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ himself as the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20). Take away Christ crucified and you are undermining the very foundation of the church. Everything is likely to collapse! I remember reading about the... Continue Reading
Overture 26 to Assist the Accused To Be Considered By the 51st PCA General Assembly
Overture 26 seeks to keep accused church members in the process for their own good and reclamation.
The proposed amendment’s solution is to expand potential representatives to “a communing member in good standing of a PCA church or any member in good standing of a PCA court (meaning all elders, ruling and teaching)….Another possible benefit of ensuring that accused church members have competent representation is a reduction in the number of appealed... Continue Reading
Perversion is Not Christian
Revoice has adopted the language of contemporary homosexual activism in asserting that homosexuality is an inborn, unchangeable inclination or orientation.
When it comes to forbidding homosexuality, the Church should just explain why it is shameful and what it keeps the homosexual from becoming. Some examples of arguments I think are good: Homosexuality destroys family life and robs parents of grandchildren and the community of its youth. Wealthy homosexuals acquiring children through surrogacy is going to... Continue Reading
Synopsis of A Purer Theology
The Synopsis represents a full, yet streamlined, summary of theology as it was understood in the Netherlands following the Synod of Dort (1618–1619).
These two volumes deserve to be the shelf of every busy pastor and every serious theological student. While the work should not be read as the final word on every theological question it raises, there is no doubt that the Synopsis will help the careful reader arrive at purer and better understanding of the historic... Continue Reading
What Happens When Children are Exposed to Pornography?
Pornography proves to be especially detrimental to children and adolescents.
Educating children and youth about the harms of pornography is also key. Such education could teach children how to react when they see pornography and who they can turn to for guidance and counsel. One study found that only 57% of children reached out to someone after exposure to pornography, leaving many youth to grapple with the experience... Continue Reading
The Snag in Stupid Questions
Finding our worth in God's story.
It’s the same old lie. And it leads to the same old deathful dead end. Leave the good, time-tested way, and there’s a better path just over there. But there is no life, there is no story, apart from our Creator. So is it worth it? To get married? To follow Jesus? The answer is yes... Continue Reading
I AM: Eternity
All moments are present for God.
Every moment in the past, present and future is known, seen and experienced fully by God. No moment in time becomes remote for God. No moment in time is only probable or possible. No moment in time is anticipated or hoped for. For God, past, present, future have full and equal existence. All of time... Continue Reading
16 Lessons from 16 Years of Ministry
Worship, not influence, is the goal of ministry.
An encourager will never lack ministry opportunities. Impulsiveness is deadly. Even though it often masquerades itself as zeal for Christ, impulsiveness is a destructive force that can cause deep hurts in the body of Christ. What the Lord is doing in us is far more important that what it appears He is doing through us.... Continue Reading
The War for the Soul of the World
From the Gospels, we will see how this Kingdom that put down its enemies in the first century will build and grow throughout all centuries until there is nothing left for it to conquer.
The torch now passes to us, the revived company of Christ’s End Times army. Having been lavished with incomparable blessings and equipped with Heaven’s full authority, it is our charge to carry His unstoppable advance into every sphere of society. Through the weapons of the Church, the means of grace, faithful evangelism, and multiplying discipleship,... Continue Reading
Choose Better
Book Review: T. David Gordon’s brief and reader-friendly new book is a fascinating look at the different models of decision-making.
Christians have arrived at five different models for making ethical decisions. Each of them asks different questions and these different questions bring different insights to the ethical question. Yet each has the same goal of pleasing and honoring God. The book is framed around these models, with each receiving a chapter-length treatment. Over the... Continue Reading
Why We Need to Read the Cass Report on Gender Ideology
The report should be used at all levels to counter the pseudoscience of altering kids’ bodies in the name of mental healthcare.
The report affirmed that so-called “gender-affirming care” is built on “shaky foundations.” Far from being settled, the evidence supporting the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries to “treat” gender dysphoria is “remarkably weak.” According to the report, most of the studies cited in support of social, chemical, or surgical “transition” were found... Continue Reading
In Search of the Baptism of the Imagination
How can Christians be about the business of the transformation of our present cultural milieu?
C.S. Lewis described his own conversion to Christianity, from a fashionable and rather mindless form of atheism heavily tinged with late Romanticism; and he depicts that transformation as beginning with the unexpected effects of a chance reading of George MacDonald’s book Phantastes on a train ride. Lewis says very clearly that, even in the wake of this... Continue Reading
Well, that Didn’t Take Long
The United Methodists quickly abandon Biblical Christianity.
What was left of the United Methodist Church, freed from those conservative congregations, rushed headlong in Charlotte to abandon historic Christianity and join the LGBTQ revolution. They wasted no time. Speaker after speaker introduced themselves at microphones with the obligatory language of name, sexual and gender identity, and preferred pronouns. It was just what the... Continue Reading
“No Creed but Christ”
Creeds and confessions are systematic doctrinal statements that provide clarity rather than ambiguity.
While the Bible reigns as King in the library of human history and is all sufficient and authoritative, we must reject the shallow and deceitful little creed, “No creed, but Christ” that denies the importance of historic creeds and confessions and opens the door for false teachers to pervert the truths of God’s holy Word.... Continue Reading
Will the End of Protestantism be the End of America?
Emmanuel Todd's grim prognosis in The Defeat of the West
There’s a copious amount of discussion about family structures in this book, but Todd adds to that an overlay of religion. He sees Protestantism, rather than the market, industry, or technology as the heart of the modern West. Its most critical impact was a drive for universal literacy, so that all the people could read... Continue Reading
No Flawless Church
Until that glorious day, true churches will be a mix of good and bad.
As Christians, we will, inevitably in this age, find ourselves in a flawed church. But where God has planted a faithful church within our community, we can thank God for His gracious provision, both for our nurture in Christ and for a witness to Christ in our world. And we can allow the disappointments and... Continue Reading
The Chronicles of Cancer in the Life of C.S. Lewis
Though cancer never laid its cruel hands directly on the beloved creator of Narnia, many of his friends and family took the full impact of the disease’s fury.
The chronicles of cancer in the life of C. S. Lewis are filled with contrasts: pain and hope, darkness and light, raw emotion and clarity of mind, and episodes of doubt that do not overcome a faith permeated with steadfast longing for the Creator of the cosmos to make all things new in Christ. What... Continue Reading
Culturally Respectable Racism
Why aren’t pundits who bashed evangelicals as racists more vocal about rampant anti-Semitism on the left?
One cannot join the “silence is violence” crowd when it suits you but then keep quiet when events reveal that your “evangelicalism is the most pressing and dangerous threat to America” is arrant, self-serving nonsense. The scenes that have been playing out on elite American campuses—scenes of the most explicit racism—are a national disgrace.... Continue Reading
Should We Consider Mary the First Apostle?
An apostle must be both called and given authority.
If “apostle” simply means one who is “sent” to share the gospel, then of course every Christian is an “apostle”. But if “apostle” is interpreted against the whole matrix of the New Testament, then every Christian is most certainly not an apostle. One of the glorious and beautiful truths of—and legacies of—biblical Christianity is Christianity’s... Continue Reading
A UFO in Ezekiel 1?
A Closer Look at a Close Encounter
Ezekiel 1 is full of bizarre imagery, yes. But the content is not about what we call a UFO. The chapter is a vision of heavenly creatures—called cherubim—and the majesty of Yahweh. The heavenly throne was supported by wheels, as if God sat upon a throne-chariot. God is exalted, transcendent, reigning supreme. When I... Continue Reading