How the Spirit Providentially Encourages Us When We’re Burdened
This verse was an additional reminder to not grit my teeth while I endure, but to do it joyfully. Patiently.
The short biblical section I did read over breakfast was in Colossians chapter 1. It knocked straight into my discouragement. Beginning in verse 9, Paul says the Spirit gives us wisdom and understanding of God’s will so we can: 1) bear fruit through our works 2) grow in the knowledge of God 3) draw on... Continue Reading
Why Pastoral Ministry Can Be Difficult
Pastors do not persevere by sheer grit. They persevere through ordinary means of grace – Scripture, prayer, fellowship, repentance, rest, and the hope of Christ’s return.
A congregation sees the sermon on Sunday, but not the hours of study, prayer, and wrestling beforehand. They may notice a hospital visit, but not the many quiet phone calls, follow-up conversations, and intercessory prayers. They benefit from the church’s spiritual health without seeing the behind-the-scenes work of planning, conflict resolution, discipleship, and administration. This... Continue Reading
Why A Woman Serving as Senior Warden in the Anglican Church Is Analogous to the Office of Ruling Elder Though It Is “Lay Ministry” and Not Ordained
The question before us is not her character, but whether the specific authority exercised in the Senior Warden role aligns with the biblical qualifications for elder-like oversight.
We have an invisible wall of distinction between ordained ministers and the other offices. The Anglicans shape their clerical office by separating the clerical and lay offices through the use of the terms “ordained” and “commissioned,” and we do not. We ordain every officer, lay or not, and this should not confuse us as to... Continue Reading
What in the PC(USA) Is Going On?
The church does not love the world by lying to it.
Denominations do not wake up one morning debating monogamy by accident. The road from one compromise to another is not always straight and every church that stumbles in one place does not arrive at the same cliff by sundown. Still, the habit of compromise is real. Once a church learns to set aside Scripture in... Continue Reading
A Report of the RPCNA Synod 2026?
The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) met in Marion, Indiana June 16-19, 2026.
The RPCNA is made up of 86 congregations (several were recently released to form the RPC of Canada) across 7 presbyteries. Currently 10 congregations are without pastors; we are also in need of more ruling elders; and finances are stable across the denomination (we have a $37 million synod-level portfolio plus other assets). The... Continue Reading
Jesus is Supreme From the Cosmos to the Congregation
When you come to Jesus, you can know that you are coming to the One who is over all.
Jesus, the Glorious One, has been anointed and is even now at the right hand of God. And yet that same one knows what it means to be tempted in every way, just as you are. He is high above, and at the same time, infinitely down to earth. This is who you have in... Continue Reading
One Word Changed Everything: How a Latin Mistranslation Built the Sacrament of Penance
Trent would have us believe that John 20 gives us all we need to know that penance is orthodox, but it does not.
The Councils of Orange and Carthage had closed the door on this doctrine. But what was closed there was opened at Trent. The Magisterium’s reaction to the Reformation placed the pre-modern and now modern church that remains tied to Rome in contradiction with orthodoxy. This is hard for Roman Catholics to hear. Because no one... Continue Reading
Seven Things to Do to Prepare for Spiritual Warfare
If the apostle Paul could address you directly, he would encourage you to develop these seven habits in preparation for the evil day.
Paul’s metaphor of the soldier’s armor has become so familiar to many of us that we have forgotten that God (via a letter of Paul) is instructing us to do certain things in preparation for spiritual warfare. Granted, there is some disagreement among New Testament scholars about what some of these metaphors represent. But I... Continue Reading
A Summary of Actions Taken by the 46th General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church held its 46th stated General Assembly in Denver, Colorado June 16-18, 2026.
From the conclusion of our executive report (drawn from the Pastoral Letter): We affirm that only those “who conform to the biblical requirement of chastity and sexual purity in their descriptions of themselves, their convictions, character, and conduct should be considered for leadership.” Additionally, we affirm that “Courts may consider for ordination candidates whose ongoing... Continue Reading
The Lie of Living Your Truth
Your truth or The Truth? Today’s culture calls for bold proclamations in both the church and the public sphere. We must roll up our sleeves and tell the truth.
I believed the slogan “LGBTQ lives hurt no one.” My friend, a biological male who lived as a woman and was chemically castrated after years of estrogen, gave me a box of books on Christian theology. He had left the church for transgenderism, and I seemed to be interested in Christianity. So, he dropped off... Continue Reading
The Divine School: Theology as Taught by God (Theologia a Deo Docetur)
A proud theologian is a walking contradiction.
Loved ones, this is where the academic-practical bridge must be crossed with immense care. If we truly believe that theology is taught by God, it must radically alter our posture as students. It is incredibly easy for young, intellectually driven men to turn the study of Reformed theology into a blood sport. We want to... Continue Reading
From Anxiety to Assurance: Why Theology Matters for the Christian Life
The work of the cross was not the Father punishing an unwilling Son, but a unified act of Triune love toward believers.
When a Christian understands not just that they are saved, but the biblically grounded theology that informs them of how they are saved, their assurance shifts from a fragile and emotional “hope so” to an objective and rooted “know so.” By pursuing a theology of consistency, coherence, and explanatory power, we do not complicate our... Continue Reading
Created Creatures or Creating Creators?
The next great theological question.
We speak in code, in algorithms, in the vocabulary of enhancement and optimisation and human flourishing. But the underlying grammar is the same. A unified global civilisation, sharing tools and platforms and ambitions, is engaged in a coordinated attempt to build its way out of creaturely existence. The tower has many names, artificial general intelligence,... Continue Reading
Is Mormonism Christian? The Pentagon’s List Made Everyone Pick a Side
"The fundamental beliefs of Mormonism about Jesus and Scripture are not the same as historic, orthodox Christianity".
The most common claim from Mormons was that Christian is in the name, as in “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” and that the doctrinal differences are secondary. However, using the same vocabulary does not mean we are using the same dictionary. When it comes to the contrast between Mormonism and Christianity, the differences make all the difference in the world. On Monday, the Pentagon announced... Continue Reading
A Letter to a Discouraged Pastor
You gotta love the church. You can’t love Christ and despise His body.
Our Lord described the church as an institution that included both tares and wheat. Sometimes the tares gain the upper hand and lead the church into apostasy. Some churches have degenerated to such a low degree that they cease being churches at all. But no church in any age has been utterly pure. It was... Continue Reading
Responding to the Islamic Accusation of Taḥrīf: Standing on the Bible’s Historical Integrity
We have good reasons to trust the Bible’s integrity.
A common argument lodged by critics against the New Testament’s integrity is that it was wildly unstable in its earliest stages. That is, our copies of the New Testament do not reflect the content of the original autographs (the original written documents of the biblical authors). Muslim polemicists adopt these arguments to support their accusation... Continue Reading
The Ugliest Thing in the World
Reflecting on a quote from Francis Schaeffer.
Maybe you know the intricacies of the atonement; perhaps you know the five solas and affirm the doctrines of grace. Your favorite hobby is to study the deepest theology and all you like to do is read Puritan after Puritan. To be sure, all of those things a great in themselves. (Yes, read the Puritans!)... Continue Reading
EPC Opens Door to Ordination of Celibate Homosexuals
By a majority of 57 to 43 percent, the EPC Assembly voted to approve a Pastoral Letter that opens the door to ordain those who struggle with same-sex attraction as long as they are celibate, repentant, and seeking to mortify their sin.
As I listened to the debate, I had an overwhelming sense of déjà vu – that I had seen this all before. Seventeen years ago, I helped lead my congregation into the EPC to escape from the homosexual agenda that infected the PC(USA). Now, I was witnessing the very same thing in the EPC General... Continue Reading
On Being Moved
A theological anthropology of the emotions.
The task given to human beings at the beginning of Genesis relates to the concept of dominion.[14] It is, of all the creatures, this one whom God addresses as his partner in the project of creation. For the Psalmist it is a matter of wonder: ‘what is man that you are mindful of him?’ (Ps... Continue Reading
The Yoke of Christ
Why the ‘Beast of Burden’ image is the answer for weary souls needing rest.
“So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you. . .” Be content with who you are and all your not-enoughness. We are not God. He remembers how He formed us—limited, finite creatures of dust—He was there after all! But how often do we forget this?... Continue Reading
The Real Bottom Line
In the decisions you’re facing right now, are you seeking his kingdom first or your bottom line first?
“[S]eek first his kingdom and his righteousness…” Not second. Not when things settle down. First. A.W. Tozer put it plainly: “We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God.” Not an occasional preoccupation. Everlasting. Every leader I know tracks numbers. Revenue. Attendance. Headcount. Growth. There’s nothing wrong with that. Data matters. But here’s a... Continue Reading
The Sin We’ve Stopped Taking Seriously
“Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.”
We often remember the church father Augustine for his preconversion life of sexual sin—his illicit lover and his famous prayer (“Grant me chastity, but not yet”). But the more I read Confessions, the more I notice how pride runs just as deep and just as long, and arguably does more damage. Augustine describes his younger... Continue Reading
Restlessness
And the goodness of just consistently showing up over and over and over again.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about restlessness and consistency. It’s easy to get bored, to feel like life isn’t shaping up to be what you expected. We look out and see the kinds of lives others appear to be living and we wonder why ours may not be quite what we want. ... Continue Reading
God, Machines, and Biblical Christianity
Use the new technologies and things like AI carefully and for good outcomes, but take great care in being seduced by their dehumanising and anti-God proclivities.
Being new to Christianity, I can’t pretend it’s not convenient. I’ve never read the Bible all the way through, but I have an app that summarizes it for me, that texts me a passage every day. I use #Bible and Hallow and Glorify. And I’m sure this kind of thing has attracted more young people,... Continue Reading
The Wonderful Christololgy of Thomas Goodwin
"Thy misery can never exceed His [Christ's] mercy. . . . Therefore let neither [sin nor misery] discourage any from coming unto Christ for grace and mercy."
Goodwin labors to show us, Christ’s church, especially from the Book of Hebrews, that our Messiah is very active in heaven for His people on earth; and that, in His human nature, He sympathizes with us and shares our griefs and sorrows (and joys). Goodwin teaches that Jesus Christ, as God’s Great High Priest, given... Continue Reading
Does God have emotions?
God is constant in his love, goodness, wrath, and mercy.
The Confession states that God is without body, parts, or passions (Chapter 2.1). I believe that means, in part, that God does not experience emotional reactions to his creation. In fact, God is pure act, and never reacts. My friend, on the other hand, believes that, God loves as a man loves. Though in a... Continue Reading
Experiencing Your Identity in Christ
The more you fill your mind with the biblical truth about who you are, the more your self-image will come into line with God-revealed reality.
Both the prideful and the self-depreciating views are a product of a conformed mind, a mind that takes its cues from the world or self or Satan rather than from God. The transformed mind is very different. Just because God has made us righteous and guiltless in Christ doesn’t mean we automatically experience the... Continue Reading
Seven Ways Children Can Honor Parents
I wonder though, did we come to read a list of things for our kids to do for us, or for a reminder that we are children of God Himself?
When they do things without grumbling. Grumbling shows that there is a lack of trust in plans or provisions. A lack of grumbling is a display of trust. When they submit to discipline. While no child likes discipline, submission to discipline shows that they trust that their parents don’t intend their harm, and they also... Continue Reading
On Pleasant Places, Part 4: Delight in God’s Instruction
We can read, believe, and meditate on the same Scriptures that David had—and many more—and we can apply them to our decisions.
When we’re waiting to fall asleep at night, where do our thoughts turn? The very best place is the Scripture that we’ve memorized. Through protection. 8 I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. What does it mean that David has “set the Lord... Continue Reading
Growing Pains
“…he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” Philippians 1:6b.
Jesus was without sin, but not without suffering, not only on the cross but during the rest of His life. All this matured Him. It wasn’t that He was deficient, but it was God’s design for Him to feel the effects of living in the fallen world, and for Him to rise above it in... Continue Reading