Believers use the expression “God willing” appropriately when they know and trust in the character of God. They acknowledge that God is the one who meticulously ordains all that comes to pass and whose plans cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2).   Kenya is considered a Christian country. Most people acknowledge the existence of God and... Continue Reading

“…no other Christian festival has so intimately wedded itself with the family life and the life of the people as Christmas. Nevertheless, for more than three hundred years the Church got along entirely without it.”   In the book review that follows, B. B. Warfield summarizes the development of Christmas practices over the centuries and... Continue Reading

Dr. Boardman was born in Troy, New York, January 9, 1808. He was a brilliant student at Yale graduating first in his class in 1829. He then studied for the ministry in Princeton Theological Seminary. He was ordained and installed the pastor of Tenth Church on November 8, 1833. His hand never came from the... Continue Reading

Recognize that you are your own worst enemy. If you can acknowledge this truth, you’ll make greater progress in your growth in grace.   As a pastor I regularly listened to people give all sorts of reasons and excuses for their sinful conduct. As a parent, I have listened to my children blame everyone else... Continue Reading

The great Christian apologist, author, and lecturer, C. S. Lewis, wrote during periods of hardship and upheaval, especially during the Second World War and the onset of the atomic age and the Cold War. He had to learn how to deal with changing circumstances, and he sought to convey some keys truths on this to... Continue Reading

We have a lesson to learn from Peter. It is not our resolve that wins the day, though we should have resolve. No. We should be more humble. It is the resolve of Christ to intercede for us so that our faith will not fail that causes us to persevere.   Now as they were eating, He said,... Continue Reading

God’s testing reveals before Creator and creature what’s really in our hearts. God’s testing refines our faith, purging away that which would hinder it. God’s testing reinforces our faith, strengthening our hearts.   I have some biblical tension for you to hold in your life that gets to the heart of prayer. Are you ready for it? Perhaps you should pray... Continue Reading

I advocate that we live Christian lives in the secular world. To do so requires mastery and competence of secular disciplines, the workings of the world, things over which Christians have no distinctive competence. Yet we are to direct these penultimate activities ultimately toward redemptive ends.    As a writer, it is a joy when... Continue Reading

The Table is indeed for sinners, but for sinners who are willing to repent of their sin and come to Christ where forgiveness is found. John’s warning in his first epistle applies nicely to this matter of self-examination, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us”... Continue Reading

We aren’t always clear in our own minds if the advice we’re offering is biblically informed or culturally conditioned. This is perhaps especially true for conservative Christianity or Evangelicalism. The areas of sex and politics are obvious examples. Aspects of our Christian culture are very often mere artefacts of another culture. Like the British museum,... Continue Reading

Christian witness is the church commissioned by Christ, sent out, empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak about what God is doing. Witnessing is to speak of Christ and his gospel truth, salvation in Christ alone, to speak about God—the only true God—and his truth claims in Scripture, and to speak to sinners and to... Continue Reading

Christ is at work in Germany even now. We see God’s Spirit working, especially among the younger generation. In 2009, John Piper returned to Munich for the first time since his PhD studies in the early 1970s. He met with a group of roughly fifteen German pastors and theologians, most of whom had served in... Continue Reading

How, then, can Christ be with his people always and everywhere, to the end of the age? The answer is that the divine nature, even when joined to a human nature, is not circumscribed by that human nature but exists outside (extra) of it. As the Heidelberg Catechism teaches, “Since divinity is not limited and... Continue Reading

One of the clear doctrines highlighted and emphasized at Christmas for obvious reasons is the doctrine of the incarnation. However, the doctrine of God taking upon himself human flesh in the person of Christ is not an isolated doctrine. Many people perhaps have not paused to consider the connection between the incarnation of Jesus and... Continue Reading

Many will read of Christ this season and scoff at His salvation. They will listen to hymns, sing along, and not believe a word. They will look out at a world in peril and search for another man to solve the problems. Do not be counted among them.    And she will bring forth a... Continue Reading

God spoke to Joseph. Joseph didn’t hesitate or argue but instantly obeyed. His unquestioning responses played a vital role in the redemption of the world. His instant obedience…protected his wife, protected his son, the baby Jesus, from certain death, and provided a perfect environment for growth in Nazareth. Each step of obedience vindicated God by... Continue Reading

Histrionic as elements of the 4B movement are, it’s more than a hissy fit. The last 60 years have afforded women unprecedented freedoms, yet they still feel unvalued and unsafe. The sexual revolution of the 1960s rejected every social, moral, and sexual expectation as a power-consolidating cultural construct. Women were “liberated” to define and pursue... Continue Reading

 In the name of growth and being “missional,” there has been a deliberate effort to transform the EPC into something different. In the process, we have forsaken some of the core principles that have guided the EPC for 43 years. As a result, our peace, unity, and purity have been seriously eroded.   Not far... Continue Reading

The work of discipleship and church planting cannot take place unless non-believers are evangelized and born again. At the same time, we cannot leave new converts on their own simply because they claim to be Christians. They must be grounded in their faith, taught what it means to turn their backs on the world and... Continue Reading

Worldviews have consequences. LGBT+ liberalism cannot and will not ever produce anything even remotely resembling the Messiah. It is forever bound to be parasitic upon the Christendom culture and worldview from which it rebels. However much it tries to be “creative” and “alternative”, however much it attempts to “think outside the box”, it can only... Continue Reading

Our northern neighbor’s Orwellian-named MAID (medical assistance in dying) has resulted in more than 400 individuals being put to death in criminal violation to the code, and the Netherlands, where it is currently legal for doctors to kill patients as young as 1 year old with the consent of a guardian. Instead of seeing these... Continue Reading

You’re bound to have heard this preached from pulpits in one form or another: “Unlock God’s blessing upon your life by giving more money to the church.” God’s blessing is seen to be dependent on my actions; the more I give, the more God will bless me. Alternatively, if I don’t give enough, he’ll curse... Continue Reading

In the fall of 1511, the two men sat under a pear tree in front of the Black Cloister monastery, Martin’s new home in Wittenberg. There Staupitz gave Martin some unwelcome news. Martin had a new assignment: “You will be a preacher and a teacher of the Bible.” Martin panicked. “I’m not qualified,” he said. Then,... Continue Reading

In Hebrews 8:3-4, we read how Christ as High Priest offers gifts and sacrifices in heaven on our behalf. These are the gifts he offers his life, righteousness, and blood. They can silence all foes and accusers of the brethren and will satisfy the wrath of God. The advocate’s answer strips the accuser of his... Continue Reading

The county formally cut ties with the ministry, costing it thousands of dollars in funding and opportunities to further its calling and minister to survivors of sex trafficking, according to a federal lawsuit filed last week on Gracehaven’s behalf. The contract would have allowed Gracehaven to staff its third group home and open four more... Continue Reading

In this time of siege and struggle, surrounded by a powerful and deadly enemy, Satan calls us to surrender: “Stand down. Give in. Stop fighting and your life will be so much easier.” But Christ is coming soon. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Bright Morning Star. We have washed our robes in his blood.... Continue Reading

Those who participate in a public debate should do so in a spirit of self-denial. This is the appropriate attitude for those who are convinced how difficult the task is, how feeble and ineffective they themselves are, and how subtle the principal adversary which they have to do with is. Therefore, people should not commit... Continue Reading

A pastor needs to not only know his people, but he needs to know his context as well. If you are proclaiming God’s word to a congregation in Salt Lake City then Mormon apologetics are going to need to take center stage moreso than if you are in a place where they are only heard... Continue Reading

 Jesus came into the world as light and became the light of the world. And his light shone in our darkness. But he did more than shine. He set in motion the eternal destruction of our darkness by taking it upon himself. It even appeared as if the darkness of our sin had extinguished the... Continue Reading

Caring. God: God is not apathetic or cold to your pain. When God introduces Himself, one of the main ways He describes Himself is by telling us He is compassionate (Exod. 34:6)!  Jesus wept when He saw the suffering of those He loves. It’s not different for you. He deeply feels your pain and sorrow.... Continue Reading