Precious Puritans – “A fascinating controversy has erupted between the worlds of modern rap music and the early American Puritans, because of a song, ‘Precious Puritans,’ by Christian rapper Propaganda.” This article will bring you up to date. American Protestant Majority – Russell Moore bids farewell to the American Protestant majority. “According to a new…
I occasionally write under a pseudonym. There are some things I feel like I can say, or maybe even ought to say, that wouldn’t be wise to contribute under my own name. And so there have been a handful of times over the years that I’ve written under a pseudonym. There are several complications that…
What the Prosperity Gospel Does to the Gospel – If you read this site you’re probably convinced that the prosperity gospel is unbiblical. This short article takes a look at how the prosperity gospel distorts the true gospel. There Was No Golden Age – Marc Cortez: “I often ask my students to give me a…
I am in the unique and enjoyable position of receiving copies of most of the latest and greatest Christian books and I like to provide regular roundups of some of the best and brightest of the bunch. Here are some of the notable books that I’ve received in the past few weeks. Glorious Ruin by…
One of the thoughts that has been bouncing around my mind over the past few weeks is this: So much of what I do in life, so many of the decisions I make, are driven primarily by considerations of my own comfort. I do what I do because it is more comfortable than the alternative;…
If You Think You’ve Arrived – Paul Tripp’s weekly reflection for pastors is good reading for every Christian. “There are times when I am too self-aware and not nearly as Christ-aware as I should be. I still struggle with latent self-righteousness , and the praise of others tends to confirm the praise for myself I…
I’ve been at this blogging thing for ten years now and have been at the daily blogging thing for almost as long. This means that I’ve got an extensive backlist of articles from years gone by. I thought it might be fun to pull out some of the articles I wrote in previous months of…
The Bible for Bloggers – Bryan Chapell has put together a long essay on behaving ourselves online. “What biblical principles should guide Christian bloggers? I am increasingly thinking about this question because maintaining the mission and reputation of the institution I lead increasingly requires me to respond quickly and frequently to questions, assertions, and criticisms…
This week’s Free Stuff Friday comes to you courtesy of Crossway, a publisher you know well, I’m sure. They are offering up five prize packages, each of which contains four of their brand new books. Each of the winners will receive: So that’s a book for pastors (Dangerous Calling), a book for all of us…
Shannon Macfarlane Sproul – Shannon Macfarlane Sproul, daughter of Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. and granddaughter of Dr. R.C. Sproul, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday. She was fifteen years old. Do keep the Sproul family in your prayers, remembering that it was less than a year ago that R.C. Sproul Jr. lost his…
The Apostle Paul was fond of using athletic metaphors in his call for distinctly Christian lives. Romans 12:1 is just one example: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” But there is an…
72 Hour Sale – Westminster Books is having a great 72 hour sale (though I believe 24 of those hours have already elapsed). Quite a few new and notable books are deeply discounted. I recommend Sexual Sanity for Men, Delighting in the Trinity, and The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. W.E.B. DuBois Would Not…
I love writing book reviews and I love reading them. Since I cannot possibly read and review all of the interesting books out there, I publish occasional round-ups of reviews written by other writers. Or even if I am able to review the book, it’s always good to get a second opinion. So here are…
Hospitality and the Great Commission – “You know what the key to evangelism in the 21st-century will be, don’t you?’ He wasn’t talking Global South, but the Western hemisphere — and America in particular. I’m sure he could see on our faces how eager we were for his answer. Wow, the key, we were thinking.…
Last week, as this site ticked by its tenth anniversary, I reflected a little bit on unintended consequences. This has been a theme in my thinking lately: the unexpected providence of a sovereign God. Today I was looking through my little book Sexual Detox and at the end found a short essay I wrote with…
There is etiquette that surrounds the disposal of a flag. According to VFW, the dignified way to dispose of a tattered or soiled flag is to burn it, but to do so with discretion and to ensure that it has been entirely consumed. The reason flags are treated with respect is that they are symbolic.…
Polls Make No Sense – You can read the whole article if you like, but even just the first few paragraphs highlight the difficulties and the subjectivity in any political poll. “American politics has gone gaga for poll numbers—while polling pros feel less and less certain about the methodology behind the madness. Some days even…
October is here and to ring in the new month I’ve got great new desktop wallpaper for you to download. This month’s wallpaper was designed by Mark Priestap. I asked Mark to introduce himself: My wife Meredith and I have one girl (10) and two boys (8 and 4) and we’ve been married since ’99.…
I began reading Mortality, Christopher Hitchens’ newest book–his final book–on the day it was released. I couldn’t sleep that day, so woke up in the wee hours, downloaded it to the iPad and began reading. It’s not a long work, so did not take more than a couple of hours. Like everything Hitchens wrote, Mortality…
Who Was Samuel Ryder? – Golf fan or not, you may have been hearing about the Ryder Cup. This blog post asks and answers Who Was Samuel Ryder? “Ryder was also a keen Christian and a member of our church – Spicer Street, St Albans. In fact had it not been for a conversation with…