Happy Birthday Dear – R.C. Sproul Jr.: “When we look to the future, most of us I suspect expect to at least hit our three score and ten. Given the widespread strength in the west, still others are confident they will see four score years. We all acknowledge that we don’t know the future, and…
I think I saw about half of Scotland yesterday. I am here to see the work of 20schemes, an organization dedicated to providing gospel churches for Scotland’s poorest. Scotland’s poorest tend to live in schemes, government housing that is free for the destitute or subsidized for the poor. Hundreds of thousands of Scots live in…
7 Ways to Get in the Word – Here are seven ways for busy moms to get into God’s Word every day, even with all of their distractions and responsibilities. Seven Sutherland Sisters – I love quirky stories from days gone by. Collectors Weekly has the tale of the seven Sutherland sisters and their 37…
I have not traveled often beyond the North American continent, but when I do, the truest joy is not in seeing the sites or getting a glimpse of the culture. The truest joy is in worshipping with fellow believers. Last fall I was able to worship with Christians in Dubai and India and was deeply…
Ordinary Excellence – Michael Horton is writing an ongoing series on being ordinary Christians. It’s well worth the read. Wisdom and Sex – Tom Schreiner on Proverbs 5: “Secular people often talk as if their perspective on sex is freeing and liberating. They often say that the Christian view is repressive, rigid, and joy-denying. But…
I mentioned on Friday that I had arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland and am here to look into the work of a ministry called 20schemes. 20schemes is dedicated to providing gospel churches for Scotland’s poorest people and these are, almost by definition, people who live in schemes. “What is a scheme?” you may ask. It is…
Thomas Boston might not technically count as a Puritan in the minds of some, either because he was Scottish or because he lived the majority of his life in the eighteenth century. J. I. Packer, however, includes him in his book Puritan Portraits and describes him as one who, alongside Jonathan Edwards in America, “represents…
Abuse Does Not Take Away Use – “In my online forays, I’ve observed it’s increasingly common for people to explicitly reject a doctrine, or the notion of orthodox teaching in general, on the basis of its abuse.” Derek Rishmawy explains why this should not be so. Don’t You Know What They’re Saying About You? –…
I am writing today from Edinburgh, Scotland. Aileen and I boarded a flight last night and arrived first thing this morning. It has been twenty three years since I was last in Scotland; Aileen has never been. We are here with a small collection of pastors and church leaders who have traveled from all over…
This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by Rare Document Traders. They offered me an amazing prize this week! It is a sermon manuscript page from a Charles Spurgeon sermon preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle on Sunday, May 5, 1889. The page is heavily amended by the Prince of preachers himself before the sermon went…
I Don’t Remember Chemistry – I appreciate Stephen Altrogge’s thoughts here. “Is it possible we’re setting the bar too high for ourselves and our children? That maybe we’re getting a little carried away? And that maybe, just maybe, we’re going beyond what God requires of us as parents?” New Look at the Prince of Preachers…
Are we sure that the God we serve is the God described in Scripture? Is rethinking Him biblically really necessary? How do we do it? How would it affect our views of Christ, the gospel, holiness, worship, evangelism, service, and revival? Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically, led by Dr. John Snyder, is a 12-week…
Satan bears many names. Satan has many schemes. Satan wears many hats. Satan comes in many disguises. And through it all, one of his favorite tactics and one of his most successful tactics is to be an accuser. The book of Revelation assures us that night and day he stands as our accuser. accuser (noun)…
75 Astonishing Things – Check out this list from Paul Tautges: “Recently, I spent some time thinking about all that God accomplishes in an instant, at the moment of conversion, and what He continues to work to its ultimate completion in the day we will see Him in glory (Phil 1:6). The result was 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. Of all the books I have received recently, here are the ones that appear most noteworthy. Living by…
For many years now I have been leading a project I call “Reading Classics Together.” Through this program we have read and discussed all kinds of excellent classic works of the Christian faith. But now, for just a while, I want to try something a little bit different. Hear me out and see if you…
Thinking Evangelically About Tim Tebow – Jared Wilson: “I’m a little concerned about the way many of my fellow evangelicals think about the phenomenon that is Tim Tebow, and I’m a little concerned about the way Tim Tebow may think about the phenomenon that is Tim Tebow. I think in general evangelicals could think more…
For some time now people have been telling me, “You need to read Larry Osborne’s Accidental Pharisees.” Based on the title I was not sure whether they meant this as a compliment or insult; now that I have read it, I am still not sure. But I sure am grateful they encouraged me to read…
Recovering Confession – “Confession used to occupy an important place in the liturgy of corporate worship. But outside of a general admission that we are sinners, or the specific confession of the one ‘big sin’ in our life, confession seems to have become something largely forgotten.” I’m not sure I agree that confession has gone…
It is Labor Day today. That’s Labour Day here in Canada. It struck me this morning that among all the holidays Labor Day is unique in that we celebrate it by ignoring the very thing it is all about. On Christmas we remember Jesus; on Canada Day or Independence Day we think about our nations;…