Do’s and Don’ts of Welcoming Guests – “Have you been in your church for so long that you’ve forgotten what it’s like to enter the building for the first time? Do you want to make guests feel welcome, but need help seeing your congregation through new eyes?” Here are some good tips. By Thy Mercy…
Is there any category of book that goes more wrong more often than books on spiritual warfare? There can’t be too many. Few subjects are more important to the life and well-being of the Christian, but I fear few topics receive worse treatment. Novel interpretations abound, as do outright unbiblical ones. Into the fray step…
A Softer Prosperity Gospel – David Schrock outlines five trademarks of a soft version of the prosperity gospel, particularly as they show up in sermons and books. Ask R.C. Live – Tonight at 7:30pm EST, R.C. Sproul will be live online via video answering your theological questions. Click the link to find out how you…
Accountability has gotten a bad rap. It is easy to see why, I guess. When it comes to battling against sin, and especially those stubborn, addictive sins, accountability relationships are sometimes held up as a cure-all, a near guarantee of success. Yet often they end up being a means of commiseration more than challenge, a…
Alone Yet Not Alone – WORLD: “Mainstream media outlets erupted in confusion and indignation Thursday over a surprise Oscar nomination for Best Song. “Alone Yet Not Alone,” the theme song for an independent Christian film of the same name, edged out a long list of songs by mainstream artists…” Slavery and the Old Testament Law…
I am in the midst of a series of articles on the seven ecumenical councils of the early church. These councils commenced with the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and concluded with the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. Between these two events were five more, each of which attempted to understand and establish…
What Makes a Joyful Home? – Read this one! “A joy filled-heart makes a joy-filled home, because joy flows from the inside out, not the outside in. Joy is a choice, and it is such an easy thing to choose. Why, then, is it also such a hard thing to choose?” What It’s Like –…
This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by New Growth Press. New Growth Press “publishes gospel-centered and Bible-based materials that empower individuals, families, and churches to grow in their love for God, their love for others, and their ability to bring healing and hope to the world.” They are giving away 5 prize packages this…
It’s not a joke, you know. As we make our way through this life, we face some powerful enemies. In the second chapter of Ephesians, Paul describes the pre-Christian past of the people in this church. As he does that, he tells them that three powerful forces were arrayed against them: the world, the flesh,…
Google Hangout with Ligonier – Today at 4 PM EST I’ll be doing a Google Hangout with the folk from Ligonier. If you’re interested, visit the link and you’ll be told how you can participate. It should be fun! Dear Daddy in Seat 16C – This is a sweet article. Alone Yet Not Alone –…
A few months ago a filmmaker sent me a copy of a documentary he had completed a short time before. Light In the Darkness tells about just a small part of the work Christians are doing in India. The film came to me shortly after I had visited Northern India and seen the smallest glimpse…
Please order my book and film Epic: An Around-the-World Journey through Christian History.
Money: An Instrument of Blessing – This article from 9Marks lays out the big difference between the prosperity gospel and a biblical way of understanding money: One says that money is an instrument of blessing while the other says it is an indicator of blessing. There’s a world of difference between. Evolution is a Matter…
As a cofounder of Cruciform Press, I like to provide occasional updates, including thoughts on our recent releases. I try to mention titles shortly after they appear, so this one is a bit tardy. It’s a good book, though, and one I didn’t want to let pass by. In Torn to Heal: God’s Good Purpose…
Every pastor, and I suppose every Christian as well, has a kind of theological toolbox, a means of dealing with the questions and concerns that appear throughout life. I was thinking recently about the tools I use most often and narrowed it down to two. There are two grids I’ve found especially helpful, and ones…
The Biggest Contradiction – David Murray looks at the contradiction between Paul’s justification by faith alone and James’ justification by works. “Can these opposing statements be reconciled? I believe they can, and the key is to understand that although Paul and James both speak of justification, they are speaking about two different kinds of justification.”…
Few questions are more pressing among Evangelicals today than the time and the manner in which God created the world and all life within it. Did he create the world in six literal days or did he create the world over millions of years? Was human life a spontaneous creation of God or did it…
Sexual History – Russell Moore shows wisdom and pastoral concern in his answer to this question: When dating, how much should a Christian know about a future spouse’s sexual history? Rescuing from Hell and Renewing the World – A very important article from Piper: “[T]he way to achieve the greatest social and cultural transformation is…
Marriage is under attack. Marriage has always been under attack. The world, the flesh and the devil are all adamantly opposed to marriage, and especially to marriages that are distinctly Christian. Marriage, after all, is given by God to strengthen his people and to glorify himself; little wonder, then, that it is constantly a great…
Life in a Dark Place – “[D]oubt is something we evangelical Christians need to get talking about. I often think doubt is like the topic of pornography was 15 years ago—a lot of people were struggling with it, but we hardly ever spoke of it. We have come at least part of the way on…