Here is a pastoral conundrum for you to think about. In 1412 the pre-Reformation preacher John Huss found himself facing a difficult decision. The Roman Catholic Church had excommunicated him for his refusal to burn his copies of John Wycliffe’s writings and now the Church had also leveled an interdict against the city of Prague…
A reader of the site recently asked me this question: “What is your opinion about using eHarmony or some other online dating site to find a spouse?” He also asked that if I am in favor of such sites, I provide a recommendation of a good service. While this is a distinctly twenty-first century question,…
How to Pray for Your Pastor – “I need prayer…badly! And so does your pastor. As leaders in the church, we have unique and often more intense temptations (“Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter”). So will you consider praying for your pastor the way I ask my people to pray for me?” Church…
Part one of my review of Debi Pearl’s Created To Be His Help Meet showed that even though I agree with the broadly complementarian thrust of the book, it is marked by a harsh and critical spirit and offers far too much foolish counsel. Today I want to point to three more concerns: poor theology,…
Why Disabilities? – David Murray offers answers to good questions. “There are 600 million people with disabilities in the world? Why so many? What’s God’s purpose in this?” Biblical Theology of Motherhood – Here’s one to print off and read when you’ve got a few minutes to take it slowly and read carefully. Summer Fellowship…
This is the seventh installment in a series on theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology, Trinity, creation, man, Fall, and common grace. The word “sin” first appears in the Bible when God speaks to Cain, warning him not to give in to his anger against his brother: “If you do not do…
There are parts of the Christian life that can be easier caught than taught. A godly mentor is able to serve as a powerful display of the way truth works itself out in a life. The second chapter of Paul’s letter to Titus commands older women to take an active role in mentoring those who…
What Is the Rapture? – R.C. Sproul answers the question. “1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 is Paul’s teaching about what is popularly called the rapture. The rapture is the miraculous transportation of all living Christians to heaven at the return of Jesus. There is a lot of misinformation about this event, but this passage gives us some…
While John Newton will always be known as the man who wrote “Amazing Grace,” that is just one of hundreds of hymns he penned. Another beautiful and powerful hymn of comfort and assurance is “Pensive, Doubting, Fearful Heart.” I have it on good authority that it will be on the next album by Indelible Grace;…
Virginia’s Largest Manhunt – If you’ve got some time on your Saturday, you’ll enjoy this long but very interesting story of Virginia’s largest manhunt. “When Robert Wood Jr. disappeared in a densely forested Virginia park, searchers faced the challenge of a lifetime. The eight-year-old boy was autistic and nonverbal, and from his perspective the largest…
This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by CBD Reformed, a name you know well by now. As they always do, they are offering 5 prize packages, each of which will consist of the following three products: You will recognize Jesus + Nothing = Everything as a winner of several awards. Here is the publisher’s…
Amazon’s Same-Day Service – Amazon has a new tactic in battling retail stories: “Now that it has agreed to collect sales taxes, [Amazon] can legally set up warehouses right inside some of the largest metropolitan areas in the nation. Why would it want to do that? Because Amazon’s new goal is to get stuff to…
Here is something to ponder as you close your eyes at the end of this day and prepare to open them to a new day tomorrow. Consider the marvelous privilege that is yours for the taking tomorrow morning. Think of it: The Lord Jesus Christ is willing to meet with you privately for as long…
A few weeks ago I linked to an article from Nathan Bingham titled Fathers, Stop Stealing From Your Children. Nathan was writing to fathers who are raising families in this busy and distracting world and telling them to give their children the time they need and deserve. He said that many fathers are guilty of…
When Christianity Became Cool – Gene Veith: “The 1970s was a time of hippies, free love, psychedelic drugs, and cultural revolution. But it was also a time of major religious revival, with the ‘Jesus Movement’ gaining headway in that very counter-culture. How could that be? Baylor professor Philip Jenkins credits the Byrds, who popularized a…
I guess every preacher has to take on Isaiah 6 (Isaiah’s vision of God’s throne room) at one time or another. My opportunity came this past Sunday. It is such a beautiful and powerful text and it was a great pleasure to just soak in it for an entire week. Don’t worry! I am 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. Here are a few notable links I’ve collected over the past couple of weeks. Killing Calvinism by Greg Dutcher. Reviewed by…
Seeking to Reveal the Unseen – I enjoyed this interview with Randy Alcorn. He talks about his average day, his philosophy of writing, and so on. He’s another one of these guys who manages to be productive long after most of us have become comatose. Beeke Blog – Joel Beeke has hit the blogosophere at…
You don’t have to be a philosopher to find yourself occasionally asking the kinds of existentialist questions that can make your head spin — Who am I? Why am I here? What’s the purpose of my existence? You pretty much just need to be human. As Christians, the Bible gives us a leg up on…
Once again I would like to take an opportunity to answer a question from a reader, and in this case, a question that deals with the frequency with which a husband and wife ought to engage in sexual relations with one another. Here’s the question, followed by my response. In a recent book review you…