I know I’m prone to feeling sorry for myself and I am quite committed to avoiding the temptation. It is one of those sins that feels like it will feel good but actually just ends up feeling miserable. I know that intellectually—it’s just that tricky matter of implementing it emotionally. So here’s the deal: I’m…
It is our sacred responsibility to examine every doctrine to determine if it is true or false. But how can we distinguish sound doctrine from false? How can we distinguish teachers of truth from teachers of error? Today I have a new video blog for you, and one that deals with this pressing topic: I…
It’s gotten so I almost hate the news. I want to know what’s going on in the world, but I’ve lost confidence that there’s as much as a single organization out there communicating it in a trustworthy way. We hear lots of talk today about fake news, but I’m convinced this is less of a…
Wherever there is truth there will be error. Wherever there are people teaching sound doctrine there will be people teaching false doctrine. Here, in video format, are 7 false teachers in the church today. Here it is for both YouTube and Facebook. (For those wondering, the nerve syndrome that has kept me from being able…
A short time ago I shared a beautiful little poem by John Newton: ‘Tis a Point I Long to Know. In that poem Newton professes the universal experience of the Christian in our searching, our wondering, our perplexity, and, eventually, our confidence. After I posted it, I learned that a friend of Newton’s penned a…
I always enjoy answering the questions that come in through my Ask Me Anything feature. I usually answer them in writing, but as I transition (at least for now) to a video format, I’ve decided to try answering them that way. Here’s the very first video edition of Ask Me Anything. I answer questions about…
It may not be the key New Testament passage on parenting, but it’s definitely one of the most important: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” In this video I talk about it and warn how we, as parents, can provoke our…
I’m doing things a little bit differently today. For now at least, I’ve mostly lost the ability to type, so am going to try my hand at a little bit of video. If you want, you can click play to learn more. Transcript We’ve got lights. We’ve got a camera. We’ve got a microphone. Let’s…
Every now and again I like to share an order of worship from Grace Fellowship Church. This service’s cast of characters included Paul (our lead pastor) as the preacher, Josh as the lead worshipper, Peter (one of our Assistant Ministers) as the service leader, Thushara (one of our deacons) as Scripture-reader, and Steve as the…
In some ways it seems like the New Calvinism has been around for a very long time. In other ways, it seems like it’s still a brand new thing. Whatever the case, it has lasted enough now that people are beginning to trace its roots, evaluate its accomplishments, and project its future. While this has…
There was a time, and it was not so very long ago, that we wanted heroes who were flawless. We would look to the past to find people who had an outsized impact on our world and prepare biographies tipped well in the direction of hagiography. We might read a thousand or two thousand pages…
There is no sin that cannot be overcome, no transgression that cannot be put to death, no consequence so grave it cannot be undone in 365 days. At least, that’s what you might think as you read about pastors and other Christian leaders who rise, fall, and rise again. It’s the unwritten but often-followed “one-year…
Because the weather on Tuesday was wet and gross, we spent most of it combing through museums in Basel and Zurich. We ended up visiting two day’s worth of museums in one, which left today wide open. We decided to make the most of it by heading for the mountains. We left our Airbnb outside…
Where yesterday was spent driving through the Swiss countryside and mountain ranges, today was spent in castles, museums, and churches. We were looking for objects related to Anabaptists, Desiderius Erasmus and Ulrich Zwingli. The locations delivered! Here’s how the day went… (But first, thanks to Logos for sponsoring this trip. Please check out their church…
There is no individual and no group the Bible does not address. Through its pages God speaks to husbands and wives, children and adults, masters and slaves, Jews and Gentiles. As we read the Bible we often find ourselves wondering if and how a particular instruction applies to us. How do I, as a man,…
As you know, I’ve been traveling through Switzerland for my EPIC church history project. Today we had no museums to visit (since they are all closed on Mondays). Instead we drove from Geneva to Bern, and followed a circuitous but scenic route. Here are a few shots I took along the way. I am now…
My EPIC trip to Switzerland continued today. I suppose it actually began today, since it was only this morning that our plane touched down. Here are my journal entries from the day that was.
A little while ago I announced a new project I’ve titled EPIC. In a series of journeys unfolding over the next 12 or 18 months, I’ll be traveling all over the globe searching for church history. I’ll be looking especially for key historical objects through which I’ll be able to tell the story of the…
The Bible is a book—God’s book. Even a child knows this, right? Except that the Bible isn’t a book. Not really. The Bible was at first oral transmission passed from person to person, events and conversations observed, remembered, and shared. But it was still the Bible. Then the Bible was a collection of scrolls, each…
If it is difficult to be a leader, it is far more difficult to be a good leader. If there are challenges that come to those who lead, there are far greater challenges that come to those who wish to lead well. This is exactly why we have such deep respect for leaders who are…