The Heart of the Unbeliever’s Unbelief

If you pause to think about it, you may just come to agree with me: Nobody really has a problem with Jesus’ atoning death. Not at heart. Nobody really has a problem with Jesus’ resurrection. Not at the foundation. They don’t have a problem with his miracles or coming return. They actually have a problem with Jesus’ incarnation. The problem is not Good Friday or Easter, but Christmas. As J.I.Packer says, “Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this …

Real Guilt and Sinfulness

As anyone knows who has studied the life of Jonathan Edwards, he dedicated a large portion of his ministry to thinking, writing and teaching about the freedom of the will. And, of course, he eventually published a classic work dealing with the subject. In writing the book he thought back to the days when revival had swept his church, his community and the area around it. And as he reflected on the individuals who had been swept up in the …

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All Men Are Equal Down at the Cross

Yesterday I wrote about sin, asking if sin is primarily something we do or something we are. Some questions arose in light of that article and I wanted to carry on a bit of discussion by looking further at the doctrine of human depravity. I have shared most of this in the past but felt it was well worth covering again. It is easy to see this doctrine as one that is terribly depressing and deflating, but when we properly …

Personal Updates

I have found it exceptionally difficult to write this week. Actually, I’ve found it difficult to work as well. I’m not sure what’s going on, really. So today I’m going to cop out and just share a few personal tidbits and try to come up with something more creative and more exciting for tomorrow. Part of the reason I’ve been distracted this week is that I’ve been asked to lead a seminar at The Basics Conference next week (that’s the …

A La Carte (10/20)

Friday October 20, 2006 Conference: Jacob Hantla will be liveblogging the God is the Gospel Desiring God Regional Conference this weekend. John Piper will be speaking. Check in for updates. Reformation: The Synod of Dordt poster from Reformation Art is now ready and looking good. “It is an impressive 24″ x 36″, printed on 100 pound cover stock paper and treated with an aqueous protective coating.” Church: You know the church is in a sad state when it relies on …

Radical Reformission (Part 2)

This is the second part in a series examining The Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll. The first article, which you can read here, served as an introduction to the book. In the introduction to the book, Driscoll introduced himself in a brief biography and then provided three formulas that explain how different churches react to the competing forces of gospel, culture and church. He showed that Gospel + Culture – Church = Parachurch, Culture + Church – Gospel = Liberalism …

Procrastination, The Passion and September 11

I had planned on writing something about procrastination but decided I’d do it later. I’m funny. Anyways, I was thinking today about some similarities between The Passion of the Christ and September 11. That’s a strange duo, I can’t deny, but hear me out. After the Western world was shaken by the events of September 11, many Christians became convinced that this sort of event would drive people back to the church. And sure enough, in the weeks immediately following …

Riding the Wave?

A few months ago I commented on the articles written about The Passion of the Christ by Brian McLaren and Rick Warren. McLaren took issue with Warren’s assertion that this movie represented the best opportunity for evangelism in the past 2000 years. Warren wrote a respose which boasted about commented about the enormous efforts his church made to ensure everybody and their brother got to see this movie and the amazing results they supposedly achieved. Just this morning I came …