I have found myself fearful in recent months. Fearful that much of what we do in the church is man-made rather than Spirit-made. I have spent time reading through the book of Acts recently and had the privilege of preaching through a couple of chapters in Acts at a church this summer. It’s a unique … Continue reading
I just finished a book this past week for one of my seminars entitled “Intellectuals” by Paul Johnson, the noted author and historian. In it he examines the more personal elements of the lives of intellectuals from the past 300 years or so. Johnson includes figures such as Karl Marx, Ernest Hemingway, Jean Paul Sartre, … Continue reading
Some would probably assume that this post is about Hollywood’s animosity and disdain for Christianity and its need for a target to shoot at. I would not disagree that the Christian worldview finds few adherents in Hollywood and has been and continues to be attacked by many in the film industry. However, this blog is … Continue reading
We have this joke in my family about how my parents would not let me and my brothers watch the smurfs when we were growing up, but we could watch Rambo any time that we liked. This of course would strike some as a bit strange, but the reasoning behind it was that the smurfs … Continue reading
The belief that one is born with certain biological inclinations toward particular lifestyles and behaviors continues to grow in our culture today. This most frequently arises when discussing the issue of homosexuality. People continue to embrace the homosexual lifestyle after lengthy struggles to live differently, coming to the conclusion that this is who they are … Continue reading
I’m struck in the gospels at the way Jesus calls out many of those who follow Him. Jesus certainly had plenty of people pursue Him, most of them for their own selfish reasons. Others approach Him with questions and a sincere desire to learn from Him. However, the gospels contain a number of accounts of … Continue reading
I remember growing up on Disney movies. Most of us do. Few can’t identify these classics: Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, The Rescuers….well, you get the point. One of my personal favorites was Pinocchio. I mean, who wouldn’t want a toy that came to life? (It’s not like there was Toy Story … Continue reading
This blog is likely to irritate some. I smirk even as I write this opening disclaimer. I am not surprised when people disagree with this kind of message. It’s too blunt and “divisive” in a religious climate that doesn’t like hard lines. There might be better ways to say it. But I guess that’s the … Continue reading
About 15 years ago a movie came out called “First Knight.” It starred Sean Connery, Richard Gere and Julia Ormond and was a retelling of the story of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Connery plays Arthur, Ormond Gwynevere and Gere Lancelot. The movie begins in a small English village where Lancelot (Gere) … Continue reading
I was refreshed this past week in my understanding of what drives one’s personal faith and commitment. That which is central can often become so common that it is assumed and taken for granted. And what is central to the Christian faith is a love for Jesus. Before one assumes that this is something any … Continue reading
Indeed the defining characteristic of God in all of Scripture is His holiness. Isaiah 6:3 teaches us that angelic beings fly around the divine throne room declaring to the One seated upon the throne of heaven that He is Holy, Holy, Holy. There is never a moment when they are not proclaiming this great reality … Continue reading
Genesis 3 and the story of humanity’s fall is a significant and revealing text. It is a text with ramifications that are cosmic in scope, addressing the origins of sin, evil and wickedness, while also clarifying much on a personal level related to the nature of temptation, sin, and judgment. It is the Christian answer … Continue reading
Many who oppose the Christian faith and worldview openly oppose the possibility of miracles. Having embraced a naturalistic worldview that rejects the spiritual and affirms that only what we see around us is real, miracles are simply a figment of the imagination. This kind of mentality is common among those who do not accept Christianity … Continue reading
A few weeks ago life for Tiger Woods, the most popular athlete on the planet, was dramatically different than it is now. An inconspicuous and simple crash into a neighborhood fire hydrant eventually led to the revelation of numerous extra-marital relationships. The details, the few that are known, are somewhat bizarre, and the story remains … Continue reading
Tim Elmore, Author of “Habitudes,” tells a story in his first volume of the Habitudes series about two lumberjacks who challenged each other to see who could cut down more trees in a day. They began early in the morning, and the first lumberjack began chopping down trees immediately. He worked furiously and by noon … Continue reading
The Christmas season, I must be honest, is a time of year when I find myself deeply conflicted. On the one hand, it is the celebration of the single most astounding and incomparable act in all of human history: the incarnation of God the Son. God becomes flesh and dwells with humanity. According to John … Continue reading
This weekend I saw the movie “The Blindside.” The movie is the true story of a family that takes in a poor black teenager from the projects in Memphis that eventually becomes a professional football player. It’s a fantastic story that is deeply moving. It is a story that should be told. And yet I … Continue reading
For a long while I remember wondering what all the stuff about Jews and Gentiles was really in the Bible for. I’ll be honest, it never seemed all that relevant to me. There were a number of things that came into play in the whole “debate” : whether Gentiles had to be circumcised, whether Gentiles … Continue reading
One of the more unknown details of the Bible is the fact that no one other than Jesus ever heals blindness. Neither Old Testament prophets nor the apostles in the New Testament do so. Sick people are made well, lame people walk, dead people are even raised from the dead, but no one ever makes … Continue reading
One of my favorite book series’, and accompanying movie series’, is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tolkien’s rich story has much to say and offers a wealth of spiritual principles (though some have taken the story and tried to spiritualize some of it in a way Tolkien never intended). One of my favorite parts … Continue reading
People often struggle understanding the proper relationship of faith and works in the Christian life. Often times people will find themselves at one extreme or the other, living out a works based salvation, or showing relatively no concern at all for living out one’s faith through faithful obedience to the commands of Jesus, thinking that … Continue reading
I have to come to realize that obedience is simply not a part of most our spiritual paradigm here in America. We come to church, I think, with the intention of hearing from God, of being engaged by the message, even being wowed by something new and fresh. But few of us walk out the … Continue reading
Let’s get right to the point: the more I read the Bible the more I see a glaring omission from western Christianity. And that omission is prayer. Unfortunately this omission is not present only among the theologically hollow evangelical mainstream, but most of the theologically sound, biblically faithful segment as well. A great many authors … Continue reading
The word mystery has become increasingly popular in the church today. This is primarily due to the postmodern rejection of modernity’s arrogant claim to be able to discern truth objectively through scientific progress and advancement. Postmodernity is far more honest and humble. We can’t really know truth, at least not one all encompassing absolute truth. … Continue reading
On a number of occasions I have heard someone asked the question, “Is there anything that would cause you to walk away from Christianity?” To this they replied, “No. There is nothing that would ever cause me to walk away from my faith.” (Typically this is followed by some sort of comment about having had … Continue reading
What in the world does that even mean? It sounds pretty technical, but in reality it is rather simple. A polytheist is someone who worships more than one god. And functional speaks of how someone actually functions and lives, not simply what they profess with their mouth. Hence the question is, are we people who … Continue reading
Spurgeon once said: “The church of Christ is continually represented under the figure of an army; yet its Captain is the Prince of Peace; its object is the establishment of peace, and its soldiers are men of a peaceful disposition. The spirit of war is at the extremely opposite point to the spirit of the … Continue reading
Our problem here in the church in America is not that we aren’t willing to acknowledge our failure. In some ways, we have even exalted and glorified failure in this culture. But that is another topic altogether for another time. We speak of our sinful imperfections. We speak of our disappointments. We speak of not … Continue reading
Persecution and suffering have been relatively foreign to the Christian experience of most westerners in the last 100 to 150 years (that is a soft date, don’t take it too literally). Sure, people have paid a price for speaking the truth at times. Men and women have been opposed for their convictions. However, in a … Continue reading
With the advent of the internet over the last fifteen years, a host of new possibilities have emerged. One of these new possibilities, in relation to the church, has been the availability of online church-based resources. Pastors can record their sermons and post them on the internet for anyone anywhere in the world to access. … Continue reading
A few months ago I wrote the first of what I intended to be a series of blogs on some of the things that legitimate the Christian claim to the truth. I believe there are many things that Christianity answers more clearly and consistently than other worldviews, i.e. creation, evil and suffering, etc… Nevertheless, there … Continue reading
“That offended me.” Few phrases are probably more regularly used in this culture and in this time. We seem to be offended simply by a mere difference of opinion. Confront someone with a new idea or a dissenting perspective and the response is often the same. This is one of the great paradoxes of our … Continue reading
A simple introduction to Islam reveals that it is a faith centered around a man by the name of Mohammed, God’s prophet and recipient of divine truth that is recorded in a book entitled the Quran. Mohammed lived in the early 600’s A.D. And Mecca, a city in present day Saudi Arabia, is Islam’s holy … Continue reading
Recently the themes of endurance and perseverance have seemed prominent in my study of Scripture and in the books I’ve been reading. It has become glaringly apparent to me how little this is truly appreciated by much of the church in America today. Thus, it would do us well to be challenged in this particular … Continue reading
The last blog dealt, essentially, with the tendency in this culture to equate the gospel with physical provision accomplished through Christian service. Again, this is not wrong, but must not be disconnected from the vocal proclamation of the gospel and the truths that must be acknowledged and surrendered to for genuine transformation and regeneration to … Continue reading
Certainly the title is one that will probably elicit a variety of responses. Certainly these things are not wrong in and of themselves, but maybe simply for the sake of provocation, I offer the thought in order to introduce the present topic. St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the gospel everywhere you go. If … Continue reading
Many today proclaim a message about God that, quite honestly, paints Him as a desperate and weak deity, enslaved to the whims and desires of humanity. Even many preachers present God as one that would die for you even if you were the only person in the world (a hypothetical scenario that is worthless and … Continue reading
At the heart of Christ’s work on the cross is the display of His glory. John Calvin once said: “For in the cross of Christ, as in a splendid theatre, the incomparable goodness of God is set before the whole world. The glory of God shines, indeed, in all creatures on high and below, but … Continue reading
Several decades ago, when young people were asked what they wanted to become when they grew up, their answers were typically of a particular variety: civil servants such as firefighters, police officers, and doctors. In speaking of the culturally dominant definition of masculinity that traditionally guided our nation, Anthony Rotunda, in his book “American Manhood,” … Continue reading
Blogs have been short in their coming the last few months, and likely will be sparse for the next couple of months as well. Nevertheless, a topic may set itself upon my mind and find its way onto the computer screen periodically. Hence this particular post. The glory of God is what I would like … Continue reading
Tomorrow Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the next President of the United States. Much ado has been made of the new President-elect in the last year. He has captured the attention of a nation with his charisma and his message. Many, unhappy with the direction of the country in recent years and finding their … Continue reading
I was having a conversation with one of our students a couple of weeks ago in which we were discussing the spiritual growth that has occurred in his life over the last couple of years. God had indeed done a great deal in his life over that period of time. At the end of the … Continue reading
Racism is a topic that always seems provocative and relevant. Obviously America has dealt with racism and in many ways has made positive social steps toward minimizing racist attitudes and behavior. With racial and ethnic diversity increasing in America, as well as the emerging “global village” due to the internet and media advances, exposure to … Continue reading
What Christianity Has Going For It” will continue in the coming weeks, but I would also like to offer a post regarding the topic of religious pluralism, the question of whether there are indeed many ways to God. It is an important topic and extremely relevant to anyone of faith that lives in America today. … Continue reading
I would like to offer a few blog posts examining some of the arguments that defend and support the Christian worldview/faith as legitimate and truthful. There are obviously arguments many present in opposition to Christian faith (reasons I believe are not convincing), but there are also strong reasons for one to embrace Christianity. I begin … Continue reading
One of the most quoted verses in the Bible is Matthew 28:19-20. Jesus is about to ascend into heaven. But, before doing so, He leaves His disciples with a final command. He says this: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy … Continue reading
My last post was an attempt to offer some thoughts on how we as Christians are to respond to the recent presidential election. I want to continue the train of thought, but to approach it from the standpoint of some things revealed to us in the book of Revelation. First, let me make a few … Continue reading
There is indeed much to reflect on as we enter into a new day here in America. For most of us that are evangelical Christians, the candidate we voted for will not be assuming the office of President of the United States for the coming four years. There is a great deal of uncertainty, and … Continue reading
If the mantra of the modern world was, “I want to see it, touch it, verify it,” the mantra of the postmodern world is “I want to feel it, to experience it.” While many continue to trust in disciplines such as science for truth, many more have moved away from such a source, to … Continue reading
Recently I was listening to a seminar by a gentleman named Kurt Wise. Dr. Wise is a leading scientist (his particular field is paleontology) in his field of study. However, he is also a seven day, young earth creationist, which is credibility suicide in today’s scientific community. Nevertheless, he maintains his convictions and continues to produce … Continue reading
Hey guys, many of the initial posts will be previous posts from facebook or myspace. They will be archived into the system for future reference. New posts will begin next week and will be weekly. Originally written: Novemeber 26th, 2007. John Macarthur, in his book “The Truth War” said this, “The goal of human philosophy … Continue reading
