Jerry Bridges was talking about preaching the gospel to yourself and being gospel-centered long before it was cool to do so. One of the great burdens of his ministry has long been to have Christians understand that “the gospel is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential…
Strengthening Your Marriage in Ministry – (That link will go live very soon) Today, from 8:30 – 5:30 EST, Southern Seminary is live streaming an event called “Strengthening Your Marriage in Ministry.” It features Albert Mohler, CJ Mahaney, Russell Moore, and Dennis Rainey. For those preparing for ministry or serving in ministry now, this could…
A few years ago I read Paul Chamberlain’s Talking About Good and Bad Without Getting Ugly, a book that proposes ways that Christians can talk about difficult issues–issues like abortion, homosexual marriage, euthanasia–in a pluralistic society. The final chapter is a case study that features William Wilberforce as an example of a man who used…
The Internet a Decade Later – “A decade — 10 years. Doesn’t sound like much, right? But a decade ago, the big social networking story was Friendster with a whopping 3 million users. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer had 95 percent market share. And less than 600 million people were online globally … fewer than Facebook users…
R.C. Sproul has a long history of making a stand for truth. He has an equal history of standing firm against error, using his ministry platform to refute errors that are seeping into the Evangelical church. On several occasions he has reacted to those who have sought to minimize the differences between Protestant theology and…
A Pastor’s Monday – “Mondays are notoriously difficult for pastors. If you are not a pastor, pray for your pastor today as you read through this post. If you are a pastor, listen to the words of pastor Jared Wilson as he describes the structure of his Mondays, along with the personal challenges he faces…
This is the eighth installment in a series on theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology, Trinity, creation, man, Fall, common grace, sin, and righteousness. Unlike some terms such as Trinity and theology, the Bible itself provides a clear and concise definition of faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of…
People often ask me how I find so many topics to write about. The answer is simple: Wherever I go, I am looking for something–anything–to think about. Whether I am in sitting in church or listening to music or reading a book or attending a conference, I am keeping an ear open for things I…
Trusting Christ through Trauma – Patrick Schreiner (son of theologian Tom Schreiner) writes: “On Friday morning my Mom was involved in a bike accident which was labeled by the doctors as moderate to very severe.” He writes about hope even in the middle of this situation. Tall Buildings – Is there a limit to how…
Here is some wisdom from Mark Dever, drawn from What Is a Healthy Church?. He offers up six considerations for before you decide to leave a church and four to apply if you decide that you must leave. Before You Decide to Leave If You Go
Pat Robertson – “In a recent broadcast of The 700 Club, a woman sent in a question about a man who wouldn’t marry her because she has children who were adopted internationally. If they were her ‘own’ biological children, he would have no problem, she said. But because they were adopted, he saw too much…
This week’s Free Stuff Friday is all about Bible study for small groups and individuals. This week’s sponsor, The Good Book Company is offering 5 of you a chance to win a collection of all 33 Good Book Guides. “The format is very user-friendly and the content is rich and accessible.” —Justin Taylor, author, blogger…
Are We All Braggarts? – From the WSJ: “Boasting isn’t just a problem on the Internet. In a society of unrelenting competition—where reality-show contestants duke it out for the approval of aging celebrities and pastors have publicists—is it any wonder we market ourselves relentlessly?” I Choose Grace – Here is one man’s response when a…
Today I want to wrap up this short series that I’ve titled “The Holiness of God and the Existence of Hell.” It looks at what happens when the holy God comes into contact with sin. So far we’ve seen that God may react to sin with just wrath and that he may react with patient…
I have been reading Jerry Bridges’ The Disciplines of Grace, a wonderful book that takes a deep looking at God’s role and the Christian’s role in the pursuit of holiness. Chapter two, “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector,” is all about the need for a humble realization of our own sinfulness and the need for…
Enough Already! – Actress Jodie Foster penned an interesting article (Note: it contains a couple of profanities). She writes about how horrendous it is to grow up in the public eye and defends a kid’s right to be a kid. It’s interesting because, as a star actress, she has had a hand in creating the…
I’ve been working on this short series that discusses the holiness of God and the existence of hell. I am looking at what happens when the holy God comes into contact with human sin. Yesterday I showed that God may react to sin with just wrath. Today I want to show that God may also…
What’s Wrong with Patriarchy – D.A. Carson: “In their defense of complementarianism, several Council members in The Gospel Coalition have been known to preface their remarks with the insistence that complementarianism is not to be confused with either patriarchalism or with mere traditionalism in men/women relationships. To some observers, however, all three expressions are roughly…
Yesterday I began a short series on the holiness of God and the existence of hell. In a day when hell is under attack, I want to show that any question of the existence of hell is not at heart a discussion of whether or not a place exists, but a question of the character…
To Suffer Faithfully – “We sometimes tend to focus on those aspects of the Christian life (spontaneity, starry-eyed-ness, passionate intensity…) in which the younger seem to have an advantage over the older, but there are a bunch of other aspects in which the very experiences that knock some of the shine off our youthful naivety…