This sponsored post was provided by Matthew Spandler-Davison on behalf of Church in Hard Places. What is poverty? On the face of it this is a simple enough question. When we think of the poor we might immediately think of the troubled neighborhoods in our own city, downtrodden communities, areas often devastated by drugs, social…
Surely you’ve had the filthy-rich daydream before, right? Maybe you heard about the latest tech billionaire who turned a little app into gold by selling it to Facebook or Google. Or maybe you heard of lotteries with their prizes stretching into the hundreds of millions or the guy who made the little investment in just…
Tips for T4G J.A. Medders offers up some important (and a few not-so-important) tips on surviving and thriving at Together for the Gospel. When NOT Helping Hurts Here’s a tough situation to navigate: “One major principle is to not do something for someone that they can do for themselves. Good-hearted giving from Westerners sometimes (maybe…
There were quite a number of letters to the editor this week, and they were mostly related to two articles. Once again, my gratitude goes to all those who took the time to write. Comments on Did God Break the Law for Love? To add to your excellent refutation of Furtick, whom I confess I…
Common Misconceptions About Calvinism Cole Brown is beginning a series on some of the most common misconceptions about Calvinism. He begins, of course, with the word itself: Calvinism. What Is Love? What is love? This, for sure. What a sweet video. Why Hospitality Beats Entertaining Jen Wilkin circles back to her most regrettable social media…
This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by Zondervan who also sponsored the blog this week. They are offering 5 prizes this week which means that 5 winners will each receive the following 4 resources: Enter Here Giveaway Rules: You may enter one time. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and…
A few years ago I was at a conference to lead a breakout session and perhaps to do some writing about the event. There were a couple of keynote speakers there, John Piper among them, and they were carrying a much heavier load. If I remember correctly, the first day ended with an informal Q&A…
Why International Adoptions by Americans Have Hit a 35-Year Low “In 2004, Americans adopted 22,884 children from foreign countries—an all-time high. Twelve years later, that number has dropped to 5,648 children—the lowest level in 35 years, according to recently released statistics from the US State Department on fiscal year 2015 (Oct. 1, 2014 to Sept.…
It happened again. A popular preacher said something in a sermon, it made its way to social media, and lots of people got upset. This happens quite often, doesn’t it? I rarely pay attention to these things and comment on them infrequently. However, I am making an exception for the latest one because I suspect…
Forgetting the Past Ed Welch: “Scripture does help us with our painful pasts, but it does more than that. It tells us to forget things we want to remember, and remember things we are likely to forget.” I.O.U. Darryl Dash looks at evangelism as a debt we owe to others. “Paul says that he’s under…
I have encountered a lot of young men, a lot of young preachers, who want to model themselves after John Piper. They see his joy in the Lord, they see his passion for God’s glory, they see the fire he brings to his sermons, and they want to be like him. Unfortunately, I have seen…
Followed By The God of Grace Be sure to read Garrett Kell’s story of being followed by God: “It was early in my junior year at Virginia Tech—and I felt like everywhere I turned, God was following me around.” Is WebMD Trustworthy? Can you trust WebMD? Kind of. But not really. Fulfilling God’s Call to…
If you have been reading this site for a while, you probably remember the Best Commentaries series I prepared a couple of years ago. The basic premise of the series was that, because I am unqualified to determine which commentaries are best, I would turn to experts to find their recommendations. I did that and…
Yesterday I began to share some thoughts on diversity and uniformity within this Reformed resurgence. I concluded by asking why there appears to be such a distance between our desire for diversity and the reality as we observe it at our big conferences. There are many possibilities that would be worth exploring, but today I…
9 Things You Need to Know about Backpage.com and Sex Trafficking This is awful but important. “Many assume sex trafficking is restricted to the darkest corners of the Internet. The online classified ad company ‘Backpage,’ however, has become the Walmart of sex trafficking and prostitution. For a modest fee, traffickers can post sex ads of…
This sponsored post was prepared by Zondervan and Nabeel Qureshi. NABEEL QURESHI is the New York Times bestselling author of Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. His latest book, Answering Jihad, released earlier this month and provides a personal, challenging, and respectful answer to the many questions surrounding jihad, the rise of ISIS, and Islamic terrorism. Last…
Whatever else is true about this modern-day Reformed resurgence, this much is indisputable: We love our conferences. We love the experience of gathering together and hearing from our favorite authors, pastors, and theologians as they lead us to God through his Word. Many of us can attest to the innumerable blessings we have received by…
Beneath The Evangelical Earthquake Paul Carter writes about the word “evangelical” and our increasing reticence to be described that way. The Intelligent Life of the City Raccoon Well isn’t this fascinating: city raccoons are smarter than country raccoons because they have to reason their way through more complex challenges. 18 Things to Pray for Your…
Albert Martin’s The Forgotten Fear is a very good book on a much neglected topic. I reviewed my notes for it this week and was struck again by the urgency of the subject. In the book’s opening chapter Martin examines a series of texts related to the fear of God and, having looked at each…
12 Things to Know About the Anti-Christ “We, in the Calvinistic and Reformed church, have not done justice to the Scripture’s teaching on this matter. We often rightly respond to the ‘Left Behind’ industry with dismay and sarcasm. In so doing, however, we have, perhaps inadvertently failed to sufficiently and soberly grasp Scripture’s teaching on…