I am under the impression that the earliest Christians didn’t expend a lot of effort debating the cessation or continuation of the miraculous spiritual gifts. Their discussions did not revolve around wrongly denying the existence of active gifts or wrongly affirming the continuation of ceased gifts. After all, they clearly and undeniably saw the gifts…
We like to whitewash our historical heroes. As we look to the great men and women of faith who lived and died before us, we face the temptation to rejoice in their strengths and to ignore their weaknesses. The same is true of our contemporary heroes. Though it is right and good to have human…
The Bible tells us what we all soon learn by hard experience: “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child” (Proverbs 22:15). Though children are young and naive and innocent in so many ways, they are also desperately foolish. Such folly is not displayed merely in silliness or immaturity or poor decision-making, but…
When I was a teen, I went digging around the attic one day and found my dad’s old camera. Just finding it there sparked an interest in photography and I decided to learn how to use it. I quickly discovered, though, that photography is not easy. At least, in that era it sure wasn’t. I…
A few years ago a video went viral among Christians, and I wonder if you remember it. It showed a preacher laying a verbal beat-down on Joel Osteen for his unwillingness to publicly declare that Jesus is the only way to the Father. This preacher went on to call Christians to be unashamed of the…
So Ed Young is at it again. Last week he announced a forthcoming sermon series titled “Wrastlin’” and did so through a video that is nothing short of absurd. “Over four weeks this September, Ed Young and Fellowship Church welcome four legendary guests from the world of professional wrestling – Ric Flair, The Undertaker, The…
It’s obvious, I know. It’s been said a million times by a million different people. But, in my defense, it’s been forgotten by a million more. I’ve said it and neglected it too many times to count: The first two minutes matter most. Today Christians are gathering all across the world for our worship services.…
I recently returned from a trip to Switzerland (though we also swung through France, Austria, Germany, and Liechtenstein). I was there to conduct research for my worldwide EPIC project and then to enjoy some time with Aileen as we marked our twentieth anniversary. We traveled through many parts of Switzerland, from the big cities and…
I had been lost in a kind of daydream and snapped back to reality with the realization I had been singing “The Heart of Worship.” It surprised me to learn I know the song by memory, and since I was already well into it, I kept on going. You probably remember the chorus: “I’m coming…
It is proving to be an interesting year when it comes to sorting out a possible confluence between Reformed theology and charismatic practice. Over the past few years, as more and more people have embraced the principles of Reformed theology, many have also accepted that the ongoing miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit remain operative…
Every few weeks I like to share an example of one of our worship services from Grace Fellowship Church. I hope that by doing this others will begin to share their services as well. I am eager to learn from other churches as they tell how they choose to worship the Lord. This service’s cast…
Well, it looks like the sexual revolution has hit another speed bump. As it continues its long press toward completely redefining all we’ve ever believed about gender and sexuality, it has encountered a pretty significant issue. This issue appears to prove that many people are expressing loyalty to the revolution outwardly while actually denying it…
There are entire academic disciplines that exist in a kind of self-perpetuating circle. Professors teach students so those students can become professors and, in turn, teach more students. Such disciplines serve no practical purpose and have no reason to exist beyond academia. Like mathematics, for example. It serves no purpose in the world and nobody…
There are so many pleasures we experience as we live out our lives in this world. We have the pleasures that come with knowing and being known, the pleasures that come with beholding beauty, the pleasures that come with taste and touch and hearing. This world offers a cornucopia of pleasures to enjoy. And what…
I have just returned home from Louisville, Kentucky after dropping off my son for his freshman year at Boyce College. He is our eldest child, so the first to head to college. I’m sure someone tried to tell us just how hard it would be to drive away and leave him there, but wow, we…
Twenty years ago Aileen and I each woke up in our parents’ homes. Twenty years ago I walked into St. John’s Anglican Church through the side door while, a few minutes later, she walked in through the main doors. Twenty years ago we looked into each other’s eyes and said our “I do’s.” Twenty years…
This is my year of museums—of so many museums. If all goes according to plan, between January and December I will visit museums on every continent and in at least 15 different countries. In many of those places I will visit more than one. I’ve already been to so many that they are beginning to…
Over the past couple of years, I’ve written a number of articles under the heading “Sex on the Silver Screen.” In these articles I’ve been collecting my thoughts and expressing my concerns about an issue that I believe displays significant compromise among Christians today—our ambivalence toward watching scenes of explicit sexuality and nudity in movies…
We Christians spend a lot of time reading the Bible, hearing it preached, and meditating on its words. Why this commitment? We are committed to the Bible because of what it is and what it does. The Bible guides us to its purpose and power through the many metaphors it uses to describe itself. Here…
In recent days there has been much discussion and debate about how God speaks to his people. The conversation continues, and as it does so, I find myself looking back to the basics, returning to some key principles related to the voice of God. Let me share those with you through four statements. Statement one:…