There is no individual and no group the Bible does not address. Through its pages God speaks to husbands and wives, children and adults, masters and slaves, Jews and Gentiles. As we read the Bible we often find ourselves wondering if and how a particular instruction applies to us. How do I, as a man,…
As you know, I’ve been traveling through Switzerland for my EPIC church history project. Today we had no museums to visit (since they are all closed on Mondays). Instead we drove from Geneva to Bern, and followed a circuitous but scenic route. Here are a few shots I took along the way. I am now…
My EPIC trip to Switzerland continued today. I suppose it actually began today, since it was only this morning that our plane touched down. Here are my journal entries from the day that was.
A little while ago I announced a new project I’ve titled EPIC. In a series of journeys unfolding over the next 12 or 18 months, I’ll be traveling all over the globe searching for church history. I’ll be looking especially for key historical objects through which I’ll be able to tell the story of the…
The Bible is a book—God’s book. Even a child knows this, right? Except that the Bible isn’t a book. Not really. The Bible was at first oral transmission passed from person to person, events and conversations observed, remembered, and shared. But it was still the Bible. Then the Bible was a collection of scrolls, each…
If it is difficult to be a leader, it is far more difficult to be a good leader. If there are challenges that come to those who lead, there are far greater challenges that come to those who wish to lead well. This is exactly why we have such deep respect for leaders who are…
This life is full of loss and full of grief. Though there are times we experience great swells of joy, we also experience deep depths of sorrow. No sorrow is deeper than the sorrow of loss. At such times it is important to consider how Christians grieve. Christ has Lordship over all of life, even…
This is an article I’ve prepared with no small amount of trepidation. In the past I’ve written frequently and confidently about the role of a husband within his marriage, and especially about how it is tersely and perfectly summarized in Ephesians 5:33: “Let each one of you love his wife as himself.” But the last…
Today’s Kindle deals include a little bit of this and a little bit of that. (If you weren’t checking in over the weekend, be sure to check out the various audiobook, Kindle, and Logos deals I shared on Saturday and Monday.) If All My Sins Are Forgiven, Why Must I Continue to Repent? Stephen Wellum…
Christians have spilled a lot of ink attempting to discern how we can know and do the will of God. Like many others, I have written about this often, including a little series called How To Know the Will of God. Today, though, I want to turn our attention to something that is related but…
This week has been one of the most difficult in the history of Grace Fellowship Church. On Monday we learned that Beti Mubili, a young lady who had been long-time member of the church, had been killed in a recreational skydiving accident. We met spontaneously on Monday evening to just be together in our grief…
Beti loved adventure and loved to invite others to join in them. Her latest thrill was skydiving. “You should come with me,” she told Sam. “You’re crazy,” he replied,” “There is no way I’m jumping out of a plane. Why do you like stunts like that, anyway?” “Because they give me joy.” “And what if…
The New Testament clearly, repeatedly, and unapologetically lays out the qualifications of a pastor. What is so remarkable yet so often overlooked is this: Pastors are called and qualified to their ministry not first through their raw talent, their finely-honed skill, or their great accomplishments, but through their godly character. Of all the many qualifications…
It seems we’ve come to a time in history when there’s no problem we won’t blame on technology. Digital technology is ruining our attention spans and social skills, it’s destroying our memories and displacing our hobbies, it’s demolishing the way we see the world and downgrading the way we interact with one another. We are…
We don’t want to live in the past or dwell on former sins. On the whole, not much good comes of thinking back to the unwise things we’ve said or the depraved things we’ve done. We trust that God has fully and finally forgiven our sins, and we do well to leave the past in…
I love Bible studies. I love sermons. Both have their place and both can be tremendously beneficial in the life of the church and the spiritual diet of the believer. But I’ve observed that some sermons are actually Bible studies and some Bible studies are actually sermons. Though I will grant there can be a…
It is clear in the Bible that God’s intention for marriage is that it remain in effect until the death of one spouse. I believe it is also quite clear that God has provided a limited set of circumstances in which a marriage can legitimately be severed. However, many people—even Christians—offer reasons to divorce that…
My trip to Germany has come to an end. At least, it will be at an end bright and early tomorrow morning when I’ll head back to Toronto. There are quite a lot of things I’m taking away from the trip, which you can read about in these little excerpts from my travel journal.
It’s a drum I beat again and again: Your sanctification is a gift to others. Your continual growth in holiness is not something you emphasize merely for your own benefit or your own assurance, but something you pursue for the benefit of others. This message cuts hard against the individualism of western society, so is…
My journey through Germany continues as I go searching for church history. I realized, though, that in all I’ve said about this trip and the project behind it, I’ve failed to give key information. So on one of these pages I tell what this trip (and the book it will lead to) is really about.