We have many ways to express our love for others. We have many words and phrases to express affection for those we hold dearest. Some of them are clear and obvious: I love you. I treasure you. You complete me. But other expressions are less obvious because they are idiomatic. One of these expressions that…
Too Tough on the Guys Who Are Trying – I appreciate Josh Harris’ mea culpa here. “I got some great feedback from a young man in our church after two of my recent sermons from Matthew 5, both of which touched on aspects of marriage (the messages were “Jesus on Lust” and “Don’t Break Your…
Time and an Eternal Perspective – Carolyn McCulley offers reflections on the way we use our time. “My ambitions about productivity have to be reshaped by the idea that I’m simply a steward. I am responsible for investing and multiplying what I receive from the Lord because I will give an account to Him one…
Consistent Complementarianism – Merely being complementarian is not enough. Michael McKinley says “I see a lot of men who assert their headship in their home, but who do not take a consistent approach to the authorities set over them by God (or God himself).” A Beautiful, Dirty Mind – Someone sent me this article, which…
The more I grow in my knowledge of the Lord (by his grace) the more I see the utter centrality of the church, the local church, in his plan for his people. The more I learn of him, the more I see what a jewel the church is–what a blessing, what an honor it is…
This is not a book review. I will be discussing a book—a rather popular book, at that—but I will not actually review it. Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages is a perpetual bestseller, one that is a near-constant presence on the New York Times list as well as the Christian lists. And, like so many…
A couple of days ago I received an email from a young man who reads this site and he asked a rather simple question: How am I to react to sexual desire? As a teenager, unmarried and with marriage in the distant future rather than the near future, he wanted to know how God would…
I have been reading Nancy Pearcey’s new book Saving Leonardo, something about which I’ll have a lot more to say next week. But for now I wanted to share with you a quote from one of the early chapters which deals with Sex, Lies and Secularism. Here she writes about liberal and Christian views of…
Taking Charge of TelevisionRandy Alcorn: “With summer here, and kids out of school, many Christians, and especially those who are parents, might be wondering: How do I take charge of the television? The fact is, you and your children will inevitably adopt the morality of the programs, movies, books, magazines, music, Internet sites, and conversations…
Wednesday June 25, 2008 12 Sins We Blame on OthersHere is sound wisdom from Ben Reaoch, pastor of Three Rivers Grace Church in downtown Pittsburgh, PA. WORLD on The ShackWORLD has an article about The Shack. An interesting quote: “Young is no longer a member of a church, nor are his publishing partners, both former…
This article continues the discussion I began yesterday on the topic of self-centered sex. Because sex is created by God and to be used for His glory, it is not purely a physical or sexual or emotional issue, a theological issue. Thus in yesterday’s article we built a brief framework in which to understand sex…
“We live in a squat. We don’t know squat. We don’t have squat. We don’t do squat. We don’t give a squat. People say we’re not worth squat.” In the shadow of Wall Street’s wealth, homeless people with names like Squid, Saw, and Bonehead live in abandoned buildings known as “squats” where life is hand…
Two of the first books I ever reviewed dealt with the topic of sexual purity. One of these books, Every Man’s Battle by Steve Arterburn, stands out in my mind and the review I wrote continues to generate emails even several years later. The main teaching of his book is the concept of “bouncing” the…
Tuesday August 22, 2006 Culture: Here is one from the “of course” file: Sexy Music Lyrics Prompt Teens to Have Sex. “The more teens listened to degrading sexual music content, the more likely they were to subsequently initiate intercourse and progress in [other], noncoital activity,” Martino and colleagues report. “These music effects held, even though…
It is always enjoyable to me when I see secular experts stumble across something they think is revolutionary, yet it is merely something that Christians have known and believed for years. Associated Press writer Samantha Critchell recently reported on a pair of recent studies which conclude that children, and girls in particular, are greatly influenced…
In the past couple of years I have read several books written for men to address the issue of sexual purity. I have found these books useful to varying degrees. The solutions that authors suggest to deal with this issue – which, as far as I know, is common to all men – vary greatly.…
I am going to approach this matter with caution and brevity, for I certainly do not want to cause anyone to stumble. Several people have inquired whether or not I can verify the claims some people are making that many of the actresses cast in The Passion of the Christ have been involved in pornography.…
A few weeks ago I read and reviewed the book When Good Men Are Tempted. It is a book that deals with sexual purity, attempting to both explain the cause and the solution to the struggle every man faces. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and gave it a recommendation. Yesterday the author, Bill Perkins, happened…
After reviewing the deeply flawed “Every Man’s Battle I mentioned that I would read another book with the same theme of sexual purity. To that end I purchased “When Good Men Are Tempted” by Bill Perkins. It is an honest and often disturbing look at the subject. The book claims that “Bill Perkins details a…