December 5th, 2017
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One of the things my family does each Thanksgiving is, before we partake of our meal, we sing the first verse of the hymn, “Now Thank We All Our God,” which states
November 30th, 2017
None of us knows the specifics of the future. There are a few things that every Christian knows from Scripture about the future.
November 28th, 2017
One of the biggest dangers in the pastorate is growing bitter towards your church. Ministry can wear on you very quickly. Whenever I’ve heard a pastor tell me that they’ve served for twenty or thirty years, I always comment that I’m impressed. Why? Because years in the pastorate are dog years—they take a toll.
November 21st, 2017
The famous nineteenth-century novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tells the story of Dr. Jekyll who would transform into the evil Mr. Hyde. Even though the novel was an early foray into science fiction, the book captures an aspect of sin-fallen condition.
November 16th, 2017
Seminaries need to provide a rich theological education because pastors and the church need good theology.
November 14th, 2017
One of the more common patterns that appears in the church is when people find themselves in the midst of suffering, they believe they have a license to sin. Sometimes they do this consciously, although at times it might be an involuntary reaction.
November 9th, 2017
These various gatherings of God’s covenant community, the visible church, look quite different throughout history.
November 7th, 2017
What things should you consider when you’re considering taking a call? Some seminarians don’t think much about it and are willing to serve wherever they can get a church, but others have very specific criteria including the type of church, geographic location, and even the specific role they want to play (e.g., an associate or solo pastor).
November 1st, 2017
The Spirituality of the church, rightly understood and taught, is liberating for Pastors and Christ’s church.
October 17th, 2017
Reformed churches have a long-standing reputation for being the “frozen chosen.” There are a number of historic factors that contribute to this well-known but mistaken characterization including a concern for the purity of doctrine, worship practices that are fitting for the majesty and holiness of the God we worship, and a desire to use church discipline in a biblical but nevertheless pastoral manner.
October 10th, 2017
When new seminarians first begin their theological education I suspect they are overwhelmed with the tidal wave of new terminology that comes their way.
October 5th, 2017
The biblical truth of justification—that God declares guilty lawbreakers forgiven and right in his sight by his grace alone, on the ground of Jesus’ blood and righteousness alone, as they trust Christ alone—has enormous ramifications for pastoral ministry.
September 28th, 2017
Perhaps the first post-Apostolic use of the New Testament verb “to justify” (δικαιyω) occurs in 1 Clement, written just after 100 AD to the same Corinthian congregation to whom Paul had written half a century earlier.
September 26th, 2017
When Christians hear of the cruciform life they think that misery and sadness will mark their lives. All we have to do is read through the Bible and we quickly find the heart-wrenching cries of the saints.
September 21st, 2017
One does not often think of Hebrews when it comes to the doctrine of justification—we normally go right to Paul’s writings. But Hebrews actually contains much teaching that contributes significantly to the broader doctrine of justification by faith alone.
September 19th, 2017
One of the more prominent words in the Scriptures is sacrifice. It appears throughout the Old Testament and in the instructions for the temple priestly service, but it also appears in the New Testament.
September 14th, 2017
In the highly individualistic age in which we live, few embrace the idea that we can be held accountable for the actions of others. But the Bible paints a very different picture. The Bible teaches us that God holds us accountable for our own sins.
September 12th, 2017
As a pastor, you hope that people in your church will love, respect, and value your service to the church. This pattern marks, I believe, of the vast majority of the people in the church. At the same time, there will be some who dislike you and your ministry to the point that they will level false accusations against you.
September 7th, 2017
“We are situated as Abraham was; we are called upon to believe in the Almighty God.”
September 5th, 2017
Every culture and period of history presents its challenges to living the Christian life. Right now, we live in an age that feeds the idol of narcissism. Social media gives just one window into how self-centered Western culture is.
