“When’s the last time you specifically and sincerely informed your child of an evidence of grace that you’ve observed in his or her life? If it’s been lover than a week, it’s been too long. You have some work to do and something to look forward to. If you aren’t faithful to encourage, you can …
For those of you who don’t know it yet, Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City is now blogging. In a recent post Keller argues that as preachers, we must be shepherding our flocks in order to be effective in the pulpit. Read the entire article and then go visit one …
“Modern and postmodern culture revolves around a this-world orientation; the only long-term ‘future’ our culture hopes for is retirement. This pervasive preoccupation with living as long as possible, as healthy as possible, and as wealthy as possible has dramatically influenced the church in the West. Our knowledge of God is so weak, and our desire …
“We must affirm with Martin Luther that the preaching of the Word is the first essential mark of the church. Luther believed so strongly in the centrality of preaching that he stated, ‘Now, wherever you hear or see this Word preached, believed, professed, and lived, do not doubt that the true ecclesia sancta catholica [Christian, …
This day in Christian History the Council of Chalcedon drafted it’s Definition of faith which became the standard for Christological Orthodoxy in the West. It states in part: Following the holy Fathers we teach with one voice that the Son [of God] and our Lord Jesus Christ is to be confessed as one and the …
This past week, I preached at my church’s “Traditions” worship service on Sunday evening geared toward our older generation. I was thrilled to see about a dozen younger faces attend this service for the first time. One couple in particular sat on the front row. They looked “young and hip” (especially for this service where …
With so much talk about who Southern Baptists really are historically and what theological stream we fall into (or are birthed from), I am inclined to remind us all that we are neither Calvinist nor Arminian nor even are we all somewhere in between. Emir Caner’s recent essay that can be found in the Christian …
“People who don’t like Christians are all around us. Only a strange providence keeps our churches from being bombed. It is only a matter of time till the reality of the rest of the world comes home. And all the while we are called by Christ to go to them, love them, sacrifice for them, …
In Matthew 5:9, Jesus says, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” What do we make of that verse? Too many people in the church have taken the term peacemakers to mean peacekeeper. The two are distinctly different. Peacemaking is active and necessary when peace is not prevalent, peacekeeping is …
It was 30 years ago today that God called a young New Testament professor by the name of John Piper to the pastorate. In God’s providence, He has used this man to do amazing things for the Kingdom. How and when did God call you to serve Him as a pastor? Pray for yourself, John …