When we say that so much of the Christian life and pastoral ministry is in the recovery, we are not intimating that it’s all up to us or “we just have to try harder” and “just try to do better.” What we are saying is that what we do after we fail or falter is... Continue Reading

“If Christ’s atonement is unlimited, then He universally dies to save every human being. So is my salvation fully accomplished by Christ? Not completely, since I can still suffer the judgement of condemnation for my sins in unbelief. Christ’s offer of salvation becomes provisional, depending on my response.”   All too often, when the doctrine... Continue Reading

“I’ve been moved to tears reading other books, but this book actually reads me, wrecks me, and rebuilds me. What’s more, I’ve seen and experienced this same thing with other people. This change is not limited to gender, ethnicity, geography, or even time. This book claims to change lives, and it actually does.”   As... Continue Reading

Forgive my bluntness, but claiming to love Jesus while wanting nothing to do with the church is just stupid. If the “Jesus” we’re talking about is the God-man whose life, death, resurrection, and ascension is described and defined for us by the inspired writings of those he commissioned to disciple the nations, then the “church”... Continue Reading

A while back, I wrote a post about the places in Scripture where the female voice dominates, sort of interrupting the androcentricity of Scripture in a complementary way. Richard Bauckham’s fascinating book, Gospel Women, is one that I keep returning to for discovery. He has a great section where he elaborates on the Gentile foremothers of the gospel.... Continue Reading

York Minster’s glory, its substance, however, is not primarily in its sprawling opulence or in its regal pageantry. As is the case with any church, the glory that must be maintained as a matter of first importance is not so much a place for prayer as it is a furnace of prayer whose fires burn... Continue Reading

The doctrine of the Trinity is the vast, deep background behind all our theology, and when we explicitly talk about it we make a comprehensive claim about who God is if the gospel is true. But often the background stays in the background, and enables us to say particular things about Jesus, discipleship, the cross,... Continue Reading

I want to reiterate that the problem is not that wives and mothers stay at home. If this is God’s providence for you, wonderful. But the problem is the blanket assumption that all women must stay at home and to do otherwise is disobedience to God. You may think this is the extreme, but this... Continue Reading

“God carefully constructed his world and then placed it in the hands of people. You and I are designed to be resident managers, caring for the wide variety of amazing things God has purposefully crafted to be reflectors of his glory.”   Why do little kids daydream about being a pilot or a princess? Why... Continue Reading

If you were to hear me preach from the Old Testament, you would hear me say “Yahweh” in the places where my NASB or ESV says “The Lord.” I’m often asked after services by visitors what Bible translation I use which uses Yahweh. I tell them I’m using theirs, and have them open to the... Continue Reading