“Father in heaven, you are a covenant-maker. You offer promises that you always fulfill; what you give you never take away; you are utterly trustworthy, and I come to you in worship of your holy name.   Over the years it has been my practice, learned from others, to offer up praises and petitions framed... Continue Reading

Knox’s Book[s] of Discipline were drawn up as books of church order. They were intended to be the practical outworking of the doctrine summarised in the Scots Confession. Since doctrine is always intended to shape life, so the Reformer wisely saw fit to spell this out under specific headings as it related to the life and worship of... Continue Reading

I recognize now that my theological education did me great good, but it also uncovered a deep darkness in my heart. It led me to a place of spiritual snobbery. I found myself able to hold forth on a great number of theological topics, but I had no fruit of the Spirit in my ministry.... Continue Reading

In important ways the American churches have never had a Reformation. We have certain had a de-formation or two but we are still waiting for a Reformation. There have been important and useful Reformation movements but none of them has had a fundamental and widespread affect on the theology, piety, and practice of the American... Continue Reading

Epaphras is one of those names that only appears three times in the whole Bible (Col 1.7, 4.12; Phm 23), and yet he was a spiritual giant whose example we would do well to follow. He was a church planter and the pastor of the churches in at least Colosse, Laodicea and Hierapolis, if not... Continue Reading

Lament is a biblical way to process grief. It gives us the opportunity to face and name our pain and then to create space for future hope—all without glossing over tragedy. It allows us to cry and rage and even protest life’s difficulties to God and others without fear of judgment. It gives us permission... Continue Reading

God has placed us here in this time and place for a purpose, and our corporate worship should reflect that reality within the context of redemptive history. We are reformational, not revolutionary. We are confessional, not traditional or modern. In order to be truly contemporary, “with the time,” we must understand our place in the... Continue Reading

Anyone can work for justice and feed the poor, but only the Christian has the Bread of Life. To spend our time and resources on seeking to redeem or reweave our culture is like embalming fluid. A corpse can temporarily be made to look good by the injection of embalming fluid, but it only slows... Continue Reading

Pride and an elevated sense of self-worth might drive us to assume we are a lot more important than we really are. Yes, our ministries are meaningful and we should be faithful, hard workers for Christ’s Kingdom. However, there are at least four important considerations before you call off another tee time.   Pastors, play... Continue Reading

Far too often as Protestants we are guilty of theologically bowling alone. We think that we can sit down with our Bibles all by ourselves and figure everything out. It’s time wake up and smell the roses and realize that we don’t do anything in life like that. We can’t figure it out alone.  ... Continue Reading