C.H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography: The Early Years (audiobook read by Robert Whitfield) – Spurgeon is my favorite dead theologian, and I loved hearing about his conversion and struggles to come to faith. My favorite line is “My mother said to me, one day, “Ah, Charles! I often prayed the Lord to make you a Christian, but I... Continue Reading

What strikes me about these and other films from Hollywood’s Golden Age are two things: First, Hollywood once made lots and lots of major films with major stars celebrating Christmas. Second, in each case, no matter how different the plot, there was always a common end-goal: marriage. From the outset, marriage is the assumed, unquestioned... Continue Reading

In other words, a Christian continues in holiness not by trusting in his own righteousness, performance, or good deeds. That is the way to unholiness! The Christian continues in holiness by renouncing his own righteousness, receiving Christ’s righteousness by faith, and seeking to live in obedience to him to show thankfulness for salvation. As Gurnall... Continue Reading

To use an illustration, think of an object and the shadow it casts. The shadow is based on the object; it cannot survive without the object and it gets its shape from the object. The New Testament reality of Christ and his work is the object that casts the shadow. The shadow is the Old Testament.  ... Continue Reading

For those who may not have access to the original languages – and especially for those teaching the Bible – it is often helpful to compare translations. Printed books containing parallel versions of the Bible do just that; however, there are also many helps online. Just one example is: biblegateway.com. Using this resource, one is... Continue Reading

And yet there are some major things missing for a book that is about fervent prayer. When I read a book about prayer, I expect to learn about prayer and, well, the One we pray to. But I felt like this book is more about women’s struggles and Satan’s strategies. And while I don’t disagree... Continue Reading

“I am aware that a few objections can be raised about considering our shared heritage through this one book, one that it is written from a PCA perspective. Fair enough, and if I find it too heavily biased I will report that back to you when I write my final review. But based on the... Continue Reading

I believe there are good reasons for viewing this film. We can certainly respect its artistic and entertainment value. Galactic battle scenes and human drama are entertaining. But also, by seeing this movie, Christians can sharpen their understanding of both contemporary culture and their appreciation of the Christian faith, allowing them to see in antithetical... Continue Reading

Satlow has written an interesting, provocative and wide-ranging volume on the origins of the Old and New Testaments that provides much helpful information on the history of biblical texts. However, Satlow’s aggressive (and sometime speculative) reconstruction often presses the evidence beyond what it can bear. In addition, one gets the impression that Satlow is intent... Continue Reading

“God is the primary actor in the work of regeneration. He gives a new heart, apart from any merit or condition having been achieved from our side, merely and only according to his good pleasure. He enlightens the understanding, bends the will, governs the impulses, regenerates, awakens, vivifies, and he does that within us quite... Continue Reading