Burnham perceived the problem with contemporary American Christianity already in the early 1960s—people compartmentalized their faith. Thus, the problem of guilt lingers. Since everyone feels guilty and nobody accepts God’s forgiveness for actual sins, man finds other means of dealing with guilt. Naturally, people search for reasons they feel guilty. Wealth inequality is one area... Continue Reading

The cultural fruit of Christendom in the West, though sometimes overripe and worm-eaten, still stands to remind us that the gospel cannot help but transform. This process will continue amid trial, triumph, and setback until the return of Christ as he puts his spiritual enemies under his feet (1 Cor. 15:25). These enemies include such... Continue Reading

Opposition without opportunity can be disheartening, even crippling, for pastors and churches. Opportunity without opposition can be unhealthy, even dangerous, for pastors and churches. But, in God’s wisdom, opportunity and opposition often come together. The opportunity fires the heart before God in the teeth of the opposition. The opposition bows the heart before God in... Continue Reading

God’s will is not that we should every moment feel happy, but that we should every moment be holy. If we live holy lives then we will also worship the Lord our God in spirit and truth with our lives. These holy lives are not guaranteed to be free of suffering. In fact, the opposite... Continue Reading

There is an uncanny correspondence between temple and people. After the exile, God’s revelation through his prophets unravels more of the mystery. Yes, there remains a physical house. Yes, the people remain obligated to build it and serve Yahweh within it. But Haggai shows us that the house itself is fading from the forefront to... Continue Reading

 I became schizophrenic in my preaching.  One Sunday, I’d preach on the sovereign holiness of God, because that’s what the text said. The next I would try to entertain with a skit or other ‘clever’ innovation.  But the Word of God would not let go.  I didn’t know it at the time, but God was... Continue Reading

I don’t just want to know that God is sovereign, I also want to live a life that’s free from paralyzing fear. I don’t just want to know that God is all-wise, I also want to trust him when things go bad. I don’t just want to know and speak of the mightiness of John... Continue Reading

But let’s get to the offences of white Christians themselves. Christians who voted for Trump because of their concerns about abortion, gay marriage, assaults on free speech, oppressive taxation, etc., are condemned for failing to “lay down their political arms.” We must understand, though, that this is only an offence for Trump voters. Those who,... Continue Reading

Despite Scripture’s insistence on the unity of believers and how Christ makes us one (Galatians 3:28), CRT diabolically separates us using the deeply flawed human construct of race.    I’m half white and half black. My melanin doesn’t change my worth or my propensity to sin. Yet we live in a culture where we are... Continue Reading

The biblical Satan tormented Job by taking away what he needed, while the modern devil torments Faust by offering him whatever he wants. Goethe’s protagonist rejects the devil’s blandishments, eschewing the “gold that runs through my fingers like quicksilver, a game that no-one wins, a girl who ogles my neighbor while I embrace her, honor... Continue Reading