Cuatro and Michael interview Oliver Allmand-Smith from Trinity Grace Church, Manchester, UK. Oliver is a pastor and author, among other ways he serves God’s church. His book, Under God, Over the People will help you understand the role of government. Oliver’s Church Broken Wharfe Episodes where you can hear about Under God, Over the People. … Read more
What does Paul mean when he writes every knee shall bow in Philippians 2? Feedback is always welcome. [content type=page name=subscribe-to-roundtable]
Here are some of my thoughts on the eighth commandment from my final sermon on Exodus 20:15. Stealing is the taking of something that isn’t yours or the using of something that isn’t yours without the owner’s consent and approval. Giving Remember that the opposite of stealing is working hard that you may give to … Read more
A Little Book on the Christian Life I was surprised to find out how utterly readable John Calvin is when I first delved into reading him myself. As I stated (in other words) in my review of Simonetta Carr’s biography of Calvin, his immense contribution to Christianity made me think that somehow his writing would … Read more
A Presbyterian minister named Alfred H. Ackley wrote hundreds of hymns. One of the most well-known of these is “He Lives.” I found this article that gives some history and even an explanation of the song if you are interested. But my goal in this post is simply to offer a defense for the last … Read more
Whether they hold to the doctrine of the Christian Sabbath or not, Christians should universally believe in the significance and importance of attending church. Yet folks skip miss church for all sorts of reasons—and most of them are bad reasons. One of the worst reasons Christians miss weekly worship is due to a vacation or travel schedule.
I believe that Christians should make every effort to schedule their lives around the Lord’s Day. Worshipping Christ in communion with the saints should be the focal point of your week…and everything else should fit in around that. If you follow that principle, you will never find yourself traveling all day Sunday and missing church or lounging on the beach when you should be gathering corporately. A mind set on being ready to meet with God on Sunday with the saints will take the necessary steps on Saturday to not be too tired for church, for example.
“Go, Therefore” posts are quick tips to help Christians live lives of evangelism. Family Worship As Evangelism Daily family worship ought to be observed by families for many reasons. To name a few: God is worthy to be worshipped, it is a way men ought to lead their homes, it’s good preparation for church, it … Read more
Recent History Andy Stanley famously (well, Christian-famously) mentioned that we need to “unhitch” Christianity from the Old Testament. He tried to walk back the statement afterward but, well, that’s hard to do even if had he had a good explanation. Garrett wrote about it here, and I commend that to you. Regardless of what Stanley really … Read more
In Kingdom Through Covenant – 2nd Edition, Gentry and Wellum have given us a much needed updated to their seminal work on the biblical covenants. Whether one finds their arguments convincing or not, theologians who argue for or against covenant theology or dispensationalism will eventually have to consider the claims made by the authors.
Jesus, the lamb of God, became sin for His people that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Jesus was the lamb who never strayed from the pasture, yet he took on the penalty deserved by foolish and rebellious sheep. Jesus is the lost sheep when he is suffering the penalty for our sins. Jesus is the one who cries to God to be sought after in this state. And Jesus is the one who never forgot God’s commands.
Pray Like Jesus Psalms 119:169 Taw Let my cry come before you, O Yahweh; give me understanding according to your word! As we begin to close the longest chapter of the Bible, we might be tempted to think that God has already said everything that can be said. We must put away any thought that … Read more
It has been said that there are two religions in the world: the religion of grace and the religion of works. A distinguishing characteristic of the religion of works is that somehow the good deeds a man does are what pleases his deity. This is true whether that religion sees man as inherently good or as innately sinful. Since this is an affront to the gospel of grace, our Scriptures go to great lengths to destroy any hope men can have to save themselves by proclaiming the gospel of grace (Romans 3:24,25; Ephesians 2:8, 9). But wicked men will always twist good religion to their own ends and many a man has proclaimed the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ apart from works as a license to sin.
One of the ways God helps us to walk in his ways while we strive to imitate Christ is by granting us awareness of His immanence. Nothing can be hidden from the anthropomorphic eyes of God. For the heathen, this truth is blatantly denied as they fancy themselves into thinking they will escape judgment. It’s not always because men think they are good that they shall escape judgment, but sometimes it is that they think no one knows of their crimes. The child of God whose heart has been quickened earnestly desires obedience to God’s precepts and adherence to God’s testimonies, yet he or she still finds it difficult to obey. The spirit and flesh are opposed to each other and the battle rages, and sometimes the flesh wins.