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 […]
Theology
Here I Am, Send Someone Else
The Background No doubt it was a bizarre sight – the bush burning, but not consumed from the fire. And when God called Moses he said the same thing Abraham said to God in Genesis 22, “Here I am!” This is the same thing the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 6 when the voice of […]
John Calvin (book review)
From the Back Cover In this attractive volume, Simonetta Carr introduces young readers to the life, thought, and work of one of the most famous Reformers of the Christian church. She tells about the life of John Calvin from his birth to his death, placing him within the troubled context of the sixteenth century. Carr […]
Cradle or Credo?: A Defense of Biblical Baptism
With the recent move of a good brother, Jared Longshore, from credobaptist to paedobaptist, I thought I would share an excerpt from a book I’m continuing to work on in my “free time”, A Change of Heart: Understanding Regeneration and Why it Matters. Below comes from chapter 13 on the ordinances. While I certainly believe Presbyterians […]
Reading with the Grain of Scripture (book review)
Richard B. Hays’ Reading with the Grain of Scripture is a worthy contribution to the literature on properly interpreting the Bible and the historicity of the Christ that it points us to. Recommended.
Born of Mercy
In 1 Peter 1:3, Peter gives glory to God highlighting His blessedness and His great mercy for His causing sinners to be born again. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection […]
Revisiting Andy Stanley’s “Unhitch” Remark (audio edition)
Back in the “good days” of Reformed social media when the topic du jour was inerrancy instead of critical social justice, Pastor Andy Stanley came under fire for stating in a sermon that we need to “unhitch” from the Old Testament. Some of the criticisms seemed to go beyond what Stanley had said in the first […]
John Newton (book review)
Never in my life have I read a testimony that brought to mind my own life as the biography of John Newton. From the near-death experiences displaying the providence of God to the conversion of a hateful sinner into a preacher of God’s love, I was moved on nearly every page by the demonstration of […]
No Rest for the Wicked: Satan’s Active Work in Today’s World
The Sovereignty of God In 1 Peter 5:8 the Apostle says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” The Bible is clear in many places that Satan is at work in our world today. Yet, the Bible also reveals that even Satan’s work is […]
On Accusations Against Voddie Baucham and Fault Lines, part 2
In part one concerning accusations against Voddie Baucham and his book Fault Lines, I argued: Baucham’s misquotation and misrepresentation of Delgado and Stefancic is a serious error, not a minor formatting mishap. The controversy online appears to have died down, and while the lack of present controversy may generally be a good thing, the reason appears to […]
Jonathan Edwards (book review)
From the Back Cover Jonathan Edwards lived at a time when many people were seriously questioning long-accepted ideas about the world, life, and God, and his answers to these questions have left a mark on the way we think today. While he is often remembered as the preacher of a scary sermon about a spider […]
Julia Gonzaga (book review)
Carr, Simonetta. Julia Gonzaga (Christian Biographies for Young Readers). Hardcover. Reformation Heritage Books, 2018. 64pp. $8. Purchase at RHB website. Biographical Sketch of Author and Illustrator Simonetta Carr – Author (from Amazon) Award-winning author Simonetta Carr was born in Italy and has lived and worked in different cultures. She worked first as an elementary school […]
Do You Feel Called by God? by Michael Bennett (book review)
Less than two months into my time on campus at Dallas Seminary, these words of unapologetic careerism came to us from a guest speaker at chapel: If you’re in your fourth year — first, second, third-year students listen up — if you’re in your fourth year, and you don’t have a job offer yet, you’ve […]
Unintended Consequences (audio)
This is the audio edition of “Unintended Consequences,” the written edition of which we originally published in September of 2018. You can go back and read it if you wish or just enjoy the audio edition. If you haven’t subscribed to the audio edition already, you’re missing out! Things Above Us Audio Edition audio narration […]
You Ask Me How I Know He Lives?
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 […]
Commentaries on Ephesians: EEC by Baugh and NICNT by Cohick (book review)
With this article, I am introducing what will be a recurring series of reviews looking at notable commentaries on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. I have been blessed to teach from Ephesians and hope these reviews will help readers to consider some of the many resources out there.
On Vacay? Out of Town? Go to Church!
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.
A Change of Heart – Chapter 2: Mere Christianity (Part 4)
For the last year+, I’ve been working on a new book, A Change of Heart: Understanding Regeneration and Why it Matters. Now that I’ve finally completed my M.Div, I’ve taken this project back up again. I thought I would share the first two chapters in a series of blog posts with our readers. I hope you’re […]
On Accusations Against Voddie Baucham and Fault Lines, part 1
On July 30th, Joel McDurmon posted a blog article titled “Voddie’s Fault Lines Worse Than Before: Fake Quotations AND Plagiarism.” McDurmon previously posted a series of videos critiquing Voddie Baucham’s book, Fault Lines, that had not captured my attention despite my having written a review. However, this particular article appeared far more serious in its magnitude. I’ve […]
Therefore the Truth I Speak: Scottish Theology 1500–1700 (book review)
Donald Macleod’s beautiful new book, Therefore the Truth I Speak is an engaging look at Scottish theology that mines the past and brings it into the present.