What is the best time of day to pray and meditate on the Word of God? For me, the best time is the early morning. With four young children in the house, all of whom are usually still sleeping this is the only quiet time in my home. This time also has the advantage of…
Pastor, your spiritual health matters to your church. Your pursuit of Christ impacts your people. You know this, of course, but does your daily schedule reflect it? When you allocate time and energy toward the spiritual disciplines, do you do so with a view toward what is at stake? God’s sovereign purposes are not dependent…
Porn will destroy your life. Here’s how to stop it.
Editors’ note: Part I of this two-part series was published on Tuesday. Engaging the culture involves more than the picking apart of opposing arguments. While this is important, you must develop and use well-reasoned arguments. It is far too easy to point out the faults and inaccuracies of someone else’s argument, but to make this…
Planned Parenthood is exposed for trafficking aborted baby parts. Bruce Jenner changes himself into Caitlyn Jenner and the culture lauds him as courageous. The United States Supreme Court in a landmark decision, recognizes homosexual marriage. In the midst of the maelstrom of change in American culture, traditional Christian beliefs and values are no longer the…
I recently met with about 80 contractors who will be working on a new building for the church I serve as pastor. I introduced myself and the 200-year history of our church, told them about our mission to glorify God by proclaiming Jesus Christ and serving others, and then I turned it over to our…
After reading through the Bible a few times, the redemptive storyline will become second nature.
The experience gained, the relationships forged, and the doors opened to those who use their seminary years to serve in a church—even if in an unpaid position—will prove a blessing throughout the rest of life.
In the same way that basic training cannot fully prepare a soldier for the hellish nature of a real war, seminary cannot fully prepare a future pastor for the bullets and hand grenades that will be launched at him in the local church on the field of real ministry. If I have learned anything in…
I am beginning my second semester of doctoral studies. I thought it may be beneficial to write (from a current student’s perspective and one that recently finished his M.Div.) some of the things I wish I would have known before beginning seminary. It is by no means exhaustive and they are not in order of…
The speech of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden last Saturday at the memorial for the five unarmed servicemen killed in Chattanooga demonstrates the difficulty, uncertainty, and confusion among politicians in dealing with Islam and Islamism. The speech shows the apparent dissonance among the various voices in the same political party. In his speech, Biden identified…
Every kid in America heard that question umpteen times growing up. The answers are as varied as the kids themselves. My 13-year-old daughter’s dream vocation seems to change as often as she changes her clothes. College students hear a version of this age old question, too. Most often it’s, “What’s your major?” The follow up…
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?” Luke 15:4 In Luke 15, the religious leaders were upset with Jesus. Some people who were messed up…
How can your ministry equip parents with the resources they need? In the first place, help parents to see that if they are believers in Jesus Christ, God has already equipped them with his Spirit, his Word and the community of faith (John 16:12–14; Eph 4:11–16; 2 Tim 3:16–17; Heb. 13:21). Through these gifts from…
America’s evangelical Christians are facing a critical time of testing in the 21st century. Among the most important of the tests we now face is the future of missions and our faithfulness to the Great Commission. At a time of unprecedented opportunity, will our zeal for world missions slacken? Just as doors of opportunity are…
This morning I will preach my father-in-law’s funeral. For 32 years of our marriage, I dreaded this terrible task because he was not a believer. He wanted no part of Christ or his gospel. We prayed for him, witnessed to him, sent others to talk to him, and five years ago even took him to…
Following news of the nuclear deal with the United States, Iranians celebrated in the streets over what they viewed as a national victory. The victory’s significance was especially heightened as it took place during the most holy Muslim month of Ramadan. The celebration was marked by the relief they felt from three decades of isolation…
When our grandparents were raising our parents, popular culture was not as dramatically at odds with the biblical understandings of gender as it is now. The current cultural confusion over gender, however, requires parents to be highly intentional if they want to raise masculine sons and feminine daughters. There are no generic people. There…
