Without Holiness, No One Will See The Lord
What do these words, “without holiness no one will see the Lord” actually mean?
The writer of Hebrews is telling us to take seriously the necessity of personal, practical holiness. When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives at our salvation, He comes to make us holy in practice. If there is not, then, at least a yearning in our hearts to live a holy life pleasing to God,... Continue Reading
Secular Hollywood Quietly Courts the Faithful
People of faith and their sheer numbers are not a new discovery in Hollywood. What is new is the aggression and sophistication they are pursued by Hollywood.
Mr. Bock, who is Presbyterian, is credited with being the first Hollywood marketer to realize that churches had started to install enormous screens to use during their services, sometimes just to display hymn lyrics. More recently, $35,000 video walls have become more common in sanctuaries. “It makes church feel more contemporary,” Mr. Bock said, adding... Continue Reading
Trueman’s Pick for The Book of the Year
Trueman’s pick for the Evangelical book of year: Stephen Wellum’s “God The Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ” say that this is easily the book of the year
If Evangelicalism is to have a future connected to historic Christianity…It will need to break the nexus of non-ecclesiastical and unaccountable platform, power, and money which currently appears to determine the boundaries of orthodoxy; it will need to recognize that errors on the doctrine of God have historically proved just as lethal to orthodoxy as those on scripture … it will need to set its biblical theology in positive relation to systematic theology and the creedal and confessional heritage of the church; and it will need to think long and hard about how orthodoxy is transmitted from generation to generation.
The Doctrines of Grace: When You Have Turned Again
In the midst of the final week of our Lord’s earthly ministry in his estate of humiliation, Jesus has an interesting exchange with Peter about his forthcoming denial
“Peter is among the elect and we see acted out before us the manifestation of that fact in Jesus’ conversation with Peter. Peter was a sinner just like Judas. Judas was no better or worse than Peter. Yet Peter repented of his sin and was restored and he was given an unusual preview of that... Continue Reading
Run, Run, As Fast As You Can
Are you a halfhearted Christian who has lost his consuming passion for Christ?
“Pastors, elders, and deacons – we who have been called to leadership but have lost our consuming passion for Christ – what will we do today? We need not retire. Instead, we need to repent. Jesus waits with open arms, tear-filled eyes, and words of forgiveness, and words of encouragement for us to get up and continue... Continue Reading
When Your Husband Is Addicted to Porn
When you’re tempted to feel all hope is lost, here are a few things to remember
“Most wives keep this burden a secret, assuming it’s only their husband who is struggling. No one else is in the same boat. Yet thoughts like these only compound the shame and the suffering. Sadly, the problem is extremely common.” On a whim, I invited a new friend over for lunch. As we watched our toddlers run around... Continue Reading
Joseph of Nazareth vs Planned Parenthood
There is something more joyous than “choice.”
Planned Parenthood thinks “Choice on Earth” is the message of Christmas. Maybe it is in a Christmas culture more identified with the shopping malls than with the churches. But maybe this year Christians should follow the footsteps of the “other” man at the manger. A few years ago the Planned Parenthood Federation of America... Continue Reading
We Need To Talk About Church Scheduling
We often fill in next year’s calendar much like we filled last year’s
“The idea that a good church member is someone who’s there every Sunday, at small group every Wednesday, and active in another area of service, is an assumption at which we need to pause. For some people, that’s a very reasonable or even light expectation. For others (let’s say, the single mother), simply to make... Continue Reading
One Thing I Did Right in Ministry: “I Started a Book Table”
I have seen good books supplement the ongoing preaching and teaching ministry of the church
“I often recommend books both publicly and in private conversations. When someone takes my recommendation I try to follow up in a few weeks to ask what they think of the book, what they are learning or if the book has raised any questions for them. That has led to some very fruitful conversations and... Continue Reading
Top 50 Stories on The Aquila Report for 2016: 1-10
Numbers 1-10 of the top 50 articles for 2016
In keeping with the journalistic tradition of looking back at the recent past, we present the top 50 stories of the year that were read on The Aquila Report site based on the number of hits. We will present the 50 stories in groups of 10 to run on five lists on consecutive days. Here... Continue Reading