8 Practices That Divide
Lessons in unity from Jeremiah Burroughs.
When the world around us exploded into fake news and increasing polarization did we think the solution was to dig further into our own tribes? And when we were tempted with ungodly leaders—that we’d call our Cyrus—to defeat our godless enemies, did we not think we’d be planting in the soils of division? What crop... Continue Reading
“He Has Our Good at Heart”: Augustine on God Praising God in the Psalms
God has “marked out” a “path of praise” in the scriptures.
The Psalms are not merely God’s Word to us, they are God’s Word to God, God’s Word about God, God praising God. And that is why they are a reliable guide for our praise of God. “God has praised himself” in the Psalms, Augustine tells us, in order that “men and women [might] know how... Continue Reading
Help! I Can’t Get Control over My Tongue
Words reflect the state of our heart; and our heart—more than anything else—reflects the state of our walk with God.
What an advantage to understand then that self-control and self-discipline are fundamentally issues of the heart. Now we know where to get to work. If we want speech that is seasoned with the salt of grace, then we need to make use of the classic Christian disciplines of grace that shape our hearts. The word... Continue Reading
Not by Faith Alone?
An Analysis of the Roman Catholic Doctrine of Justification from Trent to the Joint Declaration
Justification by faith alone has been a cause of rupture between Protestantism and the church of Rome since the sixteenth century, and this is an unchangeable fact with important theological and symbolic significance. The present-day status quaestionis of the debate is a contested issue. Matthew Barrett, executive editor of Credo Magazine, has edited a new... Continue Reading
John Calvin: For a New Reformation (2019)
Calvin lived in constant fellowship with the Lord and submitted daily to his lordship.
Over the years, I have read dozens of books about the French Reformer, John Calvin. This book is among the best. Thomas and Tweeddale should be commended for assembling such a worthy team of writers who celebrate a man that continues to wield a mighty influence on individual lives and the church of Jesus Christ.... Continue Reading
For the Hymnal
Having a hymnal in the pew and in the home helps join the sacred and the secular.
Having the physical hymnal in the pew and at the dinner table creates a beautiful resonance and harmony between church and home. A liturgy of life emerges that helps Christian piety and devotion extend beyond Sunday morning. This is especially well-facilitated in Lutheranism and other traditions where the hymnal also contains Scripture-saturated liturgical services, rites,... Continue Reading
Parenting Books: Moving From Formulas Back to Principles
You must be committed as a parent to long-view parenting because change is a process and not an event.
Many Christians would even say that the Bible isn’t a parenting book, because it doesn’t give practical day-to-day help. It is true that you won’t find verses about the terrible twos, the tween years, or helping your twenty-something child to “adult.” We can, however, miss the forest for the trees, forgetting the foundational principles from... Continue Reading
God, Guilt, and Then What?
Instead of relying on Jesus, people accept one of two other options: they think sin isn’t really a big problem or they think they can overcome sin on their own.
When we embrace Christ’s sacrifice, our sins are no longer scored against us (Psalm 103:10-12). And when we embrace Christ’s resurrecting power, our wills are changed so that we desire to do good, no longer out of fear, but purely for the enjoyment of the Source of all good (Rom. 6:4-11). Most people in... Continue Reading
The Gospel According to Satan
If Satan is such a liar and, in the fact, “the father of lies,” it should come as no surprise that he continues to float lies meant to confuse, deceive, and destroy human beings.
Why does he call this “the gospel” of Satan? Because “the best trick of the devil is getting you to think his ideas aren’t just yours, but even God’s. So he creates his own ‘gospel,’ a perversion of the real one. It sounds like good news because it appears to answer questions we’ve always had,... Continue Reading
1917 (Review)
1917 is co-written and directed by Sam Mendes, and it’s based on his grandfather’s experiences at World War 1.
1917 isn’t a complex film. It’s a simple film about a day—or a couple of hours—into the lives of two young, insignificant British soldiers. But its simplicity is what makes the film so good. The film doesn’t try to impress its audience. It doesn’t use a hyper-stylized filter to make the setting bleaker, and it doesn’t... Continue Reading
