Musings on The Fellowship of Presbyterians New Reformed Body Theology Document – 2. Theology Comes First
This may not be true for your congregation but I sometimes ask myself “If we have a Book of Confessions, why don’t we use it?” As we anticipate the next gathering of the Fellowship of Presbyterians I thought I would riff for a few minutes about their draft Theology Document… One month ago the Fellowship... Continue Reading
Why Short-Term Missions Matter; Response To ‘Vacationaries’
Constructing bars for Tequila sippers in Mexico is not what a group of teenagers from north of the border had in mind when they went with their church on a mission trip. I can still remember my college professor telling us in our missions class how lots of church building projects in Latin America end... Continue Reading
The Helpfulness of Adulteries by Presidential Candidates
People who aspire to the presidency want to go down in history. But if they’ve committed adultery, that overrides anything else they have ever done. As one writer has expressed it, “The fact of [the candidate’s] adultery is the philosopher’s stone that converts the rest of his life to dross.” It is often said that... Continue Reading
A Prayer for Reaffirming the Reasons We Revere and Love God
You’re not our 24/7 convenience store, nor our benevolent butler in the sky. You’re not a Genie granting wishes nor a computer waiting to be programmed by us. Your name is Abba Father, not Sugar Daddy, and we are so very thankful. We exist for your glory. You don’t exist for our pleasure. Then Satan... Continue Reading
What Is The Unpardonable Sin?
“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” (Mark 3:28–29). I cannot tell you how many times in my teaching career very distraught Christians have come... Continue Reading
Revelation-Driven Life
If Jesus shed His blood for individuals from every people group in the world, how can we who have been rescued by Him remain indifferent in the face of more than six thousand ethnolinguistic groups that have yet to be reached with the gospel God wins. If I had to summarize the message of Revelation... Continue Reading
Old Princeton for New Calvinists
In the 19th century, Princeton was a leader among conservative evangelicals in America. It was the “grand central station” for the “young, restless, and Reformed.” Controversies swirl around celebrity pastors and their best-selling books. Evangelicals unite across denominational lines to share resources and strategize together for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom. New thought emerging from... Continue Reading
President Obama and Same-Sex Marriage — The Dance Continues
“President Obama Won’t Say if He’ll Stop Pretending to Oppose Same-Sex Marriage Before the Election.” – New York Magazine Some predictions are rather safe to make. 2012 is almost certain to be a determinative year on the issue of same-sex marriage. Multiple courts appear poised to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA] and,... Continue Reading
Some Random Thoughts about Doing Good while Doing Minimal Harm
It’s not wrong to feel good about doing good. Kant told us that if a virtuous act made us feel good, it wasn’t virtuous (or something like that). Nonsense. It’s okay to feel satisfaction when you help somebody There has been a lot of healthy talk in Christian circles lately about how best to go... Continue Reading
The Ten Commandments Before the Fall
The Westminster Confession claims here that the law of the Ten Commandments is the same in substance as the law given to Adam before the fall. Of course, the form is different, but the substance is the same. The Westminster Confession asserts that “God gave Adam a law. . .” and that “[t]his law, after... Continue Reading