The most important time to be at church is when you don’t feel like it. I’ve talked with three Christians this past week — two struggling with depression, and a third who just went through a tough break-up — who’ve all stopped gathering with God’s people during a difficult season. Whether for weeks or for … More The Most Important Time to Be at Church
Occasionally I share resources I’ve found helpful. These are my personal notes from a session with Dr. Jeremy Pierre at Southern Seminary’s recent Counsel the Word conference. These are not the speaker’s notes, nor are they a manuscript or transcript of the lecture, although I recorded the main points verbatim. Speaker: Dr. Jeremy Pierre | Dean of … More The Christian Imagination: Depression, Hope, and a Better Reality (by Jeremy Pierre)
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Today I turn 35 years old. Moses says that if I’m strong, I may reach 80. But if I’m average, and if God wills, I’m halfway home (Psalm 90:10). The day will be fairly normal. I’ll finish up … More Reflections at 35
We sure do want a lot out of life. By now your social media feeds have been filled with articles about New Year’s resolutions and 2016 goals — mind, body, and spirit; work, rest, and play; personal, professional, and relational. There are the optimists who are aiming high, and there are the pessimists who are … More How to Prosper in All of Life: The Main Thing You Need to Do in 2016
Occasionally I post responses to questions I receive from my students or other readers. Here’s my answer to a question that came by email recently. Student Question: When David is lamenting his pursuers and the dangers he’s facing, are we to interpret those only as human enemies, or can we apply the idea to the workings … More The Enemies in the Psalms (Student Question)
I took my first preaching class thirteen years ago: Sermon Preparation and Delivery with Dr. Michael Boys. Hundreds of sermons, lectures, and lessons later, the two pillars he established still stand tallest in my mind. Pastor Boys taught us that accuracy and clarity are the most essential elements of biblical preaching. Accuracy is like air, … More True and Clear: A Call to Biblical Preaching
The man who regularly speaks without a burden should stop speaking until he finds one. Or one finds him. Until our lives have weight, our words will have none. And until we bear a burden, our lives will be weightless. Burdenless lives produce weightless words. A man’s burden tells us who he is. It tells us … More The Burdened Life and the Weighty Word
When evangelicalism turns to books, our functional motto is: “The newer, the truer.” We stir our hearts with fresh devotionals, hone our skills with modern ministry manuals, deepen our discernment with cultural exposés, and study our Bibles with contemporary commentaries. When it comes to the freshly published word, we have an embarrassment of riches. But our … More The Apostolic Fathers: Holmes’ Text and Wallace’s Lexicon (Review)
How are you shaped ethically? What experiences nuance your beliefs and behaviors? What factors determine your rights and wrongs, creating your categories of good, bad, and ugly? I am convinced that everything we experience shapes us. What we see, what we hear, what we feel — everything. Human beings are a startling blend of two … More Psalms as Torah: Reading Biblical Song Ethically (Review)
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught his disciples to make this regular request: “lead us not into temptation” (Matthew 6:13a). Perhaps because “temptation” sounds so ominous, believers and non-believers alike typically view it as a noticeable, passing, one-time event. We certainly see these types of temptations in the Bible: Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:1-7), Jesus in … More Temptation Is Bigger Than You Think
“Family worship” is an archaic phrase—and an increasingly archaic practice. It sounds austere and intimidating, like an outdated tradition for über-conservative, tightly sheltered, hyper-Christian families who care more about spiritual solemnity than family warmth. Jason Helopoulos, assistant pastor at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan, puts the lie to these misconceptions and seeks to … More A Neglected Grace: Family Worship in the Christian Home by Jason Helopoulos (Review)
In a fallen world, life is not worth living without convictions. If such things as evil, lies, and suffering are not mere illusions — not just the darker side of our social constructs — then evil must be fought, lies unmasked, and suffering eased. If such things exist at all, and especially if they flourish, then we … More Assumptions vs. Convictions
James Innell Packer was born in Gloucester, England on July 22, 1926. Oxford, teaching, authorship, and a long life of Christian service would follow. Now at the back end of an influential life, J. I. Packer lives in Vancouver and serves as the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College. He is 86 years … More Weakness Is the Way by J. I. Packer (Review)
How do you encourage someone after a tragic loss? How do you minister to someone languishing in discouragement? There’s no simple answer, and certainly no one-size-fits-all solution. The most helpful initial responses are counterintuitive: presence, sympathy, listening, and hands-on help. Inexperienced counselors or fix-it friends often err by rushing to offer solutions and explain truth before the person has … More Letter to a Sorrowful, Suffering Saint
The wisest man in history besides Jesus of Nazareth said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7a; 9:10a). Like many proverbs, this one is layered. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom in several ways: 1. Fearing God grounds wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning … More How Is the Fear of the Lord the Beginning of Wisdom?
The Conviction to Lead by Albert Mohler (Bethany House, 2012) is his legacy in the form of principles. Mohler does not aim to join the conversation about leadership but to change it (15). He is calling not for adjustments in managerial technique but a paradigm shift in the way we think about leadership. I was … More Convictional Leadership: The Legacy of Albert Mohler
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