Today is Good Friday, the darkest day of Holy Week, a day Christians around the world remember the death of Jesus Christ. In the Christian calendar, the temporary thrill of Palm Sunday has passed and the crescendo of Easter is still to come. Today, only death and darkness. The Christian faith is clear about why … More Good Friday, the Virus, and the Curse
I grew up singing the best old hymns of the faith. We sang them so consistently that their lyrics and melodies carved deep ruts in my memory. I couldn’t appreciate their doctrinal strength or poetic beauty as a child or a teenager, but now they resonate at a far deeper level. Now I can understand … More Be Still, My Soul
Every day, we’re crawling toward Sunday. Because every Sunday, the Christian church the world over gathers to celebrate the life, death, resurrection, and soon return of Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Scripture and prayer, songs and sermons, confession and supplication, joy and lament, we haul our broken bodies and our heavy souls back to the place … More Crawling to Sunday
Carry us, O sabbath Lord, when sabbath days are awful few. O help us rest, and rest assured, in sabbath’s story, long and true. That seventh day, from heaven’s throne, you looked upon a world made. Your restful satisfaction shone o’er heav’n and earth, in joy surveyed. From Sinai’s thundering mount you gave a law … More Carry Us to Sabbath
I am the resurrection and the life. —Jesus of Nazareth From all appearances, Jesus arrived too late. Far too late. And not fashionably, stylishly late, but wrongfully, neglectfully late. His friend Lazarus had been sick—critical condition—and Jesus waited. He didn’t rush to Bethany, like a real friend would’ve done. He didn’t come right away, like … More The Resurrection and the Life: Lazarus, Harvey, and the Love of Jesus
What God will do is not ours to tell. We don’t know, and we can’t know. We see him from below, and we await the revelation of his plan. At the same time, what God will do is truly foreseeable. We do know, because we can know. He’s revealed himself from above, and we have … More What God Will Do
As Hurricane Harvey made landfall along the South Texas coast ten days ago, the Nashville Statement produced by the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) was picking up steam online. This statement is a multi-authored document with many noteworthy signatories seeking to articulate a concise biblical defense of traditional views relating to gender and sexuality. … More Hurricane Harvey and the Nashville Statement
BridgePoint Bible Church has been in transition for years now. Several associate pastors transitioned to other ministries. The senior pastor transitioned to an associate role. The women’s coordinator transitioned, the facilities director transitioned, and I transitioned from the professorate in Louisville to the pastorate here. “Transition” has been the buzzword around BridgePoint. And we were … More Ink from the Sky
Last night I went for a walk along the bayou near our street, trying to decompress and straighten out my mind. There, in the humid twilight of a Houston summer night, I found myself in a familiar place: struggling to pray. It’s not that there’s too little to pray about; if anything, there’s too much. … More When You Don’t Have a Prayer
I don’t plan to make Sunday morning statements about most noteworthy events that make national news. I hope my brothers and sisters at BridgePoint Bible Church can appreciate when I do decide to make these statements without expecting that every injustice that tops the headlines will receive a focused response in our Sunday gatherings. But … More My Sunday Morning Comments about Charlottesville
Here’s the fourth installment of my ongoing series of quotes from Dr. John Hannah of Dallas Seminary. The context of each quote is in bold, and it’s helpful to keep in mind that each statement was made in a specific educational context with its free-flowing atmosphere. It’s also helpful to keep in mind that Dr. … More Wit and Wisdom from John Hannah Revisited (4)
What happens when you combine one of the best minds the Christian church has ever known (Jonathan Edwards) with one of the most quotable professors I’ve ever encountered? A cascade of wit and wisdom like what you’ll find below. Quotes from Wednesday’s Class Theological controversies: If you don’t define terms agreeably before a controversy, you’ll just … More Wit and Wisdom from John Hannah Revisited (3)
I’m continuing to share penetrating quotes from Dr. John Hannah’s class on Jonathan Edwards, one of the most memorable classes I ever took. Quotes from Tuesday’s Class Reading the Bible: The first book you need is a Bible. I recommend reading it. Many don’t. They study it. I’ve been at seminary for 38 years, and the … More Wit and Wisdom from John Hannah Revisited (2)
Ten years ago I took a one-week class on Jonathan Edwards from Dallas Seminary professor John Hannah. It still ranks as one of my most memorable academic experiences. In the weeks that followed, I posted a bevy of wise and witty quotes that cascaded from Dr. Hannah’s teaching. Now after ten years, I’m re-posting those quotes, … More Wit and Wisdom from John Hannah Revisited (1)
Holy Father, This morning I pray for all who find themselves discouraged and depressed, for all who find their souls numb and their vision blurred, for all who feel their lives slipping down to the pit. Help them turn to your Word, cry out for your mercy, trust in your promises, and rise to do … More A Prayer for the Downcast
The Christian tradition has a complicated relationship with justice. In some situations, Christianized systems have been terribly unjust; in other situations, Christians have led the way toward justice. Sometimes Christians have denied that societal justice should be a concern of the faithful; at other times, Christians have decried any model of Christian theology that downplays … More Chains Shall He Break: The Jewish Messiah, the Christian Church, and the Hope of Justice
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