Personal pronouns have been all the rage and debate in recent years. It's amazing how important such short words are in our everyday speech and in our anthropology. That being said, personal pronouns are also some of the most important words to interpret when reading the Scriptures. . .Person pronouns guide the interpretation of a passage, they inform us of the individual and communal nature of the Christian life, and they aid the minister in the preaching of God's word....
We love the idea of diversity, until it cuts across our own idea of personal uniformity. I have been thinking often of the diversity of personalities represented in the church, and how that diversity plays into the heated conversations that we have online. We often fail to adequately understand why someone might be more vocal that we wish them to be, or more quiet than we would be. ...
When we consider all the depths and riches of the details and redemptive-historical background of Jesus' first miraculous sign, we are encouraged to believe in Him for spiritual renewal and joy. As the greater Moses, the Seed of the woman, and the Bridegroom of His Church, Jesus came to bring the life-giving blessings of redemption. He came to make all things new. May we know afresh the blessed realities of Jesus' first sign at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. ...
No matter how long men lived after the fall, the curse of the fall echoed in the words, “…and he died.” Man cannot outlive death, no matter how long his life may have been. The futility of life and the inevitability of death served to produce in that primitive era a greater taste of the bitterness of the fall, the longing for the promised Redeemer, and the hope of the resurrection. The extraordinarily long lives of Adam’s descendants served the purpose of God’s mercy, as did the shortening of man’s life. God shortened man’s lifespan so that we may hope in His mercy and long for His promised redemption in Christ. Additionally, it is a mercy for God to take believers away from this wicked and fallen world. Scripture teaches that the Lord sometimes takes the righteous away in order to keep them from experiencing more of the calamities and evils in this life (Isaiah 57:1...
When Christians publicly confess the truths that the church has always confessed, God is distinguishing between the church and the world...
Pastors must learn to strike the balance between pastoring people through the daily needs of their lives and courageously tackling false teaching that threatens the purity of the gospel and the church. Ministers should consider themselves to be, first and foremost, shepherds of the flock of the Lord Jesus which God has entrusted to their care. If they must engage in public controversy, let them do so with prayerfulness, patience, and a pastoral-heart. It is far too easy to make public platforms a counterfeit for pastoral ministry; and, in so doing, to lose the pastoral tone requisite when engaging in polemics ...
In all that happened to him, Daniel was serving the purposes of God in redemptive history. He was standing as a typical last Adam, gaining representative dominion over the threatening powers of darkness and subduing even the ravenous bests. In the destruction of Daniel's persecuting enemies, God was foreshadowing the judgment that He will pour out on the wicked in the last day. In Daniel's being thrown into the lions' den and bring brought out whole and alive, God was giving us a prefiguration of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is in that death and resurrection that the new creation is secured, the enemies of God conquered, and the people of God exalted. In this way, Daniel 6 is not so much about Daniel in the lions' den as it is about Christ in the lions' den of the wrath of God for the redemption of His people and the consummation of all things. ...
Excoriating pastors for being abusive seems to have become par for the course these days. Much of this is in reaction to a failure on the part of churches to hold their leaders accountable. Usually, charges of abuse come in the context of a pastor who has supposedly bullied his elders, staff, or members of the church. Sometimes it is in relation to a pastor who is charged with covering sexual abuse in the church and has not done his utmost to defend the accuser and bring it to the proper authorities. Still, at other times, it may come in response to the perception of hyper-masculinity or oppressive patriarchalism that is said to foster a culture in which women are oppressed in the church their gifts asphyxiated. In whatever legitimate form it may arise, Christians should be ready to decry pastoral abuse. However, as finger pointing commences online, the opposite danger inevitably surfaces. Under the notion of exposing "pastoral abuse," well-meaning believers imperceptibly begin to fall into the snare of "pastor abuse."...
Jesus is the rock who followed the Israelites throughout their wilderness journeying. When they complained, God graciously answered their accusations by placing Himself in their place under the rod of His own justice. In this type, we discover that Jesus steps in the place of His people on the cross to be struck with the rod of divine justice. Now that He has offered Himself once-for-all without spot to God, we are called to simply ask Him for the living water, and He has promised to answer us for the soul-quenching blessing of the Spirit. ...
There was one nation in human history that had perfect laws--Old Covenant theocratic Israel; and yet, generation after generation were just as wicked--or more wicked--than the nations around them. So bad were the injustices in Israel that the prophet Habakkuk cried out, "the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth" (Hab. 1:4). The problem persisted to the exile and ...
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The angst and vitriol of believers or either side of current cultural debates cuts across the clear teaching of Scripture. Instead of fueling and fostering such angst and animous, we should be praying for a spirit of unity that is rooted in the truth of Christ and the precious doctrines of Scripture. We should be seeking for God to give us a Christian spirit that is diffus...
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When we are tempted to trust in some particular peson or political party to provide deliverance and security, they we have a vain hope. The God who made heaven, and earth, the sea and all that is in them, is the One who provides deliverence and security for His people. This God has secured a city that has foundations--a lasting city--for His people (Heb. 11:10, 16: 13:14)....
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As we approach the New Year, many believers are considering Bible reading plans. This is good and right, since God calls His people to be men and women, boys and girls of His word. However, many believers feel the failure of their Bible reading over the past year and sometimes mistakenly think they can somehow make up for the deficiencies of the past year through quantitat...
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Since 2012, I have made it my practice to compile a list of all I write, teach, and preach throughout the year. Though this year has been a particularly taxing year for everyone--and a challenging one so far as productivity goes--here are some resources from 2020....
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As we consider anew the divine activity in the lives of the wisemen, we are met with the reality of God's sovereign grace to those who were once far off from God. We are reminded of the way in which God chooses and calls pagans to trust in His Son. We are warned that we can have a deep knowledge of the Scriptures yet no grace in our hearts. We are motivated to believe in C...
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As we reflect anew on the mystery of the incarnate Son of God in the womb of the virgin Mary, may God grant us a newfound sense of wonder and astonishment. In the same way, as we reflect on His providential works in the world and His redemptive work in our lives, may we humble ourselves before His majestic throne--praising Him for all that He has done and is doing safe fro...
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If 2020 has been challenging for pastors, consider the toll that it has taken on the pastor's wife. She is one of the unsung heroes of the church. The pastor's wife sacrifices unmeasurable and unrecognized time and energy to support the ministry to which her husband has been called--often without the support she needs. In many instances, she is indispensable to the ministr...
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The Christian can have the strongest possible confidence that God cannot and will not change. He cannot and will not lie. This means that even when I feel most unstable in my ever changing affections, God and His promise does not change. This gives us the greatest possible encouragement to go to Him, casting ourselves and our burdens upon Him--knowing that He will always u...
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In my first foray into public ministry, I was met with what I deemed to be a highly unusual request. One of the elders of the church in which I was serving asked me to refer to the printed order of worship as a "playbill" rather than as a bulletin. This struck me as strange for a number of reasons--not least of which is that I couldn’t wrap my mind around how doing such ...
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