“Abraham saw Sodom destroyed and lost nothing, but Lot lost everything. Only his life was spared. Abraham brought the world blessing, but Lot brought trouble into the world…” (Warren Wiersbe).   Here the story turns to what we might call certification: through two events God grows Abraham—sanctifies him, as we would say in a New... Continue Reading

History has shown that the church has often been most potent when she has been the least impressive—when she has been faithful, suffering, and humble. And this, far from being a flaw in the Master’s design, has actually been a feature, a wisely chosen means of ensuring that human boasting is removed and glory, honour,... Continue Reading

God defines who we are. He calls us His sons and daughters, and the trials we walked through with Him were the means to reinforcing or awakening that true and complete definition. When we experience those trials, we are stripped of all those things we might have trusted in…and we find our true and lasting... Continue Reading

Plenty of Christians enjoy sports. That means plenty of Christians are exposed to and are likely enticed by the idea of sports gambling. But many are wondering if it’s something they should be participating in.   Sports betting is the new opioid crisis, former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams warns. “Our kids, especially our boys,... Continue Reading

While collectivism is sold to the masses in the language of compassion and concern for justice for the downtrodden, it is in truth, as the Belgic Confession notes, a subversion of justice.  Simply put, this means that it punishes those who are innocent and rewards those who are guilty.   One of the issues before... Continue Reading

The church has an incredible opportunity to meet the felt needs of the “spiritual but not religious” who are seeking something bigger than themselves and can’t seem to find it.   Over the past three years, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard someone say something like “I believe in God, but I’m... Continue Reading

Romans 8 teaches that the Incarnation is the foundation of the Christian’s hope of glory. The eternal Son entered our fallen condition, condemned sin, secured our adoption, sustained us through suffering, and guaranteed our future inheritance. Because God has already given His Son, His saving purpose cannot fail.   Every year Christians celebrate the birth... Continue Reading

Bigger issues about the theology, polity, or direction of the church might require a longer attempt at getting alignment. Not all decisions carry equal weight. The challenge is to figure out how to weigh them.   The Case It’s been three months with no decision. The longest serving elder, Nathan, believes that the church should... Continue Reading

Ultimately, the only genuine guarantor of institutions and property is a successful handoff to successive generations of faithful, competent stewards of them. There’s no substitute for proper generational succession.   The archdiocese of Detroit signed a $1 per year, 200-year lease to rent one of its own churches, after transferring ownership to a non-profit controlled... Continue Reading

There are people trying to perform day after day— Christian leaders trying to preach a wonderful sermon every week, parents trying to produce lovely children, workers putting in long hours at work—all in a desperate attempt to prove themselves. Some weeks they feel like they’ve pulled it off; other weeks it seems so fragile—as though... Continue Reading

For many, building wealth is the pathway to self-actualization. More resources expand your choices, and therefore your freedom. Others see wealth as its own bondage. Your life becomes walled-in by money-management and all the people vying for their place in your decisions. Such contradictions lead us to conclude that the pursuit of freedom is none... Continue Reading

Taking the understanding of the selected text as a given, the great thing for the preacher to ask is, ‘What is the text saying, that my people need to hear, hopefully without me getting in the way?’ This may be best done without a manuscript. Or at least no more than a page of key... Continue Reading

There must be no false modesty here. No pretending that sex is not powerful, or important. The father speaks candidly to his son about sex and says: this is how to have it; this is the way it will be good. There is no question that some effort is required. This path involves “discipline” and... Continue Reading

Critical Race Theorists teach “that racism is systemically embedded within the fabric of society and can only be addressed by first interpreting the world through the lens of minority experience.” Covenant College may not be teaching all seven tenets of Critical Race Theory as Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic define them. But two of those... Continue Reading

Jesus will reiterate and expound upon the imminence of His earthly departure (John 16:16-20) and what it will mean for those who follow Him. But the tribulation they will face is tempered with joy because it is not the final word. The final word is spoken at the resurrection and the glory to come. Here... Continue Reading

There’s nothing wrong with being strong or tall or possessing a plethora of leadership qualities. In fact, such traits will come in handy. And we’re told that David, who became the anointed king, was “glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features” (1 Samuel 16:12). No, the problem lays with placing priority... Continue Reading

It’s entirely possible to build a whole life of good works for a Jesus you are barely spending any time with. It looks like maturity from the outside, but from the inside, it’s a branch running on reserve water, still green for now, but wondering why it feels so dry.   Earlier in the year,... Continue Reading

He is the only being who does not depend on anything outside of himself for complete joy: God “blessed forever,” as Paul puts it (Rom. 9:5). Deep happiness and rich delight also characterize God’s relationship with his people, including you. Many of us find that hard to accept because we don’t feel delightful in the... Continue Reading

“Aslan is more than an allegory for Christ, he *is* how the creatures of Narnia experience Christ in their world just as we experience Jesus Christ as an incarnate MAN in ours. To cast Meryl Streep as Aslan in Greta Gerwig’s Narnia is a slap in the face to the genius of Lewis, but also... Continue Reading

Justin Peters has since reflected on the book, and he wrote this two days ago on his Facebook page, ‘​​I’m not convinced Lawson actually wrote it. Perhaps he did, but I’m not sure.’ He added, ‘If Steve really is behind the book, he had AI write it. This is classic AI. Through various circumstances, I’ve... Continue Reading