Author: S&P

We tend to idealize holidays, but human depravity doesn’t go into hibernation between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. One thing that will hit most Christians, sooner or later, are tensions within extended families at holiday time. Some of you will be visiting family members who are contemptuous of the Christian faith and downright hostile to the whole thing. Others are empty nest couples who now...

  My thrice-great grandmother was a Choctaw Native born in South Mississippi in 1845. Her name was Clementine “Thankful” Page. I’m not sure what her parents called her in the day-to-day but I’ve imagined it would be great if she went by “Thankful.” I can imagine that name echoing through a house in those antebellum years. “Thankful, it’s time for dinner” or maybe, “Thankful, what did you do?”...

When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, November 22 1963 was engraved in the annals of history. But while the world reeled in shock and grief, another great figure of the twentieth century peacefully died in his bedroom. C. S. Lewis, beloved author of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe finally passed from the Shadowlands into the Solid World of Heaven. Lewis is more po...

The natural response to seeing God’s glory is to audibly praise Him. Psalm 35:27-28 says, “Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, ‘Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!’ Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.” Since the digital revolution, the platform of our audible voice has exte...

A few weeks ago I preached at a Christian High School chapel. In one sense speaking to teens is different than speaking to adults. The audience was made up of people young enough to be my own children. People that are growing up in a culture very different than the one I grew up in. Young people who are into things I haven’t yet heard of. What do I have to give the young ones? I’ve been prea...

“I have a tough life,” my five-year-old cousin said. “Really? Why is that?” I asked. Folding his arms, he looked up at me with his big blue eyes as he rattled off his complaints. “Well, I get spankings, I get time out, and I have to clean my room!” I couldn’t help bursting out in laughter. In return, he just looked at me quizzically as if silently asking, “Why are you laughing? I’m serious!” After...

A life of constant chaos is far from what God intends. In “Crazy Busy,” a mercifully short book about a really big problem, pastor Kevin DeYoung seeks the restful cure we’ve all been too busy to find. Originally published November 11, 2013.

Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. 2 Corinthians 10:12     I know the comparison game well. I have played it many times, whether it was comparing my fashion style to those of my friends, comparing my...

The social media landscape can make the average person wonder if he can make an impact in the world today. If you take a look at well-known pastors, you can’t help but notice they are prolific, not only in printed books, but in tweets, blog posts, and Facebook likes. One might derive an invalid conclusion from this phenomenon, thinking, “If well-known pastors are making a big impact, and have a ma...

On a recent trip across town I decided to use the map app that came with my phone for directions. When the audio fell out of sync with the Bluetooth in my truck, in an instant I went from being on a routine trip to a lost expedition because of an unexpected glitch. While going through life we hit many detours, potholes, and accidents. Some will be as small as a lost GPS signal. Others will be life...

Jesus Feminist.That’s one of the more well-crafted book titles I’ve read in a long time. It’s intended to strike at an apparent contradiction resident within the psyche of the evangelical culture. Two terms, normally in opposition to one another in our theological, biblical, political and social constructs as conservative Christians, are brought together in a juxtaposition. The volume itself is in...

Christianity.com: Are natural disasters a sign of God’s judgment?-Michael Horton from christianitydotcom2 on GodTube. Are Disasters a Sign of God’s Judgment? There’s a place in John’s Gospel where Jesus is confronted by the religious leaders, who talk about a man who was born blind. And they ask Jesus, trying to trap him in a theological question, “Who sinned? This ma...