Author: S&P

Evangelical Christians in the United States now face an inevitable moment of decision. While Christians in other movements and in other nations face similar questions, the question of homosexuality now presents evangelicals in the United States with a decision that cannot be avoided. Within a very short time, we will know where everyone stands on this question. There will be no place to hide, and ...

John MacArthur’s hotly debated conference and book, “Strange Fire,” (Thomas Nelson, 2013) evaluates the doctrines, claims, and practices of the modern charismatic movement. Does the Bible teach that some gifts (tongues, healing) of the Holy Spirit stop after the time of the original Apostles?” MacArthur says yes, plainly. Originally published April 25, 2014.

For Christians, the Bible is the most precious and important book we possess. In its pages are the divinely inspired words that guide us to know and love our God. After the Bible, there are a few books that every believer should probably read, reread, and apply. On this short list would be works like Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Pilgrim’s Progress,Augustine’s Confessions, Mere Christiani...

  Heaven confuses many people. Some don’t understand much about it. Others are convinced they know all they want to know and have decided they aren’t interested. A lot of people think heaven sounds boring with a capital B! Huck Finn said that he thought heaven was a place where a person would “go around all day long with a harp and sing, forever and ever.” I have never...

As a seminary grad, I thought I was ready to have a job and do my part in taking Christ to the world through the local church. Six months passed and the only job offer I had was to work for four months as a secretary for a crusade in my city. I remember well the Lord whispering to me, “Do you have any other offers?” I reluctantly accepted the job and began to pour myself into the neede...

I was a very busy boy. My mom tells me I required two mothers. She also tells me she used to pray I have a son just like me. God answered her prayer. My wife and I are blessed with one of the busiest 2-year-old boys we’ve seen. He is also a very sweet boy, too. As with any child, there are moments of utter dismay. We ask ourselves, “Why does he just not listen?” We give simple instructions; often ...

Are women more useful to the economy in the bedroom or the boardroom? Japan has a problem that foreshadows the future for many developed nations: a falling birth rate. Its fast-shrinking population means Japan’s future labor force and tax base will shrivel, while its costs to maintain the elderly will grow.  This looming economic crisis has forced Japan’s leaders to consider how younger Japan...

How many struggles of pastoral ministry can be traced to a lack of solid biblical training? It has never been easier to get a seminary or Bible college degree, yet graduates mistakenly assume that degree-in-hand means they are ready to shepherd the flock. Many seminaries have tried to fill a church-shaped void that they are not equipped nor commissioned to fill. Consider carefully the words of Al ...

Over the weekend, I did what many people who have been weighing in on the movie Noah had yet to even do: I saw the movie. And it was terrific. Here are four reasons why: First, it faithfully tells the biblical tale without skepticism or incredulity.  Yes, it takes artistic license where the Bible is silent, but that is to be expected.  But except for the Nephilim, it stays on biblical sc...

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments for those opposing the government’s HHS Mandate that forces employers to subsidize insurance for contraceptives and abortifacients.  The family-based company, Hobby Lobby, is among those involved in this high-profile challenge to the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare).  In response to this, Slate.com posted an article on evangelica...

The church is sometimes accused of being bigoted, angry, hateful, arrogant, elitist, and hypocritical. This doesn’t describe the churches I have been a part of, and in fact most of the churches I know well are characterized by love, generosity, humility, and the pursuit of godliness. Where does the negative perspective come from? Why are Christians seen as mean? Are they just “haters?&...

Christianity has been called a “bloody religion.” Christians have built their faith, after all, on the bloody death of the crucified Jesus. We sing with gusto, “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!” And with the apostle Peter we confess that we have been ransomed “not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb wi...