Michelle Boorstein has a must-read piece in The Washington Post about the celibate gay Christian movement. It features Albert Mohler, Wesley Hill, and some others from the evangelical movement. The article begins with a discussion about Eve Tushnet, a celibate Roman Catholic lesbian. Today, Tushnet is a leader in a small but growing movement of celibate gay Christians who find it easier than before to be out of the closet in their traditional churches because they’re celibate. She is busy speaking at conservative Christian conferences with other celibate Catholics and Protestants and is the most well-known of 20 bloggers who post on spiritualfriendship.org, a site for celibate gay and lesbian Christians that draws thousands of visitors each month. This is an interesting...

I recently saw Ridley Scott’s biblical epic, Exodus: Gods and Kings at the theater. Evangelicals typically have one of two responses to movies like this. There are those who are upset at the deviations from the biblical text and there are those who are upset that people are upset about the movie. I’m typically somewhere in between. For instance, I watched the much anticipated Noah movie earlier this year and found myself in between the two warring camps. I thought Darren Aronofsky produced a cinematic masterpiece, but I didn’t understand why he so corrupted what is already a dramatic narrative. The part where Noah goes mad and tries to kill his grandson is just creepy and unnecessary. But I didn’t think this movie was an attack on the Christian faith. The Church has survived far worse bibl...

Peter Chin recently published a thought-provoking piece over at Christianity Today titled, “No Such Thing as Convenient Christianity.” His post is winsome and well-written, humorous and humble, confessional and convicting. It’s the kind of writing you’d expect from the author of Christianity Today’s most-widely read article of 2013. Yet in spite of Chin’s obvious passion and timely prophetic warnings about dangers in our midst, it seems his diagnosis and prescription miss the mark. By conflating the love of convenience with convenience itself, his article runs the risk of making God’s people feel guilty about receiving his grace. In the Beginning, Grace When God created the universe, he did so as an act of grace. Like a river that floods its banks, wave after wave of honor and love and joy...

Introduction The third Sunday in Advent (Advent III) shifts from a tone of expectation of Christ’s coming to one of rejoicing at the arrival of God’s kingdom with the coming of Jesus. The Scripture and Theology of the Third Week of Advent Scripture readings for Advent III reflect on the salvation and restoration Jesus brings, which is cause for rejoicing and perseverance. Old Testament Readings         Old Testament readings for Advent III highlight the universal restoration Jesus accomplishes. In Isaiah 35:1, the prophet looks forward to the future promised for the people of God—a future inaugurated at the first coming of Christ and consummated at his second coming. When Jesus returns, the effects of sin’s curse will be removed: the wildernesses and dry land will bloss...

[Editor’s Note: This has been adapted from Paul Tripp’s Christmas devotional, “Advent: The Whole Story.” Download your free copy today at www.PaulTripp.com/Advent.] Could you get any more graphic, more specific, more all-inclusive words than these? “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5, ESV). It’s clear from Genesis 6:5, and it’s clear if you watch the news today, that something is deeply broken with the human race. Even people who don’t believe in the Bible would agree that something is wrong and people need help. But how do we fix the problem? There are two commons lies that we all believe. The first...

What you believe makes a big difference in your Christian life. Even if the categories of formal theology seem remote and unfamiliar, you have a theology. Everything you think about God, Jesus, law, sin, salvation, holiness, the Spirit, the church, human nature, life, death, and eternity is theological. We are all theologians. The real question is whether or not our theologies are true to Scripture. One of the most important areas of theology is sanctification: the doctrine that concerns our consecration to God, the restoration and renewal of God’s image within us, and our practical progress in holiness. I’ve seen a number of common errors that Christians make in this area. In fact, here are seven errors to avoid in following Christ. 1.     Looking to your sanctificatio...

One of my U.S. history students recently asked me what my favorite Christmas song was.  There are many that I love, and I told him that I couldn’t possibly choose just one, but as a historian—and a specialist on the American Civil War, particularly—I have always been deeply moved by I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.  In its original form it’s not heard too much these days, although several contemporary Christian groups (Casting Crowns for example) have performed variations on it. The carol is based on a poem written at the height of the Civil War by the renowned American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  A native of Maine and long-time resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, the fifty-six-year-old Longfellow was an American celebrity by that time, famous for works such as Th...

Just a few hours ago I stood at the square in Kiev where one year ago over a million people gathered to protest Russia’s ruthless attempt at breaking Ukraine. The pictures, the flowers, the memory of the many dead scream in the silence. Ukrainian youth and others paid with their lives, and the pictures reveal the savagery of the oppressors. It was a biting cold sixteen degrees as I recorded a message there while passersby stopped to listen. As I now fly back, I see another scene: a burning building and the threatening destruction in Ferguson, MO, the aftermath of the tragic death of a young man there. There are huge differences between these stories but the cries are similar. Sadly, speechmakers often exploit such scenarios, provoking our baser instincts.  When the jury in Misso...

If you’re a Christian, you believe reading the Bible is important. But how should you approach it in the first place? What kind of “heart posture” is necessary? God cares deeply about these questions. Here are seven ways we ought to approach his Word. 1. Approach It Humbly The Bible is empirical evidence that the Maker of the universe is a God who initiates, who reveals, who talks. There are, after all, only two options when it comes to knowledge of one’s Creator: revelation or speculation. Either he speaks, or we guess. And he has spoken. The God of heaven and earth has “forfeited his personal privacy”[1] to befriend us through a book. The Bible is like an all-access pass into the revealed mind and will of God. Now, given that we’re not only creatures of the dust but rebels against heaven...

  Introduction The second Sunday in Advent (Advent II) continues on the path started in the first week by looking forward to Christ’s first and second coming. Advent II focuses on John the Baptist, the Gentiles being included in God’s family, Christ’s coming in judgment and peace, and the church’s hopeful expectation of the completion of his promises. The Scripture and Theology of the Second Week of Advent Whereas the Scripture readings for Advent I speak broadly about God’s promise to bring Israel out of exile, the readings for Advent II focus more specifically on the Messiah and what his coming will look like. Old Testament Readings Old Testament readings for Advent II reflect on the type of kingdom the coming Messiah will bring: one of judgment and peace. Isaiah 11:1 says, “There s...

I am a law and order guy. I believe it is vital to our well-being as a society to support law enforcement and give them the benefit of the doubt. I believe that the vast majority of cops are competent and trustworthy. I was bothered by much of the commentary following the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. At times it seemed like a race to see which white evangelicals could appear the most empathetic with little or no interest in the actual facts of the tragic event. There were even calls from otherwise fine and thoughtful men to disregard the facts about Michael Brown’s death. That was entirely unhelpful and, in my mind, provided comfort for those who would choose to respond violently. The above comments are an effort to underscore my non-handwringing bona fides because in the case o...

For many Christians, being unemployed is just embarrassing. Suddenly, we find ourselves without a job. We are, perhaps without success, seeking employment.  But we can’t help asking ourselves, “What are people thinking about my being out of work?  Do they think I’m lazy, no good, or just a freeloader?”  No doubt, being without a job can be embarrassing even within our own families. We all have heard of, or perhaps even met, people who have been described as “bums.”  We’ve all heard comments describing people who didn’t work as “no-good, lazy, or leeches on society.”  Even back in the early days of television entertainment we’ve seen comedians like Red Skelton make fun of the unemployed by portra...