A lot of people think that if there is one style of music in the world that God hates, it has got to be rap. Some have even gone so far as to call rap, “An unclean thing before the Lord,” and to insist that anyone who listens to rap (whether it’s made by Christians or not) risks spiritual harm. Lots of other people love and accept rap as their preferre… Read more…
For far too long mothers have been beaten down by the law of “do better” and “try harder.” The burden of “getting it right” threatens to crush weary souls who desire to serve their families faithfully. Christ in the Chaos brings comfort to conflicted hearts that are starved of grace and longing for the freedom in Christ the Bible promises. In thi… Read more…
he Christian life is a war and one of your most lethal enemies hangs its helmet inside your heart. This infernal, internal enemy is sin, which even after new birth continues to reside in every believer. As followers of Jesus, we’ve been given a simple mission regarding sin: search and destroy. Put it to death. But in the words of Cornelius Plantinga Jr., … Read more…
Table of Contents: One: The Context: Contending in our Day, Two: The Content: We Contend for God and the Gospel, Three: The Challenge: To Contend Well and Wisely, Four: The Clergy: Called to Feed, Correct and Protect, Five: The Congregation: Called to Build Up, Persevere and Wait, Six: The Conclusion: What Contending Really Means… Read more…
The earthly ministry of Jesus was all about rightly interpreting and applying God’s Word. We can do the same. No special training required. In fact, right interpretation of Scripture, followed by right application, is the primary way that Christians are to be like God. This is not an issue of education. It’s an issue of imitation. The example of Jesu… Read more…
The Christian life is a race. Through the gospel, God summons us to sustained and persevering effort. He empowers his children by grace—free and undeserved blessing through Christ. But he does not carry them to heaven on flowery beds of ease. Faith is a living, athletic grace. God’s mercy motivates Christians and energizes them to press on and overcome g… Read more…
Here is a tender blending of memoir and theology, a joining of heart and mind, a sober yet joyful consideration of Scripture in the face of one of life’s deepest and most grievous trials. What exactly happens to those who die as Christians? What do they immediately experience? What is their existence like right now? What will happen to them when Christ r… Read more…
The Christian life is not a playground, but a battleground. One of the fiercest foes in this battle dwells within our own hearts: the enemy of indwelling sin. The Scriptures command us to “put sin to death.” This is what pastors and theologians of another generation called the “mortification” of sin. But how do we mortify sin? And what role does the … Read more…
Employing the symbols of the cruciform cathedral and the Celtic cross, the aim of this book is to cast a vision for the Cruciform Life, living as disciples of Jesus who are being shaped by the cross (gospel) into people and churches who share and show the cross (gospel) as they live the vertical life of loving God with all their head, heart, and hands and th… Read more…
Browse a Christian book website or bookstore and notice all there is for leaders and would-be leaders. There are studies of leaders, keys to leadership, and tips on becoming a leader. Books that promote servanthood tend to be about leadership. But how many books inspire us simply to serve one another? The appeal of leadership has hijacked the biblical call… Read more…
Sick of porn? Time to detox. A huge percentage of men need a porn detox, a moral and psychological reset. Do you? If so, whether you know it or not, pornography has corrupted your thinking, weakened your conscience, warped your sense of right and wrong, and twisted your understanding and expectations of sexuality. You need a reset by the One who created sex… Read more…
We often use the word faith without thinking much about its meaning. We know that without faith, it is impossible to please God and that faith is the core and foundation of daily Christian living. But what is faith? Author Joel R. Beeke believes we can best understand faith by seeing how it operates by the Spirit in the lives of fallen sinners like us. Accor… Read more…