The Power of Biblical Thinking
Somewhat surprisingly, there has been a resurgence of interest in Norman Vincent Peale’s power of positive thinking in our day. The Reformed Church in America minister–famous for giving people a…
Nick Batzig
A Functional Imperfect Perfectionism
There is a functional perfectionism that can subtly creep into the minds and hearts of even those who adamantly reject any idea of instantaneous sanctification in a believer’s life. On…
When Everything is a Gender Question
Recently, I was having a discussion with a friend (who happens to be in pastoral ministry) about the gender debates that are raging in our culture and in our churches.…
The Last Judgment
Last night, I preached a sermon on Psalm 7–one of the lamentation Psalms of David, which he presumably wrote while hiding from Saul in the caves of Adullam. A good…
The Incomparable Conjunction of Love and Wrath
I was recently reading John Murray’s profoundly enriching sermon, “The Father’s Love“–in the newly released volume of his sermon, O Death, Where is Thy Sting?–and was struck afresh with the…
Decerebrated Frogs, the Straight Line and Cultural Accommodation
In 1869, the German physiologist, Friedrich Goltz, published a series of conclusions from tests he performed on frogs. In his book, Beitrage zur Lehre von den Functionen der Nervencentren des Frosches (Contributions…
Are Some Sins Worse Than Others?
One of my close friends was telling me about a recent interaction he had at a Reformed seminary with a student who was preparing to go into college ministry. In…
The Church Jesus Attends
A friend of mine was recently speaking to a pastor of a large congregation about how things were going in ministry. This particular pastor proceeded to tell my friend that…
Why We Love New Beginnings
We all love new beginnings. When we enter a new year, most of us tend to think back on the past year–we look back at the accomplishments and failures and…
A Better Jerusalem
On October 27, 1994, President Bill Clinton, while addressing the Knesset (i.e. the legislative assembly in Israel) cited one of his former pastors when he said, “If you abandon Israel,…