For the better part of my Christian life, I’ve had a visceral reaction–driven by internal disapproval–whenever I’ve heard someone describe the hardships he or she experienced in life in the following ways: “It was like hell on earth,” or “I…
Recently, my pastor has started a Men’s Bible Study series on discipleship by examining a classic passage for discipleship: In Luke 9:22-24, Jesus said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things; He must be rejected by the elders, chief…
One of the most difficult things for a Christian worker to do is to wade into the midst of grief with a congregant. There we sit, feeling helpless and disarmed, watching the person across the table from us fall into…
John Hooper, the English Reformer and pastor, was burned at the stake for his unwavering stand upon the truth of Scripture. In 1555, just three weeks prior to his martyrdom, John Hooper gave the following charge in a letter: “You…
At the risk of being labeled a musical snob, I venture a comment or two on one of the twentieth century’s greatest composers, the centenary of whose birth we celebrate this year–Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 – 1975). He is to music…
No one wants to suffer. When suffering comes to us for following Christ, we are surprised, even shocked and dismayed, especially when our lives have been comfortable. How could our communities or families consider us in the wrong? Why would…
Last week, a gunman entered First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas and killed 26 people, wounding 20 others. The massacre was brutal and left what will surely be scars on all of those who survived, many of whom were…
The fact that the incarnate Son of God “learned obedience” (Heb. 5:8) is an essential aspect of Jesus’ human nature and so is indispensable to sound Christology and soteriology. Apart from the cross itself, the clearest example we have of…
As I write, the United Kingdom is still reeling from the latest terrorist atrocity to be unleashed in one of our major cities. It was particularly horrific in that it was deliberately targeted at children and teenagers attending a pop…
“This light momentary affliction,” Paul writes, “is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17). Paul’s use of the singular noun “affliction” in 2 Cor. 4:7 is intriguing. Paul doesn’t say afflictions (plural), which…
