By grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone
It is called the “Hjalli Teaching Model.” Founded in 1989 by self-described “radical feminist” Margret Pala Olafsdottir, several nursery and elementary schools in Iceland (where Olafsdottir is from) now use the model. The goal? Their words, “to counter stereotypical gender roles and behaviors.” At the schools, everything is gender-neutral, including the identical uniforms boys and […]
How do our kids stay Christian? Is there a more pressing question for Christian parents? And the question is vitally important for churches to address, too. We know the theological answer. God sovereignly ordains salvation. And that He preserves those He calls to saving faith. All good and well. But God also ordains the means […]
One-hundred years ago, G.K. Chesterton quipped, “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it” (Everlasting Man). There is too much floating these days. The cultural stream is running fast. In fact, it is no longer a stream. It is a raging river. How can we fight […]
“When sin grows ripe, and abounds in a land or nation, at such a time as this a man may know there is some fearful judgment approaching. But when is sin ripe?” Puritan pastor Richard Sibbes asked the question 400 years ago. Many have asked it since. Every generation has cause to do so. A […]
Not long ago I came across the story behind the Christmas hymn, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Morning.” The hymn is based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem written during the Civil War. Obviously, it was a dark time for our nation. Adding to this, Longfellow had just tragically lost his wife and his son […]
Early in redemptive history, God gave the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. He did so on the heels of the exile. Israel, in Egyptian bondage for four centuries, was miraculously rescued from her servitude. Regarding the Law, God’s people were promised blessings for obedience, and curses for disobedience. The greatest curse promised was exile […]
I did not want to write this blog. I have grown weary of the topic. But a copy of an editorial from Saturday’s The News Tribune has been next to my desktop all week. The way the op-ed printed from my electronic copy of the paper has a photo of the article’s author on the […]
Washington Irving published his fanciful tale, Rip Van Winkle in 1819. The story is set in late 18th century America. Rip was squirrel hunting in the Catskill Mountains, dulled by drink he lays down for a nap. Deep sleep doesn’t explain the half of it. He wakes up 20 years later thinking it was the […]
I was boning up on my C.R. Wiley this week, taking off the shelf my copy of “The Household and the War for the Cosmos,” given that he will be our guest speaker a week from this Saturday at our Men’s Breakfast. I was reminded of a quote from the book I found particularly insightful: […]
It’s bland. It has little taste, color, or smell. It goes down easy, really easy—no chewing necessary. I’m not talking about oatmeal. I’m talking about evangelicalism. It’s mild, plain, and vapid. It’s been told to stay in the corner and it has for years. It has been told to stay within its four-walls and it […]
On April 25, 2020, six weeks into ceasing Sunday morning worship at the directive of our governor, I preached a sermon entitled, “Who Says We Can’t Meet During the Virus?” It was an exposition of Romans 13:1-7. In it we spoke of “sphere sovereignty,” the teaching from Scripture that God has ordained three major “governments”—the […]
Time to revisit Narnia. In that wonderous land where Aslan roared, animals talked. Not all of them, those from adjacent lands were…well…animals. And not all animals in Narnia bowed their knee to the Great Lion, either. In book four (Prince Caspian), sisters Lucy and Susan are speaking with one another. Lucy begins: “Such a horrible […]