A Brief Introduction to Fasting

A Brief Introduction to Fasting

Fasting is a spiritual discipline that was practiced by Jesus and early Christians and that today is practiced in many places around the world today where the Gospel is growing most rapidly. Yet in the Western church, it is largely ignored. Our culture, which is built...

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Does Christmas Have Pagan Roots?

Every year at Christmas time we hear arguments that our Christmas celebrations are little more than warmed over paganism. We hear that the date was selected to compete with pagan holidays, or worse, to absorb pagan holidays into the church, and that our Christmas...

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Death at Christmas

Hope in the Face of Darkness Back in 2012, a friend of mine who was a pastor in Hartford, Connecticut, asked me to preach at his church. I was preparing to go on a five-week mission trip to Asia, and this would give his congregation a chance to meet me and perhaps to...

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A Brief Introduction to Fasting

A Brief Introduction to Fasting

Fasting is a spiritual discipline that was practiced by Jesus and early Christians and that today is practiced in many places around the world today where the Gospel is growing most rapidly. Yet in the Western church, it is largely ignored. Our culture, which is built...

read more
Misappropriating the Reformation (2): Sola Gratia

Misappropriating the Reformation (2): Sola Gratia

In the first article of this series, I argued that modern American Evangelicalism has misunderstood the teaching of the Reformers that we are saved by faith, not works, and with it the Biblical text that we are not under law but grace.  While it is certainly true that...

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Misappropriating the Reformation (1):  Sola Fide

Misappropriating the Reformation (1): Sola Fide

Although there were many streams of Protestant thought during the sixteenth century, nearly all of them agreed on three key ideas summarized by three Latin phrases: sola fide, we are saved by faith alone; sola gratia, we are saved by grace alone; and sola scriptura,...

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Misappropriating the Reformation (3): Sola Scriptura

The Protestant Reformation was triggered by a conflict over the issue of justification, that is, how our sins are forgiven and how we obtain salvation. To resolve this issue, it was necessary first to address the question of theological methodology: what is your final...

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The Believer’s Three Callings, Part 1

When evangelical Christians think about God’s purpose for the church and for their lives, they often think almost entirely in terms of evangelism. Growing in personal integrity and holiness of life also fits in, but sharing the Gospel is frequently seen as the single...

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