A thorough understanding of these significant realities that take place each week we gather for corporate worship, Cruse suggests, should lead us to intentional preparation and heartfelt engagement in the service. We won’t chase after excitement or entertainment; rather, we will be satisfied with the simplicity and “ordinariness” of what we do, recognizing that truly... Continue Reading

Gilson writes with straightforward and clear prose, balancing grace and truth. Her clear-eyed, nuanced approach and wise insights will help anyone in the church to see more of the goodness of God in the sexual ethic of Scripture. Born Again This Way will also help ordinary Christians gain a better understanding of this complicated subject. Ultimately,... Continue Reading

Trials in the hospital drive us to our knees. They plunge us into despair and churn up questions about God’s love that leave us aching for help. Yet, thanks be to God, because of the great love with which he loved us, whatever trials we endure now, Christ has already “borne our griefs and carried... Continue Reading

Whether you emphasize range and broad sampling or deliberate practice and the head start, you’re best off when you resist the temptation to skate through life, giving yourself to neither strenuous practice in a field nor broad training and knowledge across disciplines.    A few weeks ago, I devoted a column to Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 Rule,” a... Continue Reading

Those who should be speaking out against all this are not, for various reasons. But it is imperative that they do. As Peta says, “This is a war that needs to be fought. If Australia is to flourish, all of us must be confident that, on balance, we can be proud of our country’s history... Continue Reading

Every human is a gardener at heart, haunted by a longing for Eden, as Minari masterfully shows. Yet no earthly place we’ve settled in—or migrated from—will ever satisfy our desire for a better country, the “heavenly one” where God’s people will dwell forever with Christ (Heb. 11:16).   When I first saw the trailer for Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari, I was... Continue Reading

Strauch writes as an elder to other elders, and as a man with extensive experience who seeks to help those with less experience…a particular area of focus is Paul’s knowledge that fierce wolves would soon be preying upon the flock—some approaching from outside the church and some even arising from within it.   There are... Continue Reading

Unfortunately, our current cultural context does not allow for the free exchange of ideas like prior generations. Now, if you say another religion is wrong, it is taken as an act of hostility or aggression. Disagreement is the same as disrespect in most people’s eyes. Thus, we need to work hard to make sure our... Continue Reading

Although not without the occasional inconsistency, Embodied is marked by a powerful commitment to biblical truth matched by an equally strong concern for real people. Accordingly, the work is set in a decidedly pastoral frame and is marked by a deeply compassionate tone throughout.   Of all the recent evangelical engagements with the questions raised by transgender... Continue Reading

The author not only gives Darwin credit for highlighting the problems with a “fixity of species,” he wants today’s scientists to question like Darwin. Jeanson argues that if they used this same scientific critical approach it would back today’s creationism and tear down today’s evolution.   How’s this for an intriguing thesis for a creationist book: Darwin... Continue Reading