Martin Luther had a role to play in the reformation as a seed planter. Luther wouldn’t live to see many of the fruits of discussions he had helped begin. He wasn’t a “finisher” in the reformation, he was a starter. He was used tremendously by God to restore and reform the church. Luther’s importance can... Continue Reading

In the face of stubbornness, the sinner must resolve to be comforted by the Lord. There is an awful pride that feigns distress that one’s sins are too great and too numerous to confess. Hooker attacks this bogus belief: “You think you speak against yourself now: no, no, you speak against the Lord. And know,... Continue Reading

While he believed that government had the responsibility to protect the most vulnerable, he always insisted that the voluntary principle was the ideal to spread the Christian faith and to act as the locus of social welfare. When in 1870 compulsory state education was introduced in England, Shaftesbury was incandescent. He was deeply skeptical of... Continue Reading

In calling all Christians to missions and coming alongside them in discerning the call, Spurgeon sought to mobilize gifted, qualified workers for the mission field. Though Spurgeon never became a missionary, his nearly 40-year ministry in London would mobilize men and women for the harvest and produce missionary efforts a hundredfold beyond what he could have... Continue Reading

This “joyous success” of Martin and Katharina’s marriage and the six children who came from their union became, in Pettegree’s words, “a powerful archetype of the new Protestant family.” Luther’s love for his children led him to rightly see that central to the joys of marriage was the gift of sons and daughters.   Our... Continue Reading

Welcome to our Brave New World where Christianity is now a threatened species. And it will keep getting worse if we do not wake up real soon and start taking a stand.   Well, that did not take long. A brand new CEO has been forced out in record-breaking time. Not even 24 hours into... Continue Reading

The division between these two German-speaking men of God and its sad legacy is a sobering reminder of the danger of dividing over issues that cannot be biblically demonstrated as being primary. When facing Christian division — and our day is equally filled with vitriol and misunderstanding between believers.   A few years ago, while... Continue Reading

Once inside the room, the two women who had hoped for this moment, Elaine Edwards and Karen Scheibe, recited the first 10 questions. The lady in charge watched and listened and suddenly seemed to be interested. I then asked if these women, who had worked so hard for this time, could recite the entire Catechism?... Continue Reading

Her main focus was on education. Together with her sisters, she opened a Sunday School for the poor. At a time when there were no public schools, they provided both biblical instruction and basic general education. One school led to another until, within ten years, they had sixteen school in operation. Hannah wrote many of... Continue Reading

Luther sought to create a Bible not to be a bestseller, but one through which individuals would hear God speaking directly to them in their world, in their time, in their place. A Bible that was God’s Word—more accurately, God speaking. Not a passive tool that sits on a shelf or a table or even... Continue Reading