The Gift of Faith

It never struck me, quite the way it did this week, how very alone Jesus was as he went to the cross.

A couple friends and I are doing a Bible study through the Gospel of Mark. This week, we met to discuss chapter 14, verses 26–31. Jesus and his disciples had just finished the Passover meal, they sang the Passover hymn, and then they headed to the Mount of Olives. On the way, Jesus quoted to the disciples from the Prophet Zechariah, telling them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered’…” I’ve read that many times before, but it struck me with greater force this week as I noticed something in the sequence of events leading up to that statement.

National Covenanting: A Realistic Solution for the Economy?

I’ve been thinking about the current economic crisis, and whether the Covenanter doctrine of National Covenanting is for such a time as this. I thought I would post some of those thoughts here to invite discussion from anyone interested—mostly as an exercise in thinking through the practical application of that biblical doctrine we call, “National Covenanting.”

The King’s Speech

The King’s Speech has just been released on DVD. This is one of those rare films that both tells a great story and promotes a noble message.

Though the film’s plot is based on King George VI’s struggle to overcome speaking difficulties, the film is actually a story about friendship.

Vindicated

I have recently started preaching in the Gospel according to Luke. I was captivated, right off the bat, with Luke’s opening scene. And with one character in that scene, in particular. And especially with one quality of that person.

The opening scene of Luke’s account is a prayer service at the Temple. After the narrator’s prologue (1:1-4), Luke pulls back the curtains and on the stage we see the worshiping crowds gathering at the Temple for an afternoon prayer service, where Zechariah the priest is on duty. There are several characters in the passage,

Why the Fifth Point Matters

I had lunch recently with a four-point Calvinist. He knew I was a five-pointer and asked why I believed in “Limited Atonement”—the one point of the five with which he disagreed. It was a sincere question, and I appreciated the opportunity to talk about such an important doctrine.

Limited Atonement (the teaching that Jesus died for specific people, not for everyone) is often the hardest to embrace of the so-called “five points of Calvinism.” (The five points, for review, are Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and