Twenty-four years of pastoral ministry have taught me that moms—especially mothers of young children—often come to church feeling tired, then return from church feeling guilty. While at church, they hear sermons and announcements about doing evangelism and serving in the church, and they often sense that they are failures at both. There never seems to […]
When it comes to spirituality, you do what you do because you believe what you believe. Regardless of the importance you consciously place upon it, theology drives and determines your spirituality. For example, you pray the way you do because of your theology. And there are certain ways you do not pray, more because of […]
One of my favorite stories in the Gospels is the Transfiguration of Jesus. I sometimes imagine that if I could go back in time and be present for any event in the Gospels prior to the crucifixion, I would choose the Transfiguration. And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John […]
Some of the most important changes in my life occurred when I thought to ask, “What does the Bible say about this?” The way I spend the Lord’s Day, for example, and my thinking about what activities please God in worship were dramatically changed when I purposed to study what God’s Word said about those […]
Sneeze, and someone is likely to say, “Bless you!” Back in the days of Moses and his brother Aaron, to speak words of blessing to someone was no empty formality. In Numbers 6:22-27, God provided specific instructions for how the Old Testament priests were to pronounce the Lord’s blessing on His people: The Lord spoke […]
As a lifelong baseball fan and a player from Little League through college, I love “inside baseball.” I’m captivated by the minutiae, strategy, and nuances of the game that are a bit too esoteric for most people’s interests. So I really enjoyed a Sports Illustrated[1] article that contained an intriguing take on a particular statistic. […]
“Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes” (Psalm 119:155). One characteristic of those the Bible describes as “wicked” is that they do not seek God’s statutes, God’s Word. For that reason, “Salvation is far from” them since the way of salvation—the way to God—is found only in the Word […]
I was interviewed by Jason Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO, about family worship. At the link below you will find both audio and a transcript of the interview. You can link to the page on President Allen’s website here. On this page you can find information about my book, Family […]
[To read part 1 of this post, click here.] The Role of Spiritual Disciplines Although the Holy Spirit gives a believer the desire and the power for a biblical spirituality, a certain reformatting of the life and habits must also take place to practice a Gospel-centered piety. Thus Paul also wrote, “Train yourself for godliness” […]
As you’ve surely noticed, everyone is “spiritual” today. I saw a USAToday survey where even a majority of atheists consider themselves “spiritual” people. Come to think of it, I’ve never heard anyone say, “You know, I’m just not a spiritual person.” What is spirituality? Perhaps for many spirituality simply means spending time occasionally in personal […]
