Part of a new weekly series on the book of Matthew. This week: Matthew 12:38-41 Jonah had no idea what to expect the day he walked into Nineveh. As the capital of the Assyrian Empire, it was quite possibly the largest city in the known world. The inner city was surrounded by walls 8 miles…
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Scoffing, he said, ‘Couldn’t these people think of anything else to paint?’ If there ever was a case of art in the cause for Christ then this anecdote will certainly qualify. In fact, as Peter Hitchens put it in his book , 500 years after his death Van der Weyden was still earning his…
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Haunted. Convicted. Blessed. Condemned. These are words that often describe people’s response to Jesus’ death. But before we can even talk about that, we first need to establish what Jesus’ death accomplished. We need to talk about propitiation. What DID Jesus’ Death Accomplish? Propitiation. Big word. Probably means nothing to you. But this is…
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While wandering around the yesterday with my family I kept thinking to myself, “I wonder if my children will grow up to be geologists or pollen scientists.” Then it hit me. I could encourage them to go this route…and for the rest of their lives they’d pour over geology books… Sift through the sediment found at…
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Christian faith is often brittle. It’s often punctuated with moments of doubt. Persecution. Isolation. Fear. We can sometimes spend entire nights staring at the ceiling or pacing the floor praying, “God, I cannot do this unless I know you are with me. Where are you? Don’t hide. Please. I need you.” It’s as if God’s…
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Simply believing in the gospel message doesn’t amount to saving faith. There’s something more. When the Apostles proclaimed the gospel in the first century, it had a certain content. People could reject that content. But they could also accept it as true. They could even believe in it. Yet, that still left them with out true…
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One intriguing aspect of Jonathan Edwards’ defense of the doctrine of original sin is his appeal to reason. He suggests that if the Bible were silent on the matter, thinking people would still come to the conclusion that sin is a universal reality. Here’s how he did it. Questions for Those Who Reject the Doctrine of Original…
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For all the talk of God’s sovereignty, election and spiritual bondage, the Bible unequivocally clamps down on our reaction to the gospel… There’s no missing it: We are responsible for exercising our faith. We are, in the end, held accountable to “call upon the Lord.” Here’s Peter and Paul’s take on it: And it shall come to pass…
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Ever wonder how you got the faith necessary to believe Christ is the Son of God? Some people would tell you that God’s grace assists a believer to exercise his faith… A faith that’s native to his being. That’s the so-called semi-Pelagian view. And on this view, everything depends decisively on a person’s response. But…
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Seems not quite right: A former–and still struggling–rage junkie would have something to say about managing anger. But indeed. I do. Quite a lot. As you’ll see in a minute. Let me start with this: I think anger management is an awkward, if not inappropriate, title. See, anger is not managed. It is subdued. But…
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