Today these United States of America celebrate 250 years of sovereign union. The founders wondered immediately how long the union might hold, and the union has certainly been severely tested. With 50 states and millions of people and various climes and challenges, it is a wobbly thing. But here we stand, 250 years old. “God bless America land that I love” When I think … [Read more...] about 250
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250
What Christmas Says
I threw myself my own little, personal Christmas party the other day. The family was around the house, but each person was settled into some activity of their own. So I retreated to the quiet of the dining room. We had on the dining room table a Christmas puzzle underway. Christmastime puzzle working has become a bit of a tradition for us these last few years. We get these … [Read more...] about What Christmas Says
As Far As Scripture Goes
Should we be nuanced these days or bold and blunt? Should we pick a side, or should a third way be pursued? The discussion is ongoing (Link 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ad infinitum). John Frame, writing years before the current debates (c. 2025), provides us with a helpful reminder that neither nuance nor a third way is the point. Being biblical is the point. At the beginning … [Read more...] about As Far As Scripture Goes
Beware Extrabiblical Whizbang
I was studying John 4:1-26. As usual, at some point in the process, I consulted a few commentaries. I was surprised to find two significant disagreements on two mundane details of the text. Disagreement One "And he had to pass through Samaria" (John 4:4, ESV). Disagreement Two "Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting … [Read more...] about Beware Extrabiblical Whizbang
Preach It, Preach It, Preach It
To a chapel full of seminarians, Haddon Robinson stood up to preach a sermon from Romans 4:5, "And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness..." (ESV). It was the fall of 2003. Twenty-three-year-old me was sitting in the balcony, a first year, first semester student at Gordon-Conwell Theological … [Read more...] about Preach It, Preach It, Preach It