The series will be interrupted almost right away because next Sunday is Ascension and the Sunday after that is Pentecost. But yesterday I began a series through the book of Amos, which will resume after Pentecost.
Epitome of Sin
The word hamartia is used twice in the letters to the Thessalonians. The first use has to do with a particular Jewish sin, and the second with a characteristic Gentile sin. “For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things …
Don’t Let Gossips Drive the Ministry
“Every church, and, for the matter of that, every village and family, is plagued with certain Mrs. Grundys, who drink tea and talk vitriol . . . There are also certain persons who are never so happy as when they are ‘grieved to the heart’ to have to tell the minister that Mr. A. is …
Although It Isn’t
“It once was considered immoral to take a person’s property for the benefit of others by threatening the use of force, but now inequality is advanced as a greater evil than theft” (Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction, p. 181).
William Wilberfarce
I turned on the news this morning only to see Jeremiah Wright giving a talk at the National Press Club, followed by a particularly fruity question and answer session. There is no question but that Wright is bright, quick on his feet, well-read, smarter than almost all his questioners, funny, capable of handling himself in …
Call It Straight
Just a quick follow up on a comment left in an earlier thread. We have names for things, and we need to make sure we use them. As the Church extends kindness to the widow and orphan — using tithes and offerings — we call this pure and undefiled religion. It is the vocation of …
A Big International Galoot
I write as a critic of American empire, not an opponent of it, if you catch my drift. America is doing what large, hegemonic powers have pretty much always done when in this position, and this behavior is not exceptionally vile, as the leftist screechers would have us believe, and it is not especially virtuous, …
Your Mother Cuts Your Meat for You
Several years ago, Pastor Leithart exhorted us, concerning the public reading of the Scriptures, to seek to listen to the Word rather than to just read along with it. This was done to encourage you to add the layer of simply hearing the Word in worship, and not to subtract the experience of reading the …
Confirm Your Stake in Christ
Our confession of faith, the Westminster Confession, says that sacraments are given by God in order to confirm our interest in Him. The word interest does not mean what we would intend if we were to say that we were interested in spiritual things, that is, we wanted to think about them. Rather our interest …
Compassion Radar in the Private Sector
One other comment is necessary on my interaction with Jim Wallis a few posts ago. He said that the abortion debate had grown “stale,” and that we ought to concentrate on reducing abortions instead of outlawing abortion. As I was thinking about it, this question occurred to me — “where has he been?” He speaks …