The exposition of each of the ten commandments has now been concluded. Once the terms are established and made clear, the covenant is made (Dt. 27-30). One of the great features of covenants, the blessings and curses, is now set plainly before the people. The blessings and curses are mountains on either side of the …
Deacons and the Woman (1 Tim. 3:8-13)
INTRODUCTION: The apostle Paul then turns to the office of deacon, which is, in many ways, a mysterious office. We are given the qualifications for the office here, but an explicit job description is never given to us. We have some idea from the fact that the synagogue had a deacon, called a chazan, and …
Worship Right, Work Hard, Study Deep, and Play Harder
One of the measurments for God’s blessings we can use around here is how many times I am compelled to resort to making a Shameless Appeal. When I first added that category to this blog, it was occasionally used, but now it seems to me that I am always telling or reminding you about something …
Then or Now
As Edmund in Mansfield Park put it, “We do not look in great cities for our best morality”
And Stay There
As a result of the atheism jag I am currently on, I received a very courteous letter from an unbelieving woman in the Chicago area. Her letter concluded this way. “Rev. Wilson, religion should be private. It belongs in churches, mosques, temples, etc. and in parochial schools. Most importantly, it belongs in people’s hearts.” The …
Islamist-Chic
“This has produced the extraordinary phenomenon of radical Islam—which denies female equality and preaches death to gays—marching under the banner of human rights. The self-styled progressives on the British left, for whom human rights have replaced Christianity as the religion for a godless society, have formed a jaw-dropping axis with militant, fundamentalist Islamism. These two …
Gotta Monger Something
“The executive director of the National Religious Broadcasters Association sums up what he calls an unwritten law of all television preachers: ‘You can get your share of the audience only by offering people something they want’” (Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death, p. 105).
The Born-Again Lobotomized
“The evangelical Church at large has opted for the superficial in worship. Devotees whoop and holler their way through trite upbeat songs; sometimes the songs are even blasphemous. At a conference, I once saw grown Christians jumping up and down, lustily singing away, with hand motions, splish-splashing in the blood of Christ. And when the …
Sides and Parts
“It is not peace but party that they mind. The greater part of their studies is to study sides and parts” (Burroughs, Irenicum, p. 168).
Information as Gold
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 120 “There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel” (Prov. 20:15). This is the verse that requires—for all who would prosper in business—spread sheets, financial reports, budgets, and so on. Information …