[Many Christian schools] “see our pluralistic society as a great tossed salad, and they are simply one small evangelical crouton . . . Although they would never state it so baldly, they appear to have quietly translated the Great Commission into something like, ‘Therefore go unto all nations, and do your best to fit right …
Vision 20/20 Posts On Sitler
As many of you know, the fracas this last week over the Steven Sitler situation occurred (for the most part) on a listserve discussion here in Moscow called Vision 20/20. I subscribed to it for the course of a few days, and then when it appeared that continued discussion in that setting would be counterproductive, …
Playing Chess on a Backgammon Board
I want to spend a few minutes discussing one of the larger lessons to be taken from the Sitler child molestation case. This is not being done to drag this thing out, or tangle it up further, but rather just the reverse. The way that this thing has been cynically used by the enemies of …
This is Not What We Meant by a Postmillennial Takeover
“It has not gone unnoticed in the secular world that there is gold in these religious hills. The result is that today there are evangelical publishing houses which are the religious arms of secular corporations, and Songs 4 Worship, a successful collection of Christian music, lavishly advertised on the TV networks was launched by Time-Life. …
Religious Claims Are Always Total
“Religious claims are always total — all-encompassing. If Christ is not the Lord of all, then He is not the Lord at all. To claim that a particular religious dogma is not total is tantamount to the claim that it is not really religious. In short, such limitations are always a denial of the faith …
Ezra Nehemiah 22
Introduction: We come now to the conclusion of the great story of the work of reformation conducted under Ezra and Nehemiah. And at the conclusion of this work, we find that there is still much to do. There is always much to do. Semper reformanda. The Text: “On that day they read in the book …
Though I Am Very Small
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Righteous are Your judgments, Lord And all Your ways upright. Your testimonies are a light, True righteousness and faithfulness Are given to us in Your law. I am consumed with faithful zeal Your enemies forget The words revealed for us to keep, …
The BB Gun and the Plate Glass Window
Once there was a boy who disobeyed his mother. When confronted with it, he confessed it to her (under some pressure), but when she sought to talk to him about it, he muttered something about how he had done most of what she had said. She tried to talk to him about this, but he …
Showing the Lord’s Death
In the words of institution that we use, the apostle Paul says that as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we show the Lord’s death until He comes. Now the verb show here means to proclaim or declare. This means that the entire communicant Church preaches or announces or declares. What …
What I Do For A Living
I am a pastor. And I cover up sin for a living. In order to talk about such things intelligently, the gospel must always come first. God gives sinful man a most reasonable offer. Come, let us reason together, He says. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. As far …