I hope it is possible to say this with all reverence, but Jesus was a tough customer. Contrary to popular opinion, the Lord of the gospels was not the original flower child, and He did not come in order to make us all feel better about ourselves. The image that many have of the … [Read more...]

Grace has no handles and is impossible for sinners to pick up. But grace does have hands and consequently has no difficulty picking us up. As long as we cling to our very natural (and sinful) tendency to have some kind of righteousness that we can call our own, this is impossible … [Read more...]

As the ancient preacher pondered the futility of our existence here under the sun, one of his complaints pointed to the problem of inheritance. Each of us will die, and each of us will leave behind us the fruit of our labors. And who knows, the preacher wondered, whether these … [Read more...]

Next time you are shut up in the house -- say it is a rainy day with nothing much to do -- a pleasant and instructive afternoon could be spent with a world atlas. The cartographical exercise I have in mind would perhaps reveal something about the world which is well worth … [Read more...]

A wag once commented that the difference between Americans and Englishmen is that Englishmen think that one hundred miles is a long way, and Americans think one hundred years is a long time. And of course in one sense a hundred years is a long time, or, put more accurately, time … [Read more...]

In his lectures, George Grant has recently been highlighting the remarkable work of Thomas Chalmers, the great Scottish theologian and preacher of the last century. At the center of that work was the concept of "parish." We frequently start our discussions at the wrong end. Say … [Read more...]

In the providence of God, John Knox was a nation builder. But he was emphatically not what we would call a political operative. He was no coalition builder, no maker or shaper of consensus. He knew nothing of polls, but if he had, he would have despised them. He probably never … [Read more...]

We live in a time when most believers have less understanding of the cultural impact of preaching than did some unbelievers of another era. For example, Herman Melville once wrote, "What could be more full of meaning? -- for the pulpit is ever this earth’s foremost part; all the … [Read more...]

Those who are involved in the work of rebuilding Christian education in our culture are usually familiar with Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:4. He says in that place that fathers are to take care to bring up their children in "the nurture and admonition of the Lord." This is taken … [Read more...]

Paul tells us in Ephesians that no man ever hated himself. But at first glance, this might seem counterintuitive to some, especially in this age of self-absorption. Can we really say this about someone who is consistently depressed, filled with self-loathing? Or assert that a … [Read more...]