A shift has taken place in the Evangelical church with regard to the way we think about the gospel and it’s far from simply an ivory tower conversation. This shift affects us on the ground of everyday life. In his book Paul: An Outline of His Theology, famed Dutch Theologian Herman Ridderbos (1909 – 2007) summarizes this shift which took place following Calvin and Luther. It was a sizable but subtle shift which turned the focus of “the gospel” from Christ’s external accomplishment to our internal appropriation: While in Calvin and Luther all the emphasis fell on the redemptive event […]

When it comes to the raising of children, one-way love is both the easiest thing in the world and the hardest. How many of us have responded to the experience of becoming a parent for the first time by saying, “I finally understand how powerful and profound of a thing it is that God considers us His children!” The relationship we have with a baby, after all, is about as one-way as it gets. They need and we give, period. They have no illusions about their own power. The very idea that a baby might do something to deserve our […]

American culture does not deal well with the reality of death. Most people live in denial of it. We pretend it will never happen to us or to someone we love. When death touches our life in some way, most of us don’t know how to act, what to say or how to grieve. In other cultures death is accepted and confronted in all its reality. It used to be more so in our recent past. People would be cared for at home and often die there. The body would be viewed and the wake held at home over perhaps […]

Our God can beat up your gods! That’s a bold statement, right? Make it into, “Our God created your gods,” and it’s a little less schoolyard bully-ish, but it becomes even more bold. This is a serious claim. You may not have seen it, but that bold statement is right there in the beginning of Genesis. Genesis is God’s word to the Hebrews through Moses, a people fleeing slavery and headed for the Promised Land. When Moses describes the creation of the world, he isn’t just telling a story about a bunch of things He made. If we can think […]