by Paul Downey Ministries need a Biblical and philosophical basis for rejecting popular music in favor of conservative, traditional music. The music used in our churches and schools should provide a high-quality, meaningful alternative to the high-pressure worldly influence of popular music. While the text is important, it is by no means the only criterion…
Read Moreby Brad McKenzie Recently, while preparing the walls and ceilings of our house for painting and papering, I have gained additional experience with an electric sander. In fact, one of three sanders I have used literally fell apart through frequent use. This enabled me for the first time to look at the mechanism, normally hidden…
Read MoreLast week we posted an article containing questions for Matt Olson and Northland International University. Some have suggested that this post – “What Matters Most: How We Draw the Lines” – contains the answers to our questions. It is not clear whether Matt is answering us or simply continuing a series (see Part 1 and…
Read Moreby John Vaughn Nothing seems to provoke dogmatic statements like dogmatic statements. Solomon said in Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” The thoughts in this column are a sincere attempt at a soft answer, but they may still touch a nerve. Most of our controversies involve three…
Read Moreby Ken Stephens According to a recent article in Psychology Today, “the average six-year-old laughs 300 times a day, the average adult, just 17.” Why is that? Somewhere along the line, we learned not to laugh. That’s right. A baby giggles for the first time at about nine weeks of age. Between 4–6 months, touch…
Read Moreby Don Johnson An occasional series on sanctification — Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here. We’ve covered two topics in this series so far, the Strategy of Sanctification (Rm 6) and the Struggle for Sanctification (Rm 7). God offers us the former and we generally experience the latter. When you get to the…
Read Moreby David L. Cummins This article first appeared in FrontLine • July/August 2000. Click here to subscribe to the magazine. Modern-day believers do well from time to time to meditate upon heroes from yesteryear, and then pause to consider that, in some small way by God’s grace, we might become miniature heroes for a future…
Read MoreA blog we’ve noticed recently is written by Michael J. Kruger, Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. This week he gives us an interesting article, Apocryphal Gospels and the Mainstream Media. The early church didn’t pick the gospels, but inherited them. Kent Dobson and Mars Hill Bible Church: Mars Hill…
Read Moreby Doug Bachorik Jr. Many churches that are sound in the Scripture, doctrine, theology, and practice have changed the foundation upon which musical decisions are made. This shift in musical philosophy is sometimes defended by statements such as, “The Bible has nothing to say about musical styles,” or “There is no abominable praise.” These bold,…
Read Moreby Don Johnson An occasional series on sanctification — Part 1 is here. In my first article on sanctification, I discussed God’s Strategy for Sanctification, found in Romans 6. Four big words dominate the chapter: Know, Reckon, Yield, Obey. The strategy starts with Knowing something – the full meaning of your identification with the death…
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