I’m assuming you have read my previous article, Following Christ Together: Solitary Christianity is Not Genuine Christianity. What did you think of it? I envisioned two groups of people would read it. Some of you aren’t committed to a local church. You read the article, you saw the Scripture passages, and it all made sense.…
The Thinking Christian: Biblical Wisdom in an Emotionally Driven World FRONTLINE Volume 34 • Number 6 From my earliest memories, Thanksgiving and Christmas have been some of the most delightful moments of my life. I must immediately thank my godly parents for being the wellspring of that delight. I love Christmas! I suspect that when most…
This is the last of three parts in a series. For the first and second posts, click here and here. The Trial of Your Faith Suffering looms large in the epistle of 1 Peter. This epistle was written during the reign of the notoriously ruthless Roman emperor Nero. While it appears that Peter’s readers were…
Thanksgiving. “Praise is the rent we owe to God, and the larger the farm the larger the rent. The Lord has many fine farms from which He receives little rent.”1 Psalm 105 Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to…
Sober and sombre are differentiated by just one letter, but they mean very different things.1 “Sober,” in modern usage, means “not drunk”. Its fuller meaning is “clear-thinking, serious-minded, respectful, wise”. In Scripture, to be sober-minded is to be without the flippancy, silliness, irrationality, and impulsiveness so common among those who are inebriated. A sober person takes life seriously…
As a pastor in Australia, there are two questions I must constantly answer in conversation: “What is the gospel?” and “What is a church?” I have come to see that they are, in some respects, the same question. After 17 years in the US, I returned to Australia two years ago. Getting outside the US…
Many people will be giving thanks this week—and probably a number who refuse to do so depending on their view of the recent elections. Believers always have reason to give thanks regardless of how the circumstances of life turn. It is such a renewing and invigorating exercise when we take the time to meditate on…
In today’s session we are talking to Mark Swedberg, veteran missionary in Brazil. He wrote an article for our September/October FrontLine called “Revelation: When Does God’s Wrath Begin?” What he is addressing is the challenge to the pretribulation rapture brought on by those who teach a “pre-wrath rapture” position. The article fits in to the…
This is the second of three parts in a series. For the first post, click here. An Inheritance Reserved in Heaven Peter further explains that God the Father “hath begotten us again unto a lively hope . . . to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you”…
Let’s imagine we took children seriously. What would that look like? To be serious-minded regarding our children would be to fully understand their nature and their destiny. A clear-headed approach to children recognises that these are image-bearers, responsible and accountable to their Creator. As small, cute, and amusing as they may be, they are immortals,…