"Blogging the Institutes" is my on-going attempt to paraphrase John Calvin's work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion. You can find out more about the series in the Introduction. For all the posts in this series, check out the Master List. God Opposes Idols The Bible regularly speaks of God using common, everyday terms so that we…
Blogging the Institutes–1.10.3–One, True God; All Others Excluded
"Blogging the Institutes" is my on-going attempt to paraphrase John Calvin's work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion. You can find out more about the series in the Introduction. For all the posts in this series, check out the Master List. One True God; All Others Excluded Here's a quick summary of "theology proper"--the teaching about God.…
Sexual Temptation while Sleeping (And How to Fight It)
Fighting for sexual purity is absolutely crucial, especially for young men. It is a difficult fight, but one every Christian is capable of winning through the power of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing more discouraging, however, than fighting for purity and thinking you've won that fight, only to be besieged by temptation randomly. One particular…
Fatherhood for Older Father’s
Two weeks ago I preached on fatherhood from Ephesians 6:4. Unfortunately, due to a congregational medical emergency, I wasn't able to conclude my message. Here is my conclusion: Some of you in here may be thinking, "What can I do? My children are all grown up and out of the house! I've blown it with my…
Suburban Ministry–The Challenges of Reaching Men, Pt. 2
In a previous post, I looked at some of the challenges of reaching men in suburban culture. The two issues I raised were "pragmatic" issues: busyness and scheduling. They are practical realities which affect (afflict?) men in my Northeastern suburban context, about 45 minutes outside of NYC. Today, I want to explore some further issues…
Blogging the Institutes–1.10.2–God’s Attributes. Explained.
"Blogging the Institutes" is my on-going attempt to paraphrase John Calvin's work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion. You can find out more about the series in the Introduction. For all the posts in this series, check out the Master List. God's Attributes. Explained. Certain Bible passages vividly describe God's attributes. Moses provides us for a summary…
Blogging the Institutes–1.10.1–In creation and word, God is the same
"Blogging the Institutes" is my on-going attempt to paraphrase John Calvin's work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion. You can find out more about the series in the Introduction. For all the posts in this series, check out the Master List. In Creation and Word, God is the Same God displays the knowledge of Himself even more clearly…
Suburban Ministry–The Challenges of Reaching Men
The church has a manhood problem. Or most of the statistics say so. Whether or not the statistics are true, the Christian publishing industry has certainly churned out many books speaking to the issue (For example, see Why Men Hate Going to Church). I think I can say that the anecdotal evidence at LBC may point in the…
Blogging the Institutes–1.9.3–The Word and the Spirit Form an Unbreakable Bond
"Blogging the Institutes" is my on-going attempt to paraphrase John Calvin's work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion. You can find out more about the series in the Introduction. For all the posts in this series, check out the Master List. The Word and the Spirit Form an Unbreakable Bond When these false teachers criticize us for…
Suburban Ministry–The challenges
I am inspired to write about doing pastoral ministry in the suburbs from a set of tweets by author/blogger Hannah Anderson, who was encouraging her husband to blog about pastoral ministry in rural VA, I believe. I also find that it can helpful to talk out my ideas (hopefully a few successes and probably a bunch of…
Raising Lazarus 