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Does the Church Know Her Commission?
Have you ever wished you could have a do-over? Have you ever looked back on a situation in which you know that you really botched the job and you just wish you could have another crack at it? That is …Read More
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The Good Soil
“Can this dirt grow corn?” One cold, blustery, wet Midwestern spring morning I found myself kneeling in a vast, empty field on the expansive central Illinois plain. With a dozen or so fellow geography classmates, I was picking up handfuls …Read More
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The Thorns
The greater Miami area, where I was born and raised, is one of the most developed regions in the entire state of Florida. There are hardly any wilderness areas left in the midst of the urban sprawl, but every so …Read More
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The Wayside and the Rocks
Matthew 13 begins with three words: “that same day.” They summon us to connect the parable of the sower to the controversy described in the previous passage. Troubles began when Jesus healed a man rendered blind and mute by demonic …Read More
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Grace Alone
Soli Deo gloria is the motto that grew out of the Protestant Reformation and was used on every composition by Johann Sebastian Bach. He affixed the initials SDG at the bottom of each manuscript to communicate the idea that it …Read More
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The Witness of Matthew
In the history of biblical studies, we have seen in the last two centuries the rise of so-called “higher criticism.” So much of higher criticism is fueled by skepticism with respect to the reliability of the biblical texts. Since orthodox …Read More
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A Lingering Obligation
In 1792 a little-known shoe cobbler published a book in which he argued that the Great Commission remains a duty for every generation of Christians. Within two years the author, William Carey, left his native England and became a missionary …Read More
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Christ Forsaken
“Ay, ay, d’ye know what it was—dying on the cross,
forsaken by His Father — d’ye know what it was?…
It was damnation — and damnation taken lovingly.”
— John “Rabbi” Duncan (1796–1870)
“And about the ninth hour Jesus …Read More -
The Prevailing Church (Pt. 1)
The word church is fundamentally a Christian word and belongs exclusively to Christianity. Although other religions have terms such as synagogue and mosque, only Christians legitimately call their house of worship “church.” There are churches that are named after places …Read More
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Mercy for the Impetuous
Peter didn’t just blow it, he blew it badly. “Though they all fall away…I will never fall away” (Matt. 26:33). Peter’s resolution we admire for its confidence and bravery. But it is a statement relying on …Read More
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The Agonizing Prayer
Isaiah wrote prophetically of Jesus that He was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). Though those words were descriptive of His entire life, we see them coming to a climax in the garden of Gethsemane …Read More
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Betrayed
Matthew 26 offers a series of short but brilliantly lit scenes surrounding the betrayal of Jesus. The chapter opens with Christ announcing the end of His public preaching ministry. After this, He says to His disciples: “After two days is …Read More
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The Worldwide Gospel
In His monumental discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, and His second coming at the end of the age (Matt. 24–25), Jesus covers a vast amount of territory. While all of the discourse is important, there …Read More
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A Just War
Throughout His public ministry, Jesus spoke out against the scribes and the Pharisees. Christ sums up His case against them in Matthew 23 as He teaches multitudes and His disciples at the temple on the Tuesday of Passion Week. Christ …Read More
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A Holy Calling
A preacher once paraphrased a bygone theologian as a challenge to his congregation: “To convert one sinner from his way, is an event of greater importance than the deliverance of sub-Saharan Africa from the problem of AIDS.” He went on …Read More
