Here’s a blast from the past: A blog post in which I explain my disagreement with a fellow United Methodist pastor and author named Jason Micheli. I’ve never met him, but years ago he was gracious enough to let me write a guest blog post on his blog. Read the article that was posted on Ministry […]

I see you, Gospel Coalition—going all Babylon Bee on us. Andrew Wilson applies nearly every argument made by sex-and-marriage revisionists to idolatry. Here’s what he has to say about how we “traditionalists” have misused Paul: With all of these preliminary ideas in place, we can finally turn to Paul, who’s sadly been used as a judgmental battering ram […]

The following is mostly a sermon about one word, “Therefore.” It appears at the beginning of verse 13. It means that everything that Peter commands us to do—and there are four commands in this passage—is in response to what God has already done for us. I conclude by reflecting on Peter’s emphasis on the mind: […]

Today marks the beginning of a new sermon series in 1 Peter. Its message couldn’t be more relevant for us today: the apostle Peter wants us to know deep and lasting happiness in Jesus Christ, which we can experience no matter what is happening in our lives. Even the suffering we experience and the trials […]

My friend and regular contributor to this blog, Tom Harkins, and I have had a long and productive conversation (with Grant) in the comments section of my previous blog post. It’s about the relationship between faith and works. In fact, I mentioned this debate in last Sunday’s sermon. Tom and I agree that “easy-believism” in the contemporary church is a deadly-serious problem. […]

I’ve been teaching a Bible study on Galatians every Wednesday night for a few months now. In my opinion, it’s one of the best things I’ve done in my ministry so far. Last night we covered Galatians 3:1-6. You may recall that Paul is writing to a church that is being led astray by “Judaizers,” […]

The angel in today’s scripture didn’t tell Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, “Jesus isn’t here. He is risen. Take my word for it.” He said, “Go and see!” And so we should rightly expect that if the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a real historical event—like any historical event that we know about—there should […]

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem in the Triumphal Entry, he was sending the world a message: “I am the world’s true king.” This sermon challenges us to consider the meaning of Christ’s kingship over our lives and world. Are there ways in which we resist his kingship? How is Christ calling us to change? Sermon Text: Matthew […]

In my Easter sermon from this year, which I will post on my blog soon, I spend about half the sermon talking about evidence for the resurrection, based on clues from the sermon text, Matthew 28:1-20. The text itself invites us to look at the evidence. Frederick Dale Bruner, the theologian whose commentary on Matthew has proven […]

If you’re unfamiliar with the world of critical scholarship, which takes for granted that the author of 1 and 2 Peter writes pseudonymously, this question may seem ridiculous. But for people like me, a late convert to theologically conservative evangelicalism, who holds the authority of scripture in highest esteem, I feel compelled to grapple with it. After all, I […]