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Mar 2018 30 Mar 30, 2018
3

Following the death two weeks ago of Stephen Hawking, there was much discussion about whether or not he believed in God. Some insisted he remained an atheist to the bitter end, while others suggested that he had a death-bed conversion. To the latter I cannot speak, but I do have an opinion on his attitude regarding the existence of God. He was not, in my opinion, an atheist. He may have claimed to be an atheist. But he wasn’t, and neither is anyone else. What follo...Read More

Mar 2018 28 Mar 28, 2018
4

The story of the triumphal entry Matthew 21 tells a rather dramatic, often intense, remarkably tender, and yet in places even violent story about who Jesus is. It provides us with a window into the soul of our Savior. During Passover the population of Jerusalem swelled to 10x its normal size; thousands in and around the Temple complex gathered to pray, to offer their sacrifices, to perform ceremonial cleansings, rituals of purification, paying their tithes, and no doubt...Read More

Mar 2018 26 Mar 26, 2018
8

In recent years there has appeared a radical departure from traditional theism that has come to be known as the Openness of God theory or Open Theism. Although there are numerous components in this new view of God, in this article I only take note of ten of them. You should also know that what follows is not a critique of the openness theory, but simply an explanation of its basic ideas. (1) Proponents of the openness doctrine believe that the classical view of God in w...Read More

Mar 2018 21 Mar 21, 2018
2

I want to bring to your attention a new book that everyone needs to read. The author, Jack Deere, is a long-time friend of mine with whom I was in seminary back in the 1970’s. Here is the description of the book from the inside cover. Following that I’ve included my personal endorsement of this riveting memoir. “A powerful memoir of finding beauty and friendship through the pain of loss, tragedy, and brokenness, Even in Our Darkness explores what it me...Read More

Mar 2018 19 Mar 19, 2018
3

What do we mean when we affirm the inerrancy of the Bible? The importance of that question has not diminished in the least. It is as crucial today as it was 100 years ago. So let’s look at ten things that will help us understand what we mean (and don’t mean) when we speak of an inerrant Bible. First, though, it would be helpful to note that among evangelicals, two views of biblical inerrancy have dominated the landscape. Some embrace what has been called &ld...Read More

Mar 2018 16 Mar 16, 2018

This past Wednesday, March 14, one of the more brilliant scientists of our generation passed away. Stephen Hawking was 76 years old. In the immediate aftermath of his death numerous news services and blogs described his dire warnings to those of us who remain alive on Earth. Hawking believed that if certain changes aren’t made, the world as we know it will come to an end and life on earth will cease. Among the many potential causes of the end of life on Earth note...Read More

Mar 2018 14 Mar 14, 2018
9

In a blogpost earlier this week I identified ten things that we should all know about covenant membership in the local church. But there are still people who object to the idea and resist it at all costs? Why? There are several reasons, all of which share one thing in common. I wonder if you can identify what it is. What follows is the response I provided to those at Bridgeway Church here in OKC who were hesitant about our implementation of covenant membership. (1) If w...Read More

Mar 2018 12 Mar 12, 2018
3

Membership in a local church is very much in the minds of Christians these days. Is it biblical? Is it necessary? Is it helpful? These and other questions lead to the following ten things you should know about what church membership means and entails. [In addition to my own research, I’ve drawn heavily on the writings of John Piper, Michael McKinley, Jim Elliff, Mark Dever, and Kevin DeYoung.] Perhaps the best place to begin is by asking the question: What do you ...Read More

Mar 2018 7 Mar 7, 2018
7

Once again an extremely popular worship song is coming under scrutiny. This time it is Cory Asbury’s song, “Reckless Love.” We sing it regularly here at Bridgeway and I encourage you to do so as well. I was more than a little surprised when a few people pushed back, wondering if it was biblically and theologically appropriate to speak of God’s love as “reckless.” Then I was informed that similar questions were being raised by others a...Read More

Mar 2018 5 Mar 5, 2018
2

The fact that your immediate and instinctive response to this topic is probably somewhat (or considerably) negative reflects how far removed we are today from the spirit of the New Testament. As we’ll see, a commitment to discipline in the local church is indicative not only of one’s love for holiness, as well as those lingering in sin, but most of all for the Lord Jesus who “gave himself up for her [i.e., the Church], that he might sanctify her, having...Read More

Mar 2018 2 Mar 2, 2018
14

The reality of hell and eternal punishment is not a popular topic, even among Christians. Part of the problem is that the nature of hell has been horribly distorted in our culture and portrayed as an experience that is far from what we read in the NT. When I’m asked why I believe in hell, my response is three-fold. First, I have such unshakable and robust confidence in the inerrant truth of every word in the Bible that the matter is already settled before I even r...Read More