Are you getting in the way of God’s work?

‘We all know that God uses his people to bless others. I’m sure you’ve been there—that perfectly timed conversation where all the words were right and were said at the right time, and the runway was cleared for the good news to land and do its work. A glorious thing to behold and an honor to be a part of. At the same time, I’m sure you can remember when the exact opposite was true…’

Is congregational singing historical?

I’m not sure I’ve particularly seen a decline in congregational singing. But this one makes clear that it wasn’t just an invention by the reformers.

Held by tender hands

This is a lovely bit of writing.

Conflicts over lesser matters

‘Church life isn’t always easy. As we seek to live godly lives in Christ Jesus, there will be—and there should be—disagreement over disputable matters. There will be legitimate Christian freedoms over which we don’t come to the same opinions. As we seek to resolve those, we must pray for those with whom we don’t agree by saying to God, “Help me to think well of my brother or sister.” The devil loves to divide God’s church, and we must guard against him, giving him no foothold in church life.’

Conscience binding, media ecology, and theological controversy

‘There is something innate in the fallen hearts of men that gives them an insatiable desire to seek to bind the consciences of others on just about every given matter.’

Biblical interpretation is more than stacking verses

‘We cannot merely stack up Bible verses, making biblical claims based on a handful of verses that are isolated from their immediate and broader biblical contexts. We must interpret the Bible rightly.’

From the archive: Two questions for baptists who admit paedobaptists to membership

‘The point of catholicity isn’t that you can demand that my church agrees with all the doctrinal positions of your church. The point is that, though I cannot accept you as a member of this church, I nonetheless acknowledge you as a brother or sister who may belong to another church. We all place membership fences around more than kingdom essentials. Catholicity is not undermined by insisting on doctrinal distinctives, it actually finds its full expression in saying despite our doctrinal distinctives we can nevertheless acknowledge brothers who belong within different congregations whilst respecting their differing convictions. That necessarily includes not insisting they deny their view, because it is not your view, for the sake of catholicity.’