Why we follow some Old Testament laws and not others
‘Critics accuse Christians of conveniently picking and choosing from Old Testament laws. We’re quick to “clobber” gay people with verses from Leviticus, they say, yet we don’t keep kosher ourselves. The complaint, though, is based on a misunderstanding about the Mosaic Covenant that even Christians fall prey to.’
Do elders’ children have to be believers? (video)
I always enjoy Bill Mounce’s videos. They’re short and so helpful. This one looks at what is required of an elder’s children if he is to be qualified? Interestingly, Mounce has changed his mind.
Pastors are paid to stare out the window
Jared Wilson: ‘The placard I had inherited read “Office.” I took his advice and replaced it with an Amazon-ordered sign that read “Pastor’s Study.” I wanted to be reminded—and I wanted my people to be reminded—that they pay me, actually, to read, learn, contemplate, reflect, to be still, to be quiet, to be solitarily devotional, and above all to be prayerful.’
The martyr complex
‘So often I meet people in churches I’ve been involved in or from elsewhere who are working incredibly hard for Jesus. It’s laudable but it rarely looks to me like the Way of Jesus. Jesus taught a way of ease, with kind yokes and light burdens (Matthew 11). We should be disciplined (1 Corinthians 9), but we shouldn’t be driving ourselves into the ground. So often I meet people in churches I’ve been involved in or from elsewhere who are drifting for Jesus. It’s distressing, but I wonder if the church has really done very much to help them get away from it.’
Easter & Good Friday: Questions & Answers
This is a good roundup of common concerns surrounding Easter. For the avoidance of doubt, much like Christmas, it does not have pagan roots, no matter what memes on the internet tell you.
Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Three historical facts (+ four explanations that don’t work)
You may not know that there are three basic facts surrounding the resurrection that are now established by consensus. The best historical explanation is one that accounts for them all most credibly. Here are those facts and four common explanations that don’t work.
From the archive: Opportunities at Easter may not arise where you think
‘As with a lot of our British annual cultural moments, Easter is not the slam dunk evangelistic opportunity for us as it is for many others. Whilst many people are thinking about Easter and, much like Christmas, at least know it is vaguely connected to Jesus somehow, few in our area will be doing so. Just as Mawlid largely passes most non-Muslim Brits by entirely unnoticed and largely unknown, so Easter does much the same for our Muslim friends in our community. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an opportunity here for us.’