How Should Preachers Deal with the Story of the Woman Caught in the Act of Adultery?

If you ever preach through John’s gospel, you will run into this issue: what to do with the pericope adulterae? This one helpfully lays out the options. When I preached John’s gospel, I made a paper available to the church explaining textual criticism and the near unanimous evidence for how to view this passage. I made myself available to anybody who had any questions about it. I then did a combination of options 1 & 2 (mainly option 1, but incorporated option 2 in the introduction).

Taking Phone Addiction Seriously

‘We all joke about being addicted to our phones. If we’re honest with ourselves, many of us simply don’t like how much we use our phones. We know it’s a problem, but we don’t know what to do about it. And it just seems so normal now.’

The Picture on the Nightstand

‘Children instinctively delight in the love between their mom and dad. They may not have the words for it, but they feel it deep in their bones. Like an invisible anchor in a child’s world it communicates that all is well in an unpredictable world.’

Why being late to church matters

I co-sign this one: ‘Imagine your congregation is an orchestra. Every week, the members gather to play and God himself is their audience. Picture the conductor raising his baton to begin the music, but a quarter of the musicians haven’t even shown up yet. While the first movement is being played, three violinists are trying to squeeze past others to get to their chairs, and the woodwind section is walking in and saying hello to the percussionists trying to keep the beat. What would such actions reveal about how we think about our fellow musicians? What message would that send about how we view God and the concert we’re supposed to perform together? This scenario might sound absurd in a concert hall, but it perfectly captures what happens in many churches every Sunday morning.’

How Can Jesus Be One Person in Two Natures?

In a context like ours, where we regularly engage with muslim people, this is a common question. This one walks through a helpful answer.

Everything Changes, But God Doesn’t

This one provides a timely reminder.

From the archive: The blessing of plural eldership

‘There are few things quite as destructive to a church than a disunited, warring eldership – which we have suffered in time past – and little that blesses a church so much as brothers who are clearly united in the gospel as co-workers seeking to glorify God, make much of the gospel and shepherd the flock God has entrusted to us. Here are a number of reasons a good eldership is a blessing.’