435 results found
Podcast: What Pastors Can Learn from Richard Baxter (Tim Cooper)
Tim Cooper discusses the importance of Richard Baxter, a Puritan responsible for many key (if not misunderstood or difficult to read) treatises on church doctrine and the role of ministry.
Jonathan Edward’s Response to Spiritual Arrogance
Jonathan Edwards was stirred by his congregation’s spiritual pride, apathy, and confused notions about true religion, alongside misunderstanding about genuine spiritual life.
Podcast: D. A. Carson on His Life, Vision for Ministry, and Biggest Influences (D. A. Carson)
D. A. Carson talks about his life and ministry, how God led him to the academy, the original vision behind the Gospel Coalition, and what it looks like to pursue simple faithfulness before God in his stage of life.
Remembering Ann Judson 190 Years Later
With her husband Adoniram Judson (1788–1850), Ann was the first of a long line of American evangelical missionaries.
A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Using Creeds and Confessions in Your Church
Not long ago a friend asked what I’d say if I had thirty seconds with someone in an elevator and had to explain why I think Christian Confessions are so important. As you can see, I know what I’d say.
Podcast: The Life and Legacy of J. I. Packer (Sam Storms)
Sam Storms reflects on Packer's remarkable life and ministry, including how Packer came to faith and the impact that his many books have had on generations of Christians.
Be Inspired by the Lives of Key Reformation Figures
Be inspired by the lives and ministries of 5 key historical figures whom God used to bring reformation to the church.
How the Anglican Communion Addresses Neo-Paganism
Any discussion of Anglicanism in our present context must include the rise of neo-pagan Anglicanism in many Anglican churches around the world, especially in the West.
Andreas J. Köstenberger, Alexander E. Stewart
God does not always do things the way that we think he should or act as we might expect.
Knowing Church History Is an Asset for Every Pastor
Our brothers before us have gone down challenging roads and they have much that they can share that is of true benefit to us.
Podcast: How Reliable Is the New Testament? (Peter Williams)
Peter Williams, author of Can We Trust the Gospels? answers a crucial question: can we really trust the New Testament Gospels?
It Wasn’t Just Jesus That Died on Good Friday
The death of Jesus was the end of the priesthood. There was simply no need for an imperfect priest once the perfect priest had come.
Andrew Fuller: A Mind for Modern Missions
It is totally possible that Andrew Fuller’s impact on history, by the time Jesus returns, will be far greater and different than it is now.
George Whitefield’s Theology of Sin and Salvation
George Whitefield held that no aspect of human nature remains unpolluted by the effects of the fallen nature every individual inherits from our first parents.
5 Tips for Teaching Your Kids about Church History
Learning about church history can be exciting, uplifting and often funny. But if taught badly, it can also be turgid, pedestrian and dull.
4 Lessons for Pastors from the Life and Ministry of John Calvin
While Calvin is remembered today as a great theologian, he viewed his calling from God primarily in terms of his work as a pastor and preacher in Geneva.
3 Losses of an Illiterate Culture
The decline of reading has impoverished our culture and individual lives. We have lost mental sharpness, verbal skills, and ability to think and imagine.
10 Devotional Treasures from Surprising Sources
Among the classics of devotional readings, we find that great devotionals often sprang from unexpected and even unintended origins, as the following list of ten surprising sources shows.
How Spurgeon Avoided the Calling Calamity
Spurgeon understood the critical importance of helping men evaluate whether they were genuinely called to pastoral ministry.
Play-Doh, Flannelgraphs, and Teaching Kids Biblical Theology
When we teach the stories of the Bible without helping them connect those stories, we’re giving them puzzle pieces only without the context of the larger picture.
How Church History Can Help You Defend the Faith
Knowledge of the way that Christians in the past defended the faith can provide helpful ways of responding to postmodern spirituality today.
Podcast: Jesus’s Birthday, the Exodus, and Other Bible Timeline Questions (Andrew Steinmann)
Andrew Steinmann discusses the timeline of the Bible, when key events actually happened, and why it all matters for our understanding of the Bible's message for us today.
The Most Significant Edit to the Declaration of Independence
Franklin read Jefferson’s draft which said, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable,” and he crossed out “sacred and undeniable” and replaced it with “self-evident.”
God Used This Broken Pastor—and He Can Use You Too
Part of what I try to do as I’m reading church history is to make sure that I’m keeping these people human.
Debunking the War Between Science and Faith
Many of us grew up believing science and faith are at war. We absorbed this belief by cultural osmosis—theology and science on two ends of the spectrum as enemies in mortal combat.
Podcast: The Life and Legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Stephen Nichols)
Stephen Nichols discusses the remarkable life, tragic death, and enduring legacy of the German theologian and pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
The Messy-yet-Instructive Culture Surrounding the Canons of Dort
We can learn something about how previous cared about theological points because the worship of God, the purity of the church, and the understanding of Scripture were at stake.
Podcast: Learning from the Church Fathers (Michael Haykin)
What can we learn from the early church fathers and how can early Christian creeds help us define our faith today?
Why We Can’t Lament without Listening
When it comes to loaded subjects like racism or ethnic tension, too often believers fall into the familiar ditches of denial or despair.
What We Can Learn from the Reformation 500 Years Later
The Reformation emphasized preaching the gospel with boldness and clarity.