Tim Keller offers insight into how preachers can effectively engage the modern mind in Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism. To do this, he offers five cultural narratives that mark our modern society. Understanding these narratives is the first step towards challenging the modern mind with biblical truth. What are these five narratives?…
One of the books I am currently (re)-reading is Confessions, by Augustine. Early in the book, the church father pointed me Godward with this paragraph: What, then, is my God? What, I ask, except the Lord God? For who is God save our God? O highest and best, most all-powerful, most merciful and most just,…
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy…
In his book, God is the Gospel, John Piper opened my eyes to the ultimate aim of the gospel. That is, the good news brings me to God, my “exceeding joy” (Ps 43:5). “Today—as in every generation—it is stunning to watch the shift away from God as the all-satisfying gift of God’s love. It is…
Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law Psalm 119:18 Before preaching a sermon, I normally climb into the pulpit and pray at the beginning. My pre-sermon pray is pretty consistent, asking God for help as we come to his Word. Specifically, I’d pray like this: “Father, give us eyes to…
I want to interact with those around me, respond to sin (either mine or others), and generally live in such a way that I put the good news of Jesus on display. Of course, I’ll never do this perfectly but I should strive to make everything I can in my personal life point to the…
Thomas Case was a 16th/17th century Puritan. I recently ran across something he wrote that encourages the regular practice of morning devotions. It is not small advantage to the holy life to “begin the day with God.” The saints are want to leave their hearts with Him over night, that they may find them with…
Octavius Winslow (1808–1878) was an English non-conformist who was once a Baptist pastor who later turned to the Anglican communion. He has numerous writings available through Banner of Truth here. I recently ran across how Octavius defines prayer and wanted to share it here. “True prayer is the aspiration of a renewed soul towards God;…
Throughout the history of Christianity, followers of Jesus have consistently stated what they believe. This makes sense given that Christianity isn’t a vague religion with undefined doctrine. There are specific truth claims and particular doctrinal beliefs that mark Christianity off as distinct from other world religions. Where are these truth claims found? In the Bible,…
Evertt Ferguson, writing on the expansion of the Christian Church in the first three centuries, notes that “by the end of the third century Christians made up a sizeable minority of the population of the Roman Empire” (Ferguson, Church History, From Christ to Pre-Reformation, 174). Historians point to a number of factors that led to…
Theology Along the Way 