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Anyone who reads the New Testament’wishing to interpret it accurately in its historical context’must first acknowledge that these were no ordinary times. The time of transition from the old to the new covenant era was a time full of wonders and signs to signify that the promised Messiah had come and that he was establishing […]
We've got spirit, yes we do. We've got spirit, how about you? Each fall, American cheerleaders chant these words at high school football games, goading opponents to prove their enthusiasm. Similarly, some charismatic Christians challenge traditional churches to be livelier and prove that they are Spirit-filled. But what exactly does it mean for a church […]
Ten acres of refrigerated rural soil,Thickly frosted in Easter's pre-dawn;Subterranean saints, quilted in earth,Smile warmly at the band of believers,Huddled above to catcall verses of victory,Into the mocking mien of chiseled stones;The rocky trophies of mortality's coup,North, south, west, and east of Eden. Wizened hags, pimpled teens, snotty-nosed kids,All dust to dust, prey of the […]
What does the Spirit do today? All good gifts come to us from the Father, in the Son, by the Spirit. In every work of the Trinity, the Spirit is the one who brings the work to completion. He is especially associated with working within creation as the life-giving and fruit-producing agent of the Godhead. […]
Christians who trace their heritage to the Protestant Reformation have tended to be cautious when it comes to miracles. With visions of unbiblical excess running through our heads, this wariness is often merited. Nonetheless, Christianity is a supernatural religion, and believers base their lives and eternal destinies on the truth of amazing claims about God's […]
Arriving airline passengers are frequently asked, "How was your flight?" The question is often met with the matter-of-fact response, "Uneventful." A typical jetliner such as a Boeing 737 can weigh over 100,000 pounds with passengers and baggage aboard. The aircraft can fly 500 miles per hour and needs less than 10,000 feet of runway to […]
In the minds of Christians who appreciate classical music, whether as performers or simply as listeners, perhaps no figure so fully epitomizes what it means to be a "Christian composer" or a "Christian musician" as does Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). While Lutherans can most legitimately claim Bach as their own’the composer was a part of […]
Martin Luther and the Reformation he initiated are famous for the so-called three solas: sola scriptura, sola gratia, and sola fide‘Scripture alone, grace alone, and faith alone. This fame is justified, for these three emphases permeate Luther's thought. To understand Luther on the Lord's Supper or salvation, or on how God works in the secular […]
Southern Baptists speaking in tongues. Presbyterians attending healing crusades. The old divides between charismatics and cessationists seem to be breaking down. C. Peter Wagner, former professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and known among charismatics as a modern-day “apostle,” argues that this is the fruit of a New Apostolic Reformation that God has unleashed around the […]
Can you hear color? Can you taste sound? The neurological phenomenon known as “synesthesia” refers to the connection between the stimulation of one sensory organ and the experience of that stimulation by another organ. Even though most of us usually think of our senses as operating independently of one another, we have also all had […]
It is common for Christians to think that there was far greater demonic activity “in Bible times” than there is today, but this isn’t exactly true. It is rather the case that a spiritual clash with demons occurs in a narrow window of time, namely, the early ministry of Jesus between his baptism and his […]
In January 2014, I attended an urban ministry class at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, through the Reformed African American Network. Dr. Carl Ellis said something there that startled me: although he has talked with countless urban ministries that target women and children, very few target men. Why is this the case? First, kids […]
