Here’s a quick video introduction to the forthcoming book PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace:
[Read More...]PROOF: Win Free Copies of PROOF! #10DaysUntilPROOF
Over the next ten days, I will be giving away ten signed copies of the forthcoming book PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace! If you’re interested in winning one of these ten books, simply tweet or post on Facebook one of the messages listed below. On each date listed below, two […]
[Read More...]PROOF: A New Book and the Noetic Effect of the Fall
[Please note the addendum at the end of this post.] Ever since Adam’s fall into iniquity, our minds have been—in the words of John Calvin in his commentary on Genesis—“smitten with blindness and infected with innumerable errors.” The primeval fall not only stained our natures but also degraded our bodies so that imperfection has crept […]
[Read More...]PROOF: Good News (and Not-So-Good News) for Spiritual Zombies
God’s plan has always been to multiply the fame of his own name by giving new life to the spiritually dead (Ephesians 1:4–2:5). The price that this plan required was nothing less than the slaughter of a perfect substitute—a gift too great for anyone but God to give, with a price too high for anyone […]
[Read More...]PROOF: God Doesn’t Need You—and That’s Good News
A little more than a decade ago, my wife and I sat at a table in a cramped office that reeked of scorched coffee and mildewed carpet. While social workers shuffled around us, we pored over page after page in a file that never seemed to end. “Cruelty to animals.” “Persistent patterns of theft […]
[Read More...]Church History: How Christianity Happened
Easter is certainly a time for celebration, but it is also a time for solemn reflection. We fast and reflect during the season of Lent, then we celebrate the joy of the resurrection on Easter sunday. But what about after Easter? What then? The church has traditionally recognized the season following Easter as a time […]
[Read More...]PROOF: The Global Good News of Grace
When the authors of the New Testament spoke of Jesus redeeming “the world,” they weren’t teaching that everyone would be saved. They weren’t even claiming that Jesus redeemed every individual in the world! What the biblical writers meant by “the world” was a gathering that included people from every nation. To celebrate Jesus as “the […]
[Read More...]Apologetics: Did Christians Create Their Faith Or Did the Faith Form Christians?
What factors actually formed the New Testament and the faith of the early church? Conspiratorial reconstructions suggest that church leaders selected texts that preserved and expanded their own political powers. If so, what shaped the early church were books and theological beliefs that were chosen with the goal of control. The problem is, the […]
[Read More...]PROOF: Endorsements for PROOF
Here are some of the kind endorsements we’ve received for the forthcoming book PROOF. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read the manuscript and to provide feedback on the contents! In PROOF Daniel Montgomery and Timothy Paul Jones paint a multifaceted picture of grace that is refreshing to the soul, edifying to the […]
[Read More...]PROOF: The Beauty of a Plan that Never Fails
An excerpt from the forthcoming book PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace: It’s perfectly possible for you or me to have a plan and pay the price but then lack the power to make it happen. That’s why we sometimes need a vacation to recover from our vacations. That never happens […]
[Read More...]Family Ministry: Three Motivations to Avoid
Jason K. Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has written recently on various facets of parenting. He encourages parents to avoid three specific motivations: ambition, fear and pride. He concludes: Parenting is the most enjoyable and exhilarating responsibility I know. I feel as though I am getting to create, invest, sculpt, build, and nurture […]
[Read More...]PROOF: Nothing Left to Prove
Human religion claims that God will do his part if only you do yours. The gospel of grace declares that God in Christ has already done his part–and yours. From the moment you first rest in Christ as your only hope, you have no failures to hide and no triumphs to hide behind. Your shortfallings […]
[Read More...]Family Ministry: Training to Launch Your Church’s Family Ministry
Have you ever wondered how to promote a family ministry model in your church? Perhaps you’re just curious about what family ministry is all about. Whether you’re ready to dive in or just testing the waters, RightNow Media and I have partnered together to provide a practical online course to help those who might […]
[Read More...]Family Ministry: How Paul’s Teachings About the Family Apply Today
Not long ago, I shared with Christianity.com some thoughts about how Christians can apply Paul’s teaching in their homes. Paul established a priority-changing paradigm for marriages and families in Ephesians 5 and 6. He invited parents to view their task not simply as behavioral management but as gospel proclamation, viewing their children not only as […]
[Read More...]PROOF: Grace Always Makes the First Move
An excerpt from the forthcoming book PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace: “There is no doctrine more hated by worldlings,” nineteenth-century Baptist pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon once pointed out, “as the great, stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of [God’s] sovereignty.” Ever since sin plunged the cosmos into darkness, humanity has […]
[Read More...]PROOF: An Anthem of Resurrecting Grace
In PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace, a book I co-authored with Sojourn Community Church pastor Daniel Montgomery, we explain the biblical truth of “resurrecting grace.” What we mean by this is simply that all of us exist as spiritual zombies—the walking dead—until God’s resurrecting grace invades and enlivens our hearts: “Spiritual […]
[Read More...]Church History: The Legacy of William Wilberforce
March 25th marks the anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain. In 1807 the British Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act, eradicating the inhumane export of African slaves throughout the Empire. About 25 years following that, slavery would be completely outlawed within the British Empire. The major contributor to this movement […]
[Read More...]Family Ministry: How Pastors Can Care for Their Children
Chap Bettis, executive director of The Apollos Project, previously wrote on ways in which church members can participate in the task of helping pastors shepherd their children. In a recent post, he directly engages pastors and offers practical ways to help them guard their children from church burnout and instill in them a love for the gospel […]
[Read More...]Family Ministry: Caring for Your Pastor’s Kids
Chap Betts, executive director of The Apollos Project, provides a grace-saturated way to encourage your pastor and minister to his children. He states: “Too many children of pastors are casualties in the spiritual battle. After seeing the inner workings of the church, many do not want anything to do with the Lord or his people. […]
[Read More...]Family Ministry: Is Your Story Line Too Small?
Certain skills may be helpful in a child’s Christian formation—but, when it comes to parents discipling their children, the task is not primarily about the skills; it’s about a divinely-designed relationship. The church may remind me to engage spiritually with my daughters. Ministers, elders, or deacons might even equip my wife and me to disciple […]
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