Nehemiah, Rebuilding, Shame, and Joy

The Incarnation and Union With Christ

A few weeks back I published an article on Christ’s saving work, looking at the various elements in the broader narrative arc that surround his atoning death. I’ve been continuing to reflect on how to...

Our Greatest Need is Always Knowing God Better

Tips on Writing

“Hey Dad, I can’t see too good, is that Bill Shakespeare over there?” How might we encourage the aspiring writers among us, if we want to do better than Chris Farley in the famous “van...

Enoch and the Afterlife

It is very common to hear the claim in biblical scholarship that there is no doctrine of the afterlife in the Pentateuch, that the afterlife is a later idea that evolved throughout the Old Testament...

Fall Update

Esther and I are headed to Nashville this week for some much needed vacation time. Its been a very full and rewarding summer in the youth ministry. We’ve done several trips and lots of other...

On C.S. Lewis, Humility, and Marketing

The 1973 MacMillan edition of C.S. The Great Divorce quotes Lewis in large font on the back cover of the book as claiming: “Blake wrote of the marriage of Heaven and Hell. . . ....

Thoughts on Ross Douthat’s Privilege

This summer I’ve been deliberately trying to slow down and do some fun reading. I don’t have as much free time for reading these days, but its important to me that reading for fun never...

The Narrative Arc of Christ’s Saving Work

Early on in his masterful book The Cross of Christ John Stott quotes Emil Brunner’s statement: “The Cross is the sign of the Christian faith, of the Christian church, of the revelation of God in...