Grab bag

Some helpful articles seen recently: John Newton, writing his troubled friend William Cowper, notes the hardness of the Christian life — and the grace of Christ: “For every day shows us some new thing in the heart, or some new turn in the management of the war against us which we were not aware of; […]

The Old Guys

Many years ago, another pastor challenged me to find a mentor: “You need someone ten or fifteen years older — someone who has been through the next phase of life — to build into you.” Sometimes it’s hard to find a man like that. That’s when “old guys” can step in. Those are men who […]

William Carey – expect great things from God

William Carey was the man who not only uttered the statement “expect great things from God, attempt great things for God,” but also with his life guided by that principle, launched much of what we know as the modern missions movement. (Interestingly, the sermon in which that statement was made is not in print anywhere, […]

Today in history: the martyrdom of John Rogers

John Rogers burned to death at a stake at Smithfield, England on this Monday morning, February 4,1555. Among the onlookers who encouraged him were his own children. What monstrous crime had earned him this cruel death? Read the rest of “John Rogers, 1st of Many Martyrs.” J. C. Ryle’s book, Five English Reformers not only […]

The anniversary of Augustine’s death

Today marks the 1680th anniversary of Augustine’s death. He died on this day on 430 A.D. Augustine was influential in articulating the gospel of justification by faith and was the godly inspiration of many who would follow more than a millennium later in the reformation. Thinking of Augustine’s death reminded me of one of my […]

Sunday Leftovers (2/7/10)

How far does one go in upholding the two words “one faith?” God has united believers in Christ into one body and called those members to preserve that unity because they possess only one faith — one gospel that will save and redeem men. To what extent will one travel to uphold that truth? One […]

Book Review: Pages from Church History

Title: Pages from Church History: A Guided Tour of Christian Classics Author: Stephen J. Nichols Publisher: Crossway, 2006; 329 pp. $15.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): What is the best book you have read in the past year? What is the most important book you have ever read? What is the most important book written in the […]

Looking back to look forward

Is there a benefit to looking backwards — to evaluating the past in anticipation of setting goals for the future? Thinking not of individuals, but of the church, Stephen Nichols offers this insightful thought — The study of church history may be best viewed as a second-order discipline. It is subservient to our study of […]

Today’s Quote – Ministry (Petersen)

Jim Petersen, Church Without Walls: The history of the church, from God’s perspective, is a history of the Holy Spirit using little people. It consists of a mustard seed here and there, some yeast hidden in dough or a seed in the ground. Not many wise or influential people are included. Rather, it has been […]

Who is John Calvin?

Okay. It’s the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth, so that question may be somewhat irrelevant. Most will know that John Calvin was a theologian, pastor, and essential participant in the Reformation. But what about the details of his life? Without reading (or reciting) a biography, do you know who John Calvin is? I’ve been […]

One more thought about genealogies and history…

In writing the previous post about genealogies, I came across the following statement from John Piper. It is a reminder not only of the sovereignty of God over the course of our individual lives (our genealogies), but over the course of all history: The past is a record of setbacks and how people coped with […]

Listen to some history?

A few years ago, I began subscribing to Christian History & Biography magazine. Each issue of the quarterly journal (about 32-48 pp. per issue) dealt with one single topic — a prominent person in church history (e.g., Martin Luther, or C. S. Lewis), a movement (e.g., the Puritans), or an event (faith in the Middle […]

Book Review: Church History

Title: Church History: A Crash Course for the Curious Author: Christopher Catherwood Publisher: Crossway, 2007; 224 pp. $12.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): I wanted to like this book — I really wanted to like it a lot. And it has its strengths. But in the end, its strengths are also its weaknesses. A book like […]

Book Review: The Reformation

I’ve always been a reader. In my elementary years, I was caught more than one time by my parents reading in bed by the light of a nearby security light that would provide just-barely adequate reading light if I held my book and the window blind just so. At dinner time I would invariably tote […]