Consumerism

Last January, a new professor wrote with a little conundrum. A student scored a 27% on his final, realized that he might fail the course as a result, and called the professor three weeks later to plead for mercy - a second chance - so he could pass the course. The student explained that he had been...

Lately, I’ve been swamped with temporary though important projects consuming my time and attention. Feeling guilty about delaying or limiting focus on more regular needs, I recalled a booklet in a seminary class: Tyranny of the Urgent, by Charles E. Hummel. The primary lesson from this brief...

This week, Jonathan and James chat with Ken Golden. Ken’s a writer and contributor for reformation21.org, pastor of Sovereign Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Illinois, and the author of Presbytopia and Entering God’s Rest . Today, Ken is joining us to talk about his most recent book, Eating...

In Anthony and Cleopatra (3:2) Shakespeare described it as the “ green sickeness”. In Othello, he called it the “ green eyed monster ”. Immanuel Kant described it thus: “inherent in the nature of man, and only its manifestation makes of it an abominable vice, a passion not only distressing and...

Our dynamic duo brings up a topic that is usually difficult, and—many times—hard to swallow in the local church. Church leaders and congregants alike can also often misunderstand its procedure and purposes. What is church discipline, and what does Scripture teach about it? What’s the purpose of...

I’m not a morning person: I struggle to sit up, let alone stand up—and to think, let alone thank. My wife is similar. She jokes that she was known in college (due to long days and nights studying) to grumble back at “Good morning!” with, “Good morning for you , not for me !” I too often roll out of...

He surely saw him from the boat. The Lord watched the erratic and unstable demoniac who was as unruly as the storm he had recently silenced. The man’s appearance alone made him an imposing figure against the otherwise peaceful shores of the Garasenes. One can’t help but wonder if the disciples...

The Elizabethan polymath, Francis Bacon, counseled, “Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” Undoubtedly sound advice. But of the more than 300,000 books published annually in US, how is one to sort through such a smorgasbord of literary...

But the L ORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. – Isaiah 8:13 My dearest Theophilus: We live in a soft age. Our idols are soft and so our fears too. In the old days our idols were hard. Literally. Made of stone. Made of wood. Sculpted and carved...

We probably all have bank accounts with savings, and maybe investments and 401(k)s. Wisdom would suggest that while we trust God we also should be good stewards and save. You want to have in inheritance—at the end of the road of your work life, you want to have a nest egg. This doesn’t make you...