In You, the Orphan Finds Mercy
Last month, I boarded a plane to Africa–together with my wife and three kids. We did so in order to become the parents of four kids. Early in our marriage, my wife and I felt a desire to see our…
Category Christward Collective
Teaching Our Children the Raw Parts of Scripture
One of the things that I realized the first time that I taught through the book of Genesis is that the patriarchal narratives look far more like something that you would see on Showtime than something that you would hear…
5 Important Theological Pairs
One of the many wonderful things about the Westminster Shorter Catechism is that it includes several extremely important theological pairs (i.e. joint categories) in the opening questions that help us robustly systematize the biblical truth concerning our relationship to God, God's work in the…
The Ultimate
I love playing ultimate frisbee. I’m pretty sure my GPA in college would have been a few points higher had I not spent so much time tossing a plastic disc around with friends. When people ask me why I love…
The Anatomy of Sexual Sin
In every genre of Scripture, whether it be narrative, Psalms, wisdom or the Gospels and Epistles, warnings against sexual sin are prominent. From Genesis to Revelation, every book of Scripture teaches that believers are to vigorously pursue sexual purity and…
Forgiveness for Sins is Not Enough
When we think about forgiveness, we usually think about three areas for which we need forgiveness: our thoughts, our words, and our actions. And each of these three areas can be viewed in terms of sins of commission and sins…
5 Reasons to Keep the Kids In
At New Covenant, we enthusiastically encourage parents to keep their children in the worship service–the whole worship service. Being with the congregation in the worship service from childhood is one of the greatest privileges that God has given to children growing…
A Greater Vision for Your Church: Pastoral internships
As a local church, dare to think beyond yourself. There is everything right about encouraging or inviting people to your church services, and promoting such outreach events as a summer VBS. In fact, it is good and right to focus on ministry…
Joyful Exiles
When talk turns to exile, Christians ought to understand the full sense of that term. God’s kingdom does not advance despite opposition from the world, but as a result of it. The church is experiencing her own exilic quality in…
The Gospel-Centered Flow of Worship
"True worship, then, will be odd and perhaps even weird to the watching world…Christian worship is, in fact, a bold political act. It subverts the world’s values by assigning glory and praise to the one whom the world despises. And…