“Definition and delineation are never done once and for all….Changes in society and changes in the theological world require that definition and delineation be carried on—and that is what Michael Reeves has attempted in Gospel People.” - TGC

Also on evangelical identity: Is evangelical Protestantism breaking into five factions in the United States of America?

“At that size, matter’s properties change when we try to observe it, even—amazingly—because we try to observe it. That’s led to over a century of frustrated efforts to understand exactly what the fundamental ‘stuff’ of reality is.” - Breakpoint

“The connections between the Passover Lamb and the Israelites putting the blood on the doorposts of their houses during the last plague in Exodus Chapter 12….there’s a lot of connection to Jesus taking the cup and saying this is the New Covenant in My blood.” - B.Press

Christians around the world will remember and celebrate the essence of the gospel this weekend — “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

We believe that the Apostle Paul’s inspired summary statement is true, and we are certain that these events actually happened in real history, providing the basis of our salvation.

“Pragmatism is the only philosophy native to America. Pragmatism eschews any hope of discovering ultimate truth. It … defines truth as ‘that which works.’” - Sproul

“Despite recent legal cases and reports of greedy abuses, experts say the longstanding benefit remains safe.” - C.Today

“The court determined that Duane Rollins’ civil case against Paul Pressler may proceed, even though the five-year statute of limitations has passed.” - C.Leaders

“… ‘maundy’ comes from the Latin word for ‘mandate,’ or ‘command.’ At this first celebration of Communion, Jesus gave His disciples ‘a new command,’ that they should love and serve each other…. washed their feet.” - Breakpoint

“Power is not a bad thing. It is not a neutral thing, either. It is, first, in the Christian view, a good thing, a God-created thing…. Without power, there will be no glorious eternal reign of the one to whom all power on heaven and on earth will be given. Power brings good to others.” - Mark Ward

We have long heard of clergy shortages among Roman Catholics and liberal mainline churches. Now, it seems, conservative churches are sharing the problem. It is referred to as “The Great American Clergy Shortage.”

I am in the process of retiring after having been in pastoral ministry for 43 years. I will be retiring by November 1; for months now, I have been trying to work with a pastoral selection committee to find a new pastor. The pickings are very, very slim.

“Half (51%) say time management is an aspect that needs attention or investment today, while 43% specifically point to developing a balance between work and home.” - Lifeway

“…every metric is slowing down except for the number of new temples the church is building or planning….The church as a whole is still growing, but the growth rate continues to slow down.” - RNS

“…eighth-century English monk The Venerable Bede proposed that the word Easter comes from the name of a pagan goddess…. Modern pagans latched onto this idea, and further associated Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility, with Ostara, a Germanic goddess of spring. There are multiple problems with this theory” - Breakpoint

“2 In a reversal, women are now more likely than men to graduate from college…. 4 Only 62% of students who start a degree or certificate program finish their program within six years” - Pew

“Lewis lacks sympathy for his subjects, but perhaps more to the point he applies a sociological lens instead of a theological one….he fails to understand the Christians who support a Jewish homeland because he fails to understand them theologically.” - DBTS

By C. H. Spurgeon. Sermon 2197 delivered on Lord’s-day morning, March 29th, 1891 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.

“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4)

I HAVE AFORETIME preached upon the whole verse, so that this morning I shall take the liberty to dwell chiefly upon the latter part of it—“Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

I recently had someone assert to me that he believes that we must hold that Jesus and the apostles were the greatest group of musicians in the history of the world and not to do so is blasphemy. Apparently, for him, because Jesus was (and is) incarnate Deity, He had to have been the greatest singer and musician ever. He also had to have taught the apostles about music so that Jesus and the apostles had to have been uniquely excellent in their sacred music that they played and sang.

Do you believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the greatest singer and musician of all time?

Poll Results

Was Jesus of Nazareth the Greatest Singer and Musician of All Time?

“…Michael Horton’s latest book, Recovering Our Sanity: How the Fear of God Conquers the Fears that Divide Us… argues that we can only conquer the wrong kinds of fear by embracing the right kind of fear, and that’s what he means by sanity.” - TGC

“The answer may depend on crisis pregnancy centers.” - CToday

“The resource is designed to assist parents with family devotions through a variety of means such as weekly Scripture conversation guides, shareable lesson plans and family activities charts.” - BPNews

“…start with God the Father. In Exodus 15:11, we see that there is no one like God, who works wonders for his people. Later in Exodus 34:10, we read that God expresses his covenant love and faithfulness to Israel. He will do awesome work for them. And he does.” - IFWE

“MacIntyre’s thesis about human dignity has attracted the attention of certain thinkers who have been pushing a new political vision for conservatives.” - Law & Liberty

Well, I finally did it. I read Dostoevsky. It wasn’t a joyride, so I don’t think I’ll pick up Crime and Punishment anytime soon. After chewing through a meal like Karamazov, I’m doing dessert reading for a while (the book equivalent of Concrete Mixers from Culvers—minimally nutritious, over too soon, but yummy and chunky).

What follows is pretty much thrown together. These are fresh impressions from having just finished the book. They’re also “fresh” in the sense of untainted by much background knowledge. (This is a way of saying “ignorant.” I’m not humblebragging. It’s context for some of my speculations below.) Before reading The Brothers Karamazov I knew only this as background:

SBC’s “North American Mission Board (NAMB) and Send Network partnered with Dan Darling, author of A Way with Words, to create a free web course at NewChurches.com called “Using Online Conversations for Good” - BPnews

“One of the first steps is to emphasize power over morality. An easy way to do this is to characterize the situation as an emergency, requiring a dispensing of the ordinary norms of behavior.” - Russell Moore

“American Atheists, one of the leading organizations dedicated to defending nonbelief, is taking a quieter approach as it prepares for its first in-person convention in three years.” - RNS

“In a lengthy Facebook post, the 71-year-old pastor shared his thoughts on megachurches to explain why the New York City-based church he founded…decided to split into three congregations following his retirement.” - CPost

“There are plenty of challenges for small congregations, but they also bring unique strengths.” - CToday

I attended a Christian university along with approximately five-thousand other students, most of whom came from Christian homes. Although I never conducted an official survey, my general impression was that very few of my fellow Christian students had grown up in homes where family worship had been regularly practiced. It seemed to be a foreign concept to most of them. I believe the general ignorance concerning family worship demonstrates just how far Christian families have departed from their Christian heritage.

“The Senate has voted 53 to 47 to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the 116th Supreme Court justice. When sworn in this summer, Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s high court.” - NPR