Shake yourself from the dust and arise. Loose the bonds from your neck.
Pastor Al provided the thesis statement for this article last Sunday: “A parent’s first priority is to obey Jesus. If you want your kids to obey Jesus, then you need to obey Jesus. You have an obligation to raise your kids under God’s will, Word, and ways. Not the culture’s, not yours, God’s.” Samson’s mom was barren, but then the pre-incarnate Jesus appeared… Continue reading Our First Responsibility
We've all experienced a bad leader. Whether they were commanding officers who made poor strategic choices, or a manager who wouldn't take ownership and blamed others for poor performance, we've felt the burden of poor leadership. Leadership is crucial; as leaders go, so do the nation, state, city, and family. The influence of leaders trickles… Continue reading Unholy Alliances
We all have idols. However, we rarely have little carven figurines representing any one of the pantheon of so-called deities to which we worship and make sacrifices. John Calvin said that a man’s heart is an idol factory; we are exceptionally good at manufacturing functional saviors. So it's not as if we don't have idols… Continue reading When The Culture’s Idols Fall
I'm going to start a new series where I will occasionally post some thoughts and meditations on various doctrinal and confessional standards, starting with the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC). I'll call it Westminster Wednesdays or something like that. We catechize our son (see below for what that means) every night, singing songs made to help… Continue reading Confessions, Creeds, and Catechisms
God’s people are a singing people. Adam sang a song the first time he saw Eve (Gen 2:23), and God’s people will still be singing at the end of all things (Rev 4:8, 11; 5:11-13; 19:6). That means we sing as the church militant (the church that exists now, in a cosmic war with sin… Continue reading War Songs for the Church Militant
Some years ago one of our pastors recommended that my wife and I have a big end-of-the-year date where we discuss the highs and lows of the previous year and goals for the next. We call this our “Year in Review, Year in Preview” date. We have done this almost every year since 2015 and… Continue reading Year in Review, Year in Preview: How Our Annual Couple’s Date Strengthens Family Bonds
Last week I wrote that if you want to create or change culture, then you have to obey God, get married, and have babies. Another angle would be to say that to create or change culture then you have to obey God and make disciples (both physically and spiritually) who obey God. But it doesn’t… Continue reading Disciples or Defectors
Tyrants are not all-powerful. History shows us they get toppled and defeated regularly. Julius Caesar was stabbed by his closest advisors. Everyone had finally had it with Nero and he was semi-forced to kill himself. Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a hole. Muammar Gaddafi was found in a drainage pipe. Adoni-bezek had his thumbs and big toes cut… Continue reading How To Topple Tyrants
Awake! Put on strength! 