The past thirty years have seen an increase in the phenomenon known as short-term missions. In the last three decades, American church members have enjoyed a growing ease of access to multi-week foreign mission trips in which they provide assistance to the ministry of overseas missionaries and Christian workers. Many churches have joined in what has been called the Short-Term … Continue reading A Sustainable Christian Life Requires that We Love Those Around Us
A Sustainable Christian Life is Characterized by Steady Faithfulness
Horton says it well and memorably: "The key to maturity is time and community" (64). Our impulse for the extraordinary, however, fuels a desire for quick growth which in turn draws us away from community; at least, a community to which we commit ourselves for any length of time. The Restless Generation It's become a truism to say that millennials … Continue reading A Sustainable Christian Life is Characterized by Steady Faithfulness
A Sustainable Christian Life Begins with Justification by Faith Alone
Michael Horton's Ordinary is both a convicting and refreshing book. Horton helps Christians cultivate what he calls "sustainable faith" in world that is characterized with an obsession with the exceptional. The first sentence of Horton's book is a list of adjectives and phrases that are used daily by savvy marketers to attract my generation to some new product. "Radical. Epic. Revolutionary. Transformative. … Continue reading A Sustainable Christian Life Begins with Justification by Faith Alone
Resistance to the Ordinary
When I was 19 years old, Jesus Christ saved me from a life of futility and sin. By his grace, God not only ignited in my heart new affections for Christ and other Christians, he also gave me a clear sense of purpose and calling and dislodged the hopelessness that previously characterized my life. The all-consuming call on … Continue reading Resistance to the Ordinary
Eight Strategies for Cultivating a Good and Honest Heart
In the last article, I discussed how professing believers should apply the parable of the soils to their own lives and the lives of their brothers and sisters. If you haven't already, I encourage you to read this introductory article to see why it is vital for professing Christians to apply the entire parable to themselves. … Continue reading Eight Strategies for Cultivating a Good and Honest Heart
Applying the Parable of the Soils
The parable of the soils (Matthew 13:3-8; Mark 4:3-8; Luke 8:4-15) is simultaneously a frightening and encouraging section of Scripture. It warns all those who hear the Word of Christ to take heed lest their heart or the hearts of fellow believers ultimately reject the word and become unfruitful. But it also encourages believers to … Continue reading Applying the Parable of the Soils
From the Study 