Review: Maturity

Maturity: Growing Up and Going on in the Christian Life

May 12, 2024

Review: Christianity & Liberalism

★★★★★ It is an easy mistake for every generation of Christians to think that the problem of liberalism is a recent one. But it is not. Today the hot issues are transgender ministers and "ex-vangelicals." In the mid-1900s it was the ordination of women and the inerrancy of Scripture. In the 1920s when Machen wrote, it was the authority of Scripture, the deity of Christ, and the atonement. And even then the specific battle with liberalism had been raging for well over a century. Machen deals with the eternal truths of God and the constant eroding force of liberalism, and his words are as necessary on their 100th anniversary as they were at their conception.

May 10, 2024

Review: Making All Things New

★★★★★ In Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken, Powlison speaks to the issue of sexual brokenness with the wisdom and skill of an experienced counselor, intentionally addressing both those who have sinned sexually and those who have been sinned against sexually.

May 7, 2024

A practical tip for leading your wife

A few months ago my wife and I began meeting weekly so that I could better lead and serve her in her walk with Christ. These times have been incredibly fruitful, and I want to share some of the ways this has helped me to engage, encourage, and equip her, and how you can do the same.

April 30, 2024

Review: The Lord of Psalm 23

★★★★☆ Pastor and scholar David Gibson provides for us an exposition and extended meditation on one of the richest passages of scripture. In reading this book you will be comforted and encouraged as you reflect upon the love and faithfulness of your Shepherd.

April 30, 2024

Review: The Intercession of Christ

★★★☆☆ In The Intercession of Christ, John Bunyan explores the often-forgotten doctrine of the intercession of Christ, the glorious truth that Christ is in heaven interceding for us. I found this book to be one of those with a handful of brilliant lines, but which on the whole was underwhelming. By the end I found myself scanning for gems rather than soaking in the work as a whole. That said, the gems are worth searching for.

April 29, 2024

Are some sins worse than others?

The Bible teaches that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and that the wages of sin is death. We are all sinners, and we all stand condemned before a holy God. But are some sins worse than others?

April 25, 2024

David and Goliath

In Luke 24:27 Jesus walks his disciples through the entire Old Testament, showing them ways that it was ultimately pointing to him. Here we explore ways in which the well-known story of David and Goliath (1 Sam 17) points us to Christ.

April 23, 2024

What is Your Family’s Normal?

In his book Habits of the Household Justin Whitmel Earley notes, “One of the most significant things about any household is what is considered to be normal.” I would encourage you to set aside some time to reflect on three questions.

April 23, 2024

Review: Knowing Sin

★★★★☆ In Knowing Sin, pastor Mark Jones guides us into the darkest depths of our souls--the recesses within ourselves that we spend most of our days trying to avoid. Jones explores sin generally (what is it and why is it here?) and specifically (pride, lust, envy, unbelief). He explores temptations both external and internal and sins both public and private. This is a very helpful book that is both deep and direct, applying the wisdom of centuries of pastors to our own personal struggles today.

April 23, 2024

Review: Comfort and Holiness from Christ's Priestly Work

★★★★☆ In Comfort and Holiness, William Bridge explores what it means for Jesus to be our high priest and how this benefits us. Bridge walks through the major responsibilities of a priest in the Old Testament: making sacrifices, making intercession, offering gifts, and blessing the people. For each of these he examines several biblical passages in which we see Jesus filling the same role. In classic Puritan form, Bridge squeezes every last drop out of these verses.

April 22, 2024

Children’s Books for Your Christmas List

October 17, 2022

A Simple Morning Liturgy with Small Children

A liturgy is simply a structured form of worship. In church worship services this may look like a time of “responsive reading” or reciting the Apostles Creed together. Many “liturgical” churches have their entire worship service structured in this way. Our family morning liturgy is extremely simple. With a four year old and a seven month old, it has to be! There are only two parts. First we recite the Children’s Creed together, and then I say a simple memorized prayer over our family.

January 10, 2022

Theological Foundations of Software Development

Software development is one of the newest and fastest growing forms of work, with no sign of that growth slowing down. Here are seven principles that can serve as a theological foundation for software development.

January 1, 2022

Review: Family Discipleship

★★★★★ Family Discipleship lays out a simple but powerful framework for discipling your children: time, moments, and milestones. "Time" is planned time like morning devotions; "moments" refers to spontaneous opportunities; "milestones" refers to marking significant occasions like a graduation or death in the family. The book strikes an excellent balance between big-picture strategy and in-the-weeds tactics.

March 30, 2021

Theology Basics Books

I give the top book I recommend on several important areas in theology for someone who has never read a book on the topic. Each of these books is short, easy to read, and will leave you with a deeper love for God and his Word. None of these books requires a seminary education or a brilliant mind. These are books written for the ordinary Christian in the pew, and I guarantee you will benefit from reading any one of them.

March 21, 2021

How to Choose a Bible for Your Preschooler

Our daughter Lydia was able to follow along with Bible stories around the time she turned two. We owned several children’s bibles, but we quickly learned that not all children’s bibles are created equally. There are some great bibles available today for young children, but there are a lot more that are not worth your time. So how do you choose one? Here are four easy tests to help you choose a good children’s bible to read with your preschooler.

March 17, 2021

Why We're Using a Catechism

My wife and I have started going through a catechism with our three year old daughter Lydia. When we've told people this, we've usually been met with one of two reactions. People who have used a catechism are excited and encouraging. People who haven't used a catechism are confused and maybe concerned. Since most of the Christians in our church contexts aren't familiar with what a catechism is or why it would be useful, I'd like to share why we've decided to use one and how we've found it helpful so far.

March 14, 2021

Family Worship

Our family added a new daily routine at the beginning of 2021: family worship time! If you don’t have this as a daily routine in your home already, I cannot recommend it highly enough. We’ve wanted to do this for a while but weren’t sure what to actually do. And to be honest it just seemed like it would be awkward. But it has come to be our absolute favorite part of each day. I hope that this post will encourage you to add this routine in your own home and provides some tips to get started.

March 5, 2021

What if I'm praying for the wrong thing?

Maintaining a consistent, daily routine of prayer is one of the most basic aspects of the Christian life. It is also one of the most difficult for me. Perhaps it is for you as well. I always find myself second-guessing my prayer requests. Is that really what I should be asking for? Is it really best that this conflict at work disappear? What if God has put this in my life to teach me perseverance or patience? Then I should really be praying for strength to persevere, or for patience, rather than for God to remove it. What if I'm praying for the wrong thing?

March 5, 2021