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Last week in a Sunday school class I was teaching, someone asked about being delivered from depression. I noted that God is surely able to do so. But I tried to give another perspective on this—that pain may actually be a means of blessing. As C.S. Lewis observed, pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a dulled world.

In our culture, we have a tendency to be preoccupied with the alleviation of pain. But there is a danger: we can become so absorbed with “recovery” from pain that we make this a higher priority than knowing Christ or being delivered from sin.

Do we find ourselves more upset with our discomfort than with our lack of Christ-likeness and sin? Our main problem is not pain; alienation from God and idolatry and sin are. Once we realize that God is not obligated to take our pain away (as Paul experienced with his “thorn in the flesh” in 2 Corinthians 12), our relationship with God can be enriched and deepened. Continue Reading »

Well, I am not just trying to just pick on the Emerging church (especially since I am always being accused of being a part of it!), but I wrote the original ten as twenty. I did not want the last ten to go to waste. In fact, I think they may be better than the first ten! 

10. You start a Christian blog, but leave it blank, fearing that you might offend someone.
9. You are not any good at art, yet you continue to present the Gospel by painting stick figures on recycled paper.
8. When you present the Gospel, Heaven is renamed The Matrix and you call yourself Neo. Continue Reading »

Most of you did not know, but I am at Camp Kanakuk in Branson MO this week speaking. It is their family camp. I am teaching for five days on grace. I started Tuesday introducing the need for grace in our postmodern culture. I then defined grace from a biblical perspective. Yesterday we began what we will try to conclude today: “How do we give grace to others.” Oh, how hard this is. It is really hitting home for all of us. As I told the group of 25 families, I just don’t feel comfortable teaching this anymore. I am really good at receiving grace, but I have such a hard time giving it. I defined people who are “un-gracious” as those who spend their time criticising others, especially those who they are closest to. Ouch! God forgive me for teaching on a subject that I fail at so consistently. Continue Reading »

In a previous post I put this question forward: Would Christ have died had he not been killed? The question is brought about by our pondering upon Christ’s identification with humanity and humanity’s identification with sin and death. Since Christ did not sin, and death is a result of sin, then wouldn’t it be systematic to believe that Christ would have lived forever in his unresurrected body had He not been 1) killed or 2) relinquished His spirit from His body? Continue Reading »

The emperor has no clothes. You all know the story. When people have an influential belief, there are reasons why it is influential, right? Of course, or it would not be influential. But the “what” of these reasons is always a case of hit or miss apologetics where consideration of their view is either asked for based upon the evidence, or demanded by a passionate appeal. Those who use the latter to argue their case have little recourse other than emotions. Continue Reading »

[audio:http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/content/files/CWS/jpmorelandkingdomtriangle.mp3] 

Download (right-click to download)

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One of the most neglected aspects of the Christian faith within Protestantism is communion. Some churches observe it only once a year; most, once a month. But in the beginning of the Christian faith, it was observed daily. After abuses, the practice fell to once a week, the Lord’s day. Many churches still observe the Eucharist weekly. This is the biblical pattern, and I believe that it is one that should be continued even now.

One theologian noted, “Christians must attend [the communion]; and this they do not as a duty, but as a distinct privilege. They may feel unworthy to attend it, and yet they know that they are welcome by our Lord, Who numbers them among His chosen people….” No, this wasn’t written by John Calvin, Martin Luther, Charles Hodge, or even John Wesley. It was written by Nicholas Elias, a Greek Orthodox priest. Continue Reading »

[audio:http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/content/files/TTP/IT/session1/IT1a.mp3,http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/content/files/TTP/IT/session1/IT1b.mp3,http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/content/files/TTP/IT/session1/IT1c.mp3, http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/content/files/TTP/IT/session1/IT1d.mp3]
Note: there are multiple sessions that will play back to back. Total time is just over 1 hour.

(what is this all about?)

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Well, maybe not a year. In fact it will be 60 weeks. Starting today (June 24), those of you who have desired to become a part of The Theology Program of Reclaiming the Mind Ministries, but but do not want to be a formal student will have this new opportunity. Continue Reading »

This is an interesting question to ponder. I believe that it is more than just pure speculation, but has implications on how we view Christ and His identity with mankind and how you view the effects of sin on man. I will leave this up here and then blog on it soon to defend my proposition of its importance. Continue Reading »