Categories
Writings on Christianity

A Christian Perspective on the FUTURE

All of us have a worldview (how we understand reality and the ultimate questions in life) and this worldview shapes how we consider the future of humanity. I am a Christian and that deeply shapes how I think about the future. On the one hand, I don’t have a cheery optimism about where humanity is […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

Overcoming Objections to Predestination (Machen)

Machen is helpful in thinking through objections to predestination. In one of his radio addresses, found in “Things Unseen,” he tells us what predestination does NOT mean: It does not mean…that God’s choice of some men for salvation while others are passed by is due to mere chance or that there is anything arbitrary about […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

Helping Others Out of the Misery of Doubt

I ran across this great quote from Machen on our attitude and approach to unbelievers and regarding our apologetic conversations with them: “[W]e do not regard the people who differ from us regarding these great concerns of the soul as our enemies. On the contrary, we long to help them. Having known something of the […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

Romans 5:6-8 Sermon Outline

Here’s my sermon outline from Romans 5:6-8, preached at Cross of Christ Fellowship (our church in Naperville). You can listen to the audio here. Romans 5:6-8 “God’s Love Displayed” Intro: How do we know that God loves us? What gives us the reason to believe that He loves us? When life is hard and difficulties […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

3 Reasons to Be Glad in God (Romans 5:2-5 Sermon Outline)

Here’s the notes from my sermon outline for Romans 5:2-5 preached at Cross of Christ Fellowship, our church in Naperville. You can listen to the sermon on this page. Romans 5:2-5 “3 Reasons to be Glad in God” Intro: There are many things in life that are wonderful, but we don’t realize how wonderful they […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

Peace with God (Romans 5:1) Sermon Outline

Here’s the outline for the sermon on Romans 5:1 that I preached at Cross of Christ Fellowship, our church in Naperville. You can hear the audio here. Romans 5:1 “Peace with God” C.S. Lewis once said, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

Justice and Worldviews

Justice and Worldviews We are discussing justice this Saturday at our intellectual discussion group. We ALL long to see justice take place, to see evil punished and the right and good vindicated. We long to see the oppressed delivered and the enslaved set free. How does one explain these desires and the longing for justice? […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

PRAYER: Ordinary Means of Grace

Here’s the outline for my sermon on prayer as an ordinary means of grace, which I preached at Cross of Christ Fellowship, our church in Naperville. We have been spending the month of July looking together at Acts 2:42. Here is a scene from the Early Church where 3k people have come to faith in […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

A Cure for Consumerism

Consumerism is a cancer in the American church (see Dever and Dunlop’s book). It shows itself in an incessant hunger for better programs, better preachers, and better places of worship. It is marked by a never-ending search for the “right church.” It results either in Christians never committing themselves to a healthy local church or […]

Categories
Writings on Christianity

John Frame’s 3 Reasons Why We Pray

In John Frame’s Systematic Theology, he gives 3 reasons why we pray. Divine Command (God commands us to pray) Fellowship with God (through prayer we experience a closeness to God) Prayer changes things. Concerning the last point, here’s a couple helpful quotes: “God ordains prayer as a means to change history. There are things that […]