Christward Collective

Many western churches are withering spiritually because their pastors and church members have bought into the lie that rigorous theological study is outdated and unnecessary. Yet, many of the churches in which pastors are committed to historic theology miss the mark when it comes to ensuring that...

"When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward" (Matt. 6:5). These are some of the most sobering words ever spoken by...

Have you ever played a word association game? Let’s do one now. What’s the first thought that comes to mind when you think of John Calvin? Perhaps you thought of the words predestination, reformation, and theology. I doubt you thought of parenthood. Calvin on Psalm 78 After my first...

It is inevitable that every Christian will, at some point in his or her life, be found in the middle of a difficult season of church life. On one hand, it’s understandable; we are sinful people trying to live in community with other sinful people, and that can get messy. We’re being...

My family moved to St. Simons Island, GA in 1989. I was 12 years old. One of the first things that I distinctly remember about that beautiful, little secluded Island was the fact that we could walk into a store, write our name on a ledger and walk out with just about whatever we wanted in the store...

You've heard that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. Fair enough. But in light of the 500th year celebration of the Reformation, those who don’t know history are doomed to under-appreciate it. We should celebrate and rejoice in the rediscovery of, as Ray Ortlund...

Preaching at someone's funeral is one of the most difficult aspects of pastoral ministry. It is all the more difficult when it is the funeral service of a loved one or a beloved member of the church. However, the most challenging of all is preaching the funeral of someone who was almost...

The warning in the book of James to teachers is sobering, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (3:1). Some of that “greater strictness” is seen in the responses of church members and the...

Swimmers fear and love the blocks, standing there before a race, waiting to climb that little platform, the brief prelude to the race. There is nervous, expectant anxiety there. And so we all develop little rituals, habitual movements to help calm our nerves—the stretches, arm swinging, and...

The Wisdom literature is among the most neglected of all genres in Scripture. This is, no doubt, partly on account of the fact that there are an abundance of difficulties when we approach the reading and study of Proverbs--our historical distance from them, the apparent similarity with writings of...