Christward Collective

Whether they have read it in the book of Ecclesiastes or heard it from The Byrd's , most people in our culture are familiar with the following biblical poetry: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven": A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to...

Sir Isaac Newton, borrowing a phrase from Bernard of Chartres, once noted, "If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” This maxim holds just as true in the realm of theology as it does in the sphere of scientific investigation. Anyone who has given himself or...

When Jesus sent out his twelve disciples to minister the gospel he told them how they should conduct themselves as kingdom servants (Matt. 10:5–15). But he also spoke of the responsibility of the people to receive these ministers as his official representatives. Jesus insists that the way...

I've been a member of churches that have had an Inquirer's/New Member class and a member of churches that haven't. The most comprehensive Inquirer's class that I attended was at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. When I left Tenth to plant New Covenant , I started one within...

Marriage has many enemies. It is so foundational to God’s design that we should not be surprised when the world, the flesh, and the devil rage against it. Marriage is a means to new life and order, a place where we learn about servant leadership and humble submission. It is the picture God...

The cultural landscape in the West has changed drastically in recent years. What seems even more striking is that more drastic changes appear to loom on the horizon. The world as we know it is turning upside down. How does the Christian and how does the Church stand in such a world? In a similarly...

Several years ago, I was leading a seminar on family worship at a conference and a man told me, “As a child, I always dreaded Sundays. My parents made it miserable.” I was sad to hear about his experience and the only thing I could think to say was, “Well, then they were obviously...

Nothing serves to strengthen our faith so much as seeing the various patterns which God has woven into the pages of Scriptures in order to form a beautiful tapastry of His redeeming grace in Christ. It is not uncommon for theologians to refer to the meta-narrative, or the story of Scripture, as...

The English pastor and commentator Matthew Henry (1662-1714) wrote a book on prayer just two years before his death. Henry's A Method for Prayer is the result of a life of meditating upon and praying through the Scriptures. This book is essentially an outline that walks the Christian through...

It is Friday. You are going to the doctor for an inoculation, and you turn up for your appointed meeting, and the receptionist informs you that, “Sorry, but I am afraid that the doctor was a little bit tired today, and wasn’t able to come in. End of a long week, you know.” You...