The Reformers confronted the Catholic church with five scriptural principles by which they sought to reform the church. If the 21st century church is to once again transform the culture by the proclamation of the gospel of the LORD Jesus…
Today the Roman Catholic Church does not sound like the Roman Catholic Church of the Counter Reformation of the 16th century. I am not talking about tone but rather content. For example, in the first canon of the twenty-second session…
In the last section of the golden book Calvin asks how the present life and its comfort should be used by the Christian. The question of use invites us to think about fit. In other words, says Calvin, we must…
The raising of Lazarus from the dead in John 11 always elicits memories of what older preachers have said as they thundered through the text. I’m not sure who said it but someone somewhere once said, “Jesus called Lazarus from…
I enjoy good children’s books, and not just to read to my children, but because they can be beautiful, fun, and moving. Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss is one of my favorites. It contains a page halfway…
Gudina Tumsa – Martyr and Thinker On July 28, 1979, Gudina Tumsa led a Bible study at Urael Church in Addis Ababa, one of the congregations of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY). He had barely left the church…
We see and hear it all the time people talking about faith; banners that say “faith, family, friends,” or “faith makes things possible” and another is, “when you’re close to the edge, faith is knowing you will be taught to…
Nothing tears at the inner fabric of our humanity more than ruptured relationships. Whether it be the heart of a family ripped apart through divorce, or rebellious children, a church fellowship shredded by conflict, or all the other levels and…
Onesimos Nesib, Aster Ganno, and the Oromo Translating Team In my last post, I wrote about Pauline Fathme, Christian Rufo, and their efforts to bring the gospel to Ethiopia. Rufo worked with the German Johann Ludwig Krapf to translate…
Just to lay my cards on the table: whenever the New Testament references the calling of believers, it is always a reference to our salvation or its fruits in our lives, what theologians have termed the effectual call of God[i].…
