Month: August 2014

The Pilgrim Story: Trials of the Voyage

In my last post about the Pilgrims, I laid out their rationale for leaving Holland and resettling in America. I hinted at some of the problems they were going to face. First, only a minority of the Separatist congregation would be able to make the trip initially, and their pastor, John Robinson, would have to stay behind with the majority. It turns out he never made it to the New World; he died before he could make the trip. But… Read more »

Finney: The Spirit of Prayer

Charles Finney, in his autobiography, provides excellent details on the many revivals that followed him as he ministered in New York in his early years as an evangelist. Yet while he does credit the message itself, he never falls into the trap of thinking the results came purely through man’s efforts. Prayer, he asserts, is the key to success: If anything occurred that threatened to mar the work, if there was any appearance of any root of bitterness springing up,… Read more »

Lewis: How to View the Second Coming

For the second Saturday in a row, I want to share some of C. S. Lewis’s thoughts about the Second Coming of Christ. Last week, his comments made it clear that this is a central doctrine of the faith. Yet he also wants us to be wary of trying to pin a date on it. In his essay “The World’s Last Night,” he offers this caution: We must never speak to simple, excitable people about “the Day” without emphasizing again… Read more »

No Moral Equivalence in the Middle East

I support Israel. Why? It is the ancient homeland of the Jews, the place where God handed down His law, the center of the world from the establishment of His people through the ministry of Jesus. It is where Jesus suffered and died for us all. It was the scene of His resurrection. Now, none of that necessarily means I should support Israel today. If that nation was a hotbed of terrorism and a threat to the world, I wouldn’t… Read more »