It may surprise you to learn that, strictly speaking, Thanksgiving Day is not a “holiday”–at least not in the strictest sense of the term. Traditionally, holidays are by definition religious occasions (”holy day”). Thanksgiving is not a sacred event, but rather is a national day of observance. To put it another way, Thanksgiving has more in common with Halloween than Christmas, though all three are considered “holidays” by most Americans.
Even though Thanksgiving is no Easter, it … [Read More]
Happy Thanksgiving
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Amend ETS
The Evangelical Theological Society will hold its annual meeting next week in Providence, Rhode Island. The ETS is a scholarly society comprised of evangelicals who affirm the inerrancy of Scripture and the doctrine of the Trinity. Because this is a pretty minimalist doctrinal commitment, the ETS has faced some internal controversies in the past decade, most notably a battle over whether open theism is a legitimate evangelical option.
To help bring greater doctrinal clarity to the ETS, Boyce … [Read More]
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The Type of Statesmen Southern Baptists Need, Part 2
1. We need leaders who balance orthodoxy and Christian piety.
As with almost all groups, at times in our history Southern Baptists have had leaders who were committed to sound doctrine but were not always careful to “watch their life” (1 Tim. 4:16). At other times we have had leaders who rejected, or at least questioned, historic orthodoxy, though many of them were seemingly model Christians in terms of their spiritual walk. This is not … [Read More]
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Insight Podcast with Ed Stetzer
Doug Baker, of the NC Baptist State Convention recently interviewed Ed Stetzer on such issues as: the gospel, the atonement and the love of God, social justice and younter Southern Baptists, decisionism vs. discipleship, gospel reductionism, baptism, missions, the Conservative Resurgence and a Great Commission Resurgence. Doug and Ed, being the insightful fellows that they are, provide a lively and worthwhile discussion. If you would like to access the podcast, click here.
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Preaching the Great Christological Texts, Part 2
1). The third message on Colossians 1:13-23, could be titled “Jesus Christ: The God of Creation.” Here the message is that Jesus is Lord of the Cross or Savior (1:13-14), Lord of Communication or Revelator (1:15), Lord of Creation or Creator (1:15-17), Lord of the Church or Leader (1:18-20), and Lord of the Christian or Master (1:21-23).
Also viewed by many as an early Christian hymn, this text emphasizes that (1) Christ makes visible the invisible … [Read More]
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Preaching the Great Christological Texts, Part 1
Evangelicals believe the biblical teaching concerning the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the sole and sufficient Savior for all persons who have lived or ever shall be. We note that such an affirmation is needed because the Christian church is now confronted with various theological heresies such as universalism, radical pluralism, theological inclusivism, and religious relativism, all of which call into question the clear teachings of Holy Scripture and belief in the particularity and finality … [Read More]
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The Type of Statesmen Southern Baptists Need, Part 1
In honor of our national elections, I want to offer a reflection on the type of statesmen I believe Southern Baptists need. I think this is an important issue because Southern Baptists are in the midst of a transitional era. I assume there are few who would question this. And there is perhaps no greater evidence that we are a denomination in transition than the hopes expressed and concerns raised about Convention leadership (both present … [Read More]
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Biblical Marriage In A Broken World, Part 5
Portrait Of A Redeemed Husband
Having called a man to love his wife in Ephesians 5, God also instructs a man to “know” or “understand” his wife in 1 Peter 3:7. Moving into the area of practical theology, I want to raise and attempt to answer the question, “what does a marriage look like when a man has come to know his wife as God made her?” How can he love and bless her as … [Read More]
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