Jeff Straub Last week, I began to offer some advice to help churches become more missions-minded. My first counsel was that the pastor must himself take the lead on missions in the assembly. He should read missionary letters regularly so that he may pray privately and publicly for the missionaries more deliberately. He should answer… Continue Reading
Jeff Straub Seminary professors who come to the classroom with missionary and pastoral experience can offer immense practical value to men preparing for ministry. I recently observed my fortieth anniversary of preaching the gospel. I began vocational ministry a few years later, in the fall of 1980, and spent a total of nineteen years in… Continue Reading
The Free Church tradition typically devotes more thought to the way preaching shapes liturgy than vice versa. This is an unfortunate imbalance that overlooks the importance the New Testament places on liturgy for spiritual instruction (cf. Ephesians 5:18-20, Colossians 3:16). Liturgy trains Christian affections to love biblical preaching. The approach advocated here distinguishes between feelings… Continue Reading
Every church follows a form of liturgy, whether intentional or not. Unfortunately, some churches tend toward two extremes in this matter. Some traditions take liturgy very seriously, but treat it as if it exists independently from preaching. Others uphold the priority of preaching as if necessary liturgical choices are only marginally important. Instead, we must… Continue Reading
We are pleased to announce that Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Minneapolis has been granted associate membership in the Association of Theological Schools. This recognition gives Central Seminary standing in the most credible and widely acknowledged organization for accrediting seminaries and graduate schools of theology. Central Seminary is believed to be the first fundamentalist institution… Continue Reading
Short-term mission trips are now part of the warp and woof of evangelical Christianity. Like so many other things, short-term trips have their pros and cons. Last week, I considered some of the virtues of taking a short-term missions trip. This week, I want to examine some of the challenges and difficulties. These issues are… Continue Reading
Travel through any international airport in the world today, especially during the summer, and you will see them: in numbers large and small, youth, college, career, even senior citizens are headed to or returning from a short-term mission trip. Quite often, you can identify them from across the terminal by their pastel t-shirts that say… Continue Reading
Last week, I shared some observations gained from a busy summer of teaching internationally. I received a number of replies, both supportive and questioning, that merit some further clarifications. Let me say categorically—I unequivocally support church planting! But I also believe in theological education. Both have their place in world evangelism. My goal last week… Continue Reading
In May and July, the Lord gave me the opportunity to travel overseas to teach church history in three different countries. Two of the countries were in Africa and the other was a major Asian country. Two of the countries were new places for me to visit. In all three locations, I was in urban… Continue Reading
Recently, an article was written by Thomas Rainer here regarding a worship style that is attractive to Millennials. Just to be clear on the name “Millennials,” it is a generational term ascribed to a particular group of people born during a certain time period. Here is a list of the six living generations today: “The Greatest Generation”… Continue Reading
During the time of the Kings of the split Kingdom, there were certain kings of Judah (Southern Kingdom) who did right in the sight of the Lord, and others who did evil. Second Chronicles follows these Kings and describes their reigns, largely focusing on their worship practices. Such is the case with King Manasseh. King… Continue Reading
Recently, Pastor Michael Harding of First Baptist Church of Troy, Michigan was invited to debate the issue of Christians and beverage alcohol on a Moody Radio program called Up for Debate. Mike argued the position of abstinence—while the Bible, in his opinion, does not explicitly prohibit the use of beverage alcohol, Christians should nevertheless abstain… Continue Reading
Several years ago, I was burdened about the need to focus the attention of our children away from the materialistic influences of Christmas. That task is a daunting one to say the least in our consumer-driven society. We do not withhold Christmas gifts from our children, and we thoroughly enjoy the Christmas holidays. However, I desired… Continue Reading
Many Christians today are understandably concerned about the state of our nation. There seems to be corruption on many levels, and very few politicians appear worthy to be trusted. Where will our nation be in 10 years, when my children reach adulthood? What will it look like? What kinds of things that are mildly tolerated… Continue Reading
The modern American culture treats the normal week as beginning with Monday. The typical work week is from Monday through Friday, which often leads people to “live for the weekend.” Saturday, then, is often taken up with some kind of event, while Sunday is set aside for “family time,” sporting events, or home projects. This… Continue Reading
Following the rigid ceremonialism of the Roman Catholic Church, reformers such as Luther and Calvin were cautious about formalizing Christian worship to a ceremonial “first day of the week” type of worship. They did not disagree with the fact that the first day of the week was the Lord’s Day, and thought it to be… Continue Reading
The scriptural information regarding the Lord’s Day ends at Revelation 1:10. However, a helpful addition to the biblical material is the record of history’s view of the Lord’s Day. For instance, how did those in early church history consider Sunday the Lord’s Day? The evidence through early centuries gives an interesting insight into their views… Continue Reading
In considering a discussion of the Lord’s Day, it is helpful to do so in connection with the Old Testament Sabbath Day. This can help us establish a historical mindset regarding both the significance of the Jewish Sabbath, as well as the Lord’s Day. The principle of the Sabbath rest goes back to the Creation… Continue Reading
When addressing the question of the importance of the Lord’s Day, it is helpful to investigate other internal evidence within the New Testament, prior to Revelation 1, that would help us understand how the early church treated this day. In seeking out this information, we must begin by understanding the first century Jewish mindset, particularly… Continue Reading
The phrase “the Lord’s Day” is used only one time in the Scriptures, and it comes in the final book of the New Testament. In Revelation 1:10 the apostle John describes himself being “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day” when he received revelation from Jesus Christ Himself. The word “Lord’s” is the Greek word kuriake,… Continue Reading