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The word “atheism” comes from a Greek word meaning “without god.” According to Webster’s Dictionary, atheism is “disbelief in or denial of the existence of God.” To borrow the language of Scripture, the atheist’s creed can be summarized in the four words: “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1b). But the Bible does not merely state…
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Depression is one of the most common forms of human suffering. In a typical year, approximately 21 million American adults and another 5 million adolescents experience a major depressive episode. For many, the effects are severe enough to impair work, school, relationships, and daily life. The economic cost alone is estimated between $200 and $300…
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Following its treatment of the Law (2LCF 19), the 1689 Baptist Confession, following the Savoy, devotes an entire chapter to the Gospel (2LCF 20). However, chapter twenty doesn’t provide us with a definition or description of the gospel. Rather, it addresses the necessity and accessibility of the gospel. In particular, it seeks to answer perennial…
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Some have compared the Confession to the US Constitution and have advocated a form of subscription analogous to “Strict Constructionism.” In this case, a creed or confession must always be interpreted and applied in accordance with the intent of its framers. Failure to do so calls into question one’s integrity and signifies that one is…
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In Genesis 28 Jacob dreams of a stairway linking heaven and earth—a vision that reveals a profound biblical principle: true religion does not arise from humanity’s attempt to ascend to God but from God’s gracious decision to descend and reveal himself. In this lecture commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, I explore how Jacob’s…
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What do we say when a Christian mother backs the car over the top of her little toddler and crushes him to death? When a young Christian man discovers he has brain cancer and must soon leave his three young children without a father? When a hurricane destroys the homes and disrupts the lives not…
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Having considered the decline of family worship (Part 1), as well as some biblical principles (Part 2) and positive benefits to support its practice (Part 3), I’d now like to offer several basic guidelines that should govern our thinking and practice as we endeavor to implement family worship in our homes. 1. Be consistent and…
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Having considered the decline of family worship (Part 1) and some biblical support for its practice (Part 2), we look now at some positive benefits, which in turn supply another argument for its restoration. As Paul instructs us in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether we eat, drink, or whatever we do, we’re to do all to…
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In Part 1, we defined family worship as “the occasion in which the members of a given family gather together in order to participate in special acts of worship, such as the singing of praise, the reading and hearing of Scripture, and the offering of prayer to God.” In this segment of our study, we’ll attempt to…
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I attended a Christian University along with approximately five-thousand other students, most of whom came from Christian homes. Although I never conducted an official survey, my general impression was that very few of my fellow Christian students had grown up in homes where family worship had been regularly practiced. It was a foreign concept to…