The Comforting Doctrine Of Election

Posted on December 25, 2019 by John Chester

It is Christmas day. And for many that means spending time with extended family. And there is great joy in that. It is great to see and enjoy time with family members. But for believers there can be a tinge of sadness. For many of us getting together with family means getting together with unsaved family members; for some of us it means getting together with only or mostly unsaved family member. And often after the last present is unwrapped and the left overs are cleared away and you are in the car on the way home often a wave of sadness comes; those people you love so much are headed to hell.… Continue reading

God in a Feed Trough: The Surprising Sign of the Manger

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Zach Putthoff

And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

The more time that I spend over the years reading and thinking about the account of Jesus’ birth, the more I think…this is such a strange story! By “story” I don’t mean “fiction.” I simply mean that it is a truly peculiar string of events. Take the sign that accompanied the birth of the Christ-child. No, not the star that rested over the place of his birth. Not the angels appearing to announce his birth to shepherds. I’m talking about the surprising sign of a dingy manger.… Continue reading

Reprise: Don’t Be a Lone Wolf

Posted on December 11, 2019 by John Chester

It was one of the most uncomfortable meals of my life. I had called a semi-local likeminded pastor in order to make him aware of a situation that may impact his small, rural church. After a brief phone conversation, we agreed to meet for lunch the next week. And after some initial pleasantries, he thanked me for calling him, and then he began to weep, and he kept weeping for well over an hour. The reason he wept was this, he felt utterly alone in ministry and his small little church, only a little over an hour away from us, felt utterly isolated from the universal church.… Continue reading