Three Tragic Consequences of a Two-Party System
By Brad Bell Protestant Theology has long been plagued by one of the same problems as American politics. Ironically, this problem has been around much longer in theology than our current government. What is it? A two-party system. Long before our modern government took form, Protestant theological discussion became gridlocked by two polarized parties—the Calvinists […]
Are You Edifying the Body?
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, […]
Sacrificial Love
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little […]
One Way You Should Emulate Martin Luther
“For several years he [Martin Luther] read through the whole Bible twice a year, cover to cover. He characterized his reading with phrases like “rapping on it” or “knocking on it” for it to open; he “stormed” it or “tasted” individual verses.”—Thomas Kaufmann, A Short Life of Martin Luther, p 60. The Reformation was fueled […]
One Way to Prepare for Any Decision
Every person wrestles with making decisions. We make decisions every day such as what clothes to where, whether to check social media right now or read the Bible, whether to order fries or Brussel sprouts with a hamburger, whether to eat out in the first place, etc… As well, we all face “larger” decisions at […]
Every day, God is Good
I was studying Hebrew in Israel when another student arrived somewhat unexpectedly without a place to stay. We were in a conundrum. He was present for the course but did not have a place to stay. Lodging at a price a student can afford can be difficult to find, especially on short notice. I made […]
Two Lessons from Robert Chapman on an Accurate View of Sin and Pleasing God
by Brad Bell Robert Chapman was a 19th century pastor/elder of an assembly of believers in Barnstable, England. He was widely respected by men including Spurgeon, Darby, and Müller. Believers are called to live pleasing to God. But some are too quick to think they have achieved sinless perfection, or something close to it. Yet, […]
Navigating Among Mountains and Words
by Brad Bell The tractor is running. The computer is running. My nose is running. He runs every day. We’ll give him a run for his money. The machine is running. It was a quick run. This is a long run of sentences. The English word run has a large range of meaning. It can […]
3 Tragic Consequences of a Two-Party System
by Brad Bell Protestant Theology has long been plagued by one of the same problems as politics. Ironically, this problem has been around much longer in theology than our current political systems. What is this common problem? A two-party system. Long before our modern governments took form, Protestant theological discussion became gridlocked by two polarized […]
How You Should Respond to the Darkness of Cultural Christmas
by Brad Bell We should not be surprised by the darkness of worldliness and materialism which pervades the culture. For many, Christmas is simply a day off work, an opportunity for gluttony, and an excuse to accumulate more stuff. At best, it may be viewed as an opportunity to spend time with family. For many, […]