Bradley Wetherbee

Like many other believers, I’ve always sought to have a time of devotion and prayer each morning. And like most other believers, I have found it a struggle to be consistent. Imagine my surprise when I came across a place in John Calvin’s Institutes where he argues that, when it comes to daily prayer, once is not enough. Calvin points to the exhortation to “pray without ceasing” ( 1 Thess. 5:17 ) and says that, of course, every Christian should aspire to pray to God constantly through the...

In sixth century BC, Babylon was the preeminent power in the world, and this passage shows how they conquered Israel and deported the professional classes, including artisans, scholars, and government and military officers, in order to subjugate them through assimilation. This passage shows how Daniel and his three friends confronted the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. What happened in that confrontation? www.gospelinlife.com.

Early Christians before Constantine were both highly persecuted for being too exclusive, narrow, and strange, and yet at the same time they were fast growing, especially in the urban centers. (See Alan Kreider, “The Improbable Growth of the Church” in The Patient Ferment of the Early Church, Baker Academic, 2016). This has been called an effective “missionary encounter” with Roman society. There was both offense and attraction, confrontation and persuasion. Christianity did not adapt to...

This amazing carol about whether or not Mary understood the deity and future crucifixion of the Christ child will both break your heart and give you hope. Beautifully sung by Brad Wetherbee.

Years ago, on the advice of an older and wiser Christian, I began trying to pray through the Psalms once every month. Don’t be too impressed—I seldom make it through all 150 of the psalms every 30 days. However, by making that the goal I am able to eventually ponder each one at least several times a year. One psalm especially has always caught my attention— Psalm 71 . It might be entitled a ‘Psalm for Old Age.’ In verse 5 the psalmist says, “For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my...

I want to talk today about you. There are a lot of questions about what kind of unique witness should the church have at a time like this—how do you pastorally care for people who are experiencing anxiety on a unique level? But I don’t want to talk about those. I want to talk about you. If you have ever flown on an airplane, you know that the flight attendants are required to give a safety briefing at the beginning of every flight. At one point they always say, “If the cabin pressure falls,...

What Does the Bible Say About Race and Racism? Creation by a Triune God. The Bible begins with God fashioning the world through his creative Word and Spirit (Genesis 1:1-3); a God that we know from the New Testament (John 1:1-3) to be Triune. God is one and yet exists in three equal, eternal, and distinct persons. God is not more three than one, nor more one than three. He is perfect unity in diversity and diversity in unity. The implications of this are clear in Ephesians 4:1-6. Paul urges...

Galatians 5:22-23 lists the qualities of “faithfulness” and “meekness” next to each other. Faithfulness has to do with the keeping of promises, and the courageous declaration of truth. The Greek word prautas , which is translated “meekness” or “gentleness” in Galatians 5:23 means mildness and gentleness in dealing with people. It can mean to be teachable (James 1:21) or just modest, generous, humble, and considerate toward others (1 Corinthians 4:21; 2 Corinthians 10:1; Ephesians 4:2;...

Like many other believers, I’ve always sought to have a time of devotion and prayer every morning. And like most other believers I have found it to be a struggle to be consistent. Imagine my surprise when I came across a place in John Calvin’s Institutes where he argued that when it comes to daily prayer, once is not enough. Calvin points to the exhortation to “pray without ceasing” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ) and says that, of course, every Christian should aspire to pray to God constantly...