Faith & Experience

As many of today’s churches cater to those seeking entertainment-based worship services, they end up demanding very little of the average Christian and offer little or no shepherding or accountability. As a result, many people slip in and slip out below the radar. Though it often attracts the crowds, the question is whether this model […]

While it’s true that big box churches continue to see growth in numbers, there is a real question as to whether Christians in these churches experience true spiritual growth. So how do faithful churches grow, and what does it mean to be a lifelong disciple who is growing mature in Christ (Eph 4:15)? On this […]

In addition to making life-long Christian disciples, churches in our day need to equip the saints so that they can faithfully share the gospel with outsiders. And as we take the gospel out to the world, we need to resist the temptation to change or dilute the message in order to remove the offense of […]

Successful churches in our time are often led by dynamic pastors with excellent communication skills. But are these particular virtues praised in the pages of the New Testament? On this program the hosts will take a look at the issue Paul faced with the “super-apostles” of his own day, and they’ll discuss how this manifests […]

How are pastors to care for Christians in our day who hop from church to church and refuse to recognize any authority over the self? Why should anyone even go to church if they can listen to sermons online? On this program Michael Horton, Steve Parks and Mike Brown unpack this subject by pointing out […]

According to the latest statistics, nine out of ten pastors don’t end up retiring as pastors, and close to 50% don’t even make it to their 5th year of ministry before changing professions. What are the causes of these alarming trends, and what can we do to create a more sustainable vision of Christian ministry? […]

As churches conform more and more to the values of the marketplace, true and lasting community is getting harder to find. Most of us don’t even know the person we’ll sit next to on Sunday morning, and few of us care. What are the essential ingredients of an authentic Christian community? Joining Michael Horton to […]

As churches have downplayed doctrines like the holiness of God, the message of the gospel has become warped and distorted. As a result, many think of Jesus more as a best friend or life coach than they do as a divine redeemer who rescues them from sin and hell. On this special conference edition of […]

The coexistence of assurance and doubt is not a contradiction, but a reflection of the Christian life lived between justification and glorification. True assurance rests not in the strength of one’s faith, but in the object of that faith—Jesus Christ—and the presence of doubt, while unsettling, does not nullify genuine belief.

Following sound doctrine requires our eyes to remain fixed on Jesus. It also requires that our faith rests in him. Faith opens the door to God’s plan and allows us to accomplish his will for our lives. It does so chiefly because it fosters a heart that yields to the counsel and leading of God. In this way, we remain on the road of truth.

We are not merely hoping for the best outcome, we are assured of the greatest outcome—the coming of God’s Kingdom. Our faith doesn’t work like a magic eight ball, trying to tell us every detail of our lives, but our faith is knowledgeable.

Jesus’s words were a puzzle to me for a long time. Why would he push Mary away in her moment of joyful recognition? According to his own words, it seems he has some unfinished business: “I have not yet ascended to the Father” is how Jesus tells Mary—and us—that his ascension is absolutely necessary for his redeeming purposes to be brought to completion.