There are two kinds of poor…

First, there are people who are poor by choice. That is, they have a chance- and even the means- to move forward in life… they simply refuse to take it.

Proverbs calls these poor “sluggards.” They’re lazy. They’re unrighteous.

...

The Bible outlines a radical plan for compassion and justice…

In fact, the Scripture gives us an “upside down” plan for just about everything.

It begins with personal responsibility.

Then it moves to the family.

Then it grows to the Church.

And, finally, we move to man-made...

Tis the season to… sponsor an angel child, send a shoe box of gifts, volunteer at a soup kitchen, gift blankets and jackets and hats…

That is, it’s the season for charity.

Christmas is a time when we typically thing about people in need. We fill up the red kettles as The...

Every year new words and phrases find their way into our vocabulary. 

• Sometimes these neologisms are the result of political turns of events, like Brexit, alt-right, or newsjacking.
• Sometimes it is technology and digital media that introduce new words like hashtag, emoji, or listicle.
• ...

Welcome.

In SF 01 we work through a few preliminary details... like why George turned the foyer of his house into a library (as well as just how many books he really has).

Then we take on the idea of history. And the Bible. And why we need to study both.

We see that it's not about nostalgia, nor...

Culture is simply a worldview made evident. It is basic beliefs worked out into habits of life. It is theology translated into sociology. Culture is a very practical expression of the common faith of a community or a people or a nation. Culture is, as Henry Van Til famously quipped, "religion...

When I was in seminary, the “Church Growth Movement” was just getting its sea legs.  So, of course, it was all the rage in the hallowed halls of academia—if not amongst the profs, most assuredly amongst their charges.  Filled with uninformed enthusiasm my peers tended...

In 1821, Dr. John Rippon, pastor of the New Park Street Chapel in Southwark, London, began a ministry to the homeless poor. A complex of almshouses was erected on a property adjacent to the church and the monumental task of rehabilitation was begun.

Rippon wrote, “Christian compassion is...

We are all citizens of one world, we are all of one blood. To hate people because they were born in another country, because they speak a different language, or because they take a different view on this subject or that, is a great folly. Desist, I implore you, for we are all equally human. Let...

All leaders are controversial.  They invariably risk the ire of others.  Because they stand for certain things, they necessarily stand against certain things.  This causes them to stand out.  It makes them more than a little peculiar in this plain vanilla world of smothering...