The “Grievous Sin” of Neglecting the Church (Ames)

 The Lord Jesus has a special love and care for his church (Eph. 1:22-23, 5:25ff).  He is the good Shepherd who carefully watches over his flock (Ps. 23) and unselfishly gave up his life to save her (Jn. 10:11).  He loves his bride (the church) so much that he promised to build her up, beautify her, …

“I Am a Church Member”

 Thom Rainer’s I Am A Church Member (Nashville: B&H, 2013) is a helpful little booklet that sets forth a healthy Christian attitude towards church membership.  It isn’t a detailed theological treatise about church membership, but it is a good and straightforward introduction to biblical church membership.  It is written in clear language, is quite short …

Disabilities, Christ, and His Church

This is a great book on a subject that should be discussed more: Disability and the Gospel by Michael Beates.  I reviewed it awhile back, and highly recommend it.  I recently opened this book again and ran across a great quote - one that is worth pondering. “One misconception our culture has about disabilities is …

Dear Wormwood: Make Him Loathe The Church

 Discontent with church?  You [and I!] need to read this.  [It is from C.S. Lewis' brilliant work, The Screwtape Letters, (letter II).  Wormwood, a devil, receives instructions from his uncle Screwtape on how to get a person away from Christ.] "My Dear Wormwood: ...One of our great allies at present is the Church itself.  Do not misunderstand me.  …