1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. 2 O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? 3 Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 4 So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. 5 “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in […]

  On January 20, 1649, 60 black-gowned judges sat before 120 soldiers and thousands of citizens in the Great Hall at Westminster for the public opening of the trial of King Charles I. However, no sooner had John Cooke, the young Puritan barrister from Gray’s Inn, begun to speak then he was interrupted by the king prodding him with his silver-tipped cane: “Hold.” But the barrister ignored the king’s repeated interruptions until the king hit Cooke hard enough to dislodge the silver tip, which rolled on to the floor. The two men looked at each other, and the king nodded […]

Pastor John Scripture reference:  Jeremiah 42: 1-22

  In February 2008, the Washington Post reported that the next generation of evangelicals will crusade for a different type of justice than the Religious Right of the 1980s; rather than focusing on abortion and homosexuality, they will identify the environment, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and human rights violations as top Christian concerns 1Indeed, a growing body of literature proclaims a new era in evangelical activism.2 For instance, Sojourners founder Jim Wallis declared in a recent book, “[E]vangelicals are deserting the Religious Right in droves, especially among a new generation of pastors and young people. The evangelical social agenda is now much […]

  Mosab Hassan Yousef had been warned by Israeli intelligence officials not to get baptized. As a high-profile figure in the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, publicly renouncing Islam could result in his murder. Furthermore, his critical role as a secret, counter-terrorism agent would be compromised. But, as a new believer in Christ, he insisted upon baptism, and so the ceremony took place on a Tel Aviv beach. Mosab, indeed, took precautions to keep it from Hamas, but his already dangerous life took on new peril as he began his walk with Christ, a walk which has demanded ever more courage […]

  by Alistair Begg: “You are 365 days nearer death than you were at Father’s Day last year, 24 hours nearer death than you were this time yesterday morning. We are dying. We will never die as Jacob died unless we live as Jacob lived. You cannot die in faith unless you live in faith and you cannot live in faith unless you come to faith. You cannot come to faith until you see yourself as a needy sinner before Christ, repent of your sin, ask Him to save you, cry out for His mercy and has Him to come […]

Pastor John Scripture Reference: Ephesians 5:22 – 6:4

   5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:5-6 (ESV)

  The death this month of Antony Flew brings an end to one of the most interesting lives in twentieth century philosophy. Throughout the last half of that century, Professor Flew was recognized as one of the most significant philosophical advocates of atheism, eventually writing at least 35 works, many arguing for the non-existence of God. Then, at age 81, Antony Flew changed his mind. God, he explained, probably does exist.

 Robert B. McNeill had been fired from the pastorate of Columbus, Georgia’s First Presbyterian Church. His offense was writing in a magazine article that blacks and whites should serve together in government, professional societies, and other organizations. Then, when pressured by segregationist church leaders, he would not recant his opinions. So he stood behind his pulpit for the last time in June 1959 and explained the reason for his stand, noting: “There are those in the church who so overtly despise race prejudice that they are willing to wear a black badge of stigma until all racial injustice is wiped […]