Born in 1662, Matthew Henry was a premature baby and a sickly infant. His early education was provided in the family home by his father and tutors. After some theological study he turned to training for a legal career before candidating for the ministry in 1686. He was soon identified as a gifted preacher and exercised a successful pastoral calling, mainly at Chester and only later in London.

Pastor Chris Scripture Reference: Matthew 7:13-29

  Dorothy L. Sayers was a well-known British author, playwright, and scholar. Graduating from Oxford University in 1915, she was among one of the first groups of women to achieve this distinction. Sayers had a knack for unmasking misperceptions of the faith. In her day, efforts to redefine Christian practice and teachings were fueled by an apparent boredom with presentation of doctrine. In her Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine, she countered this mentality, critiquing the appalling apathy and biblical ignorance of those who called themselves “Christian.” Sadly, though, times have not much […]

    Many contemporary critics of the faith charge that Christianity is a barrier to progress. Of course, these critics are prone to have a twisted view of progress, one involving moral and spiritual decline. But they also suffer from historical blindness. If they did their homework, they would see that God’s people have been extraordinary agents of social health, artistic excellence, and scientific advance. By God’s common grace and providence, non-believers also do remarkable things, but there is nothing to compare with the consistent, splendid record of the saints. Yes, the Church has sometimes embarrassed herself, as during the Crusades […]

by Phil Boatwright KANSAS CITY, Kan. (BP) — This month your intrepid movie reporter found three subjects to explore. Let’s see if I can do it in 750 words (the recommended maximum length for internet columns, I’m told).

  7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Matthew 3:7 (ESV)

Pastor Chris Scripture Reference: Matthew 7:1-12

  Following a civil war under the reign of King John, the Magna Carta emerged in 1215 first as terms of a treaty and later as the foundation of the English Constitution. In seed form, it established inalienable rights that no monarch had the power to remove. For instance, it said that “No [extraordinary tax] shall be imposed on our kingdom, unless by common counsel of our kingdom.” It also posited the right to trial by jury, declared the Church free from government coercion, and generally exalted the rule of law.1 So powerful were its arguments that politicians and scholars […]

  Edward McKendree Bounds was a noted American clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He served as a chaplain to the Confederate army during the Civil War and pastored churches throughout the South. Yet Bounds’ most famous work was his writing on prayer. Noted for his personal devotion to Christ, he prayed each morning from four until seven.

  By Owen Strachan A Christian theology professor tries to answer the question that’s dominated conversations in bars, dorm rooms, and the pages of ESPN.