Ref21 Blog

Well I'm not sure why. With all the creepy spiders that crawl on my Facebook page, why did the Internet powers that be decide to give me this particular advertisement in my newsfeed? But there it was: Facetune.This is an...

In recent weeks I have been preaching through Job. The series is not a verse-by-verse exposition but a thematic overview. I suspect the series will consist of nine sermons. However, I always reserve the right to call an audible. Preaching...

This week's Spin is up. In this episode, we move swiftly from discussing a recent example of the problems created for innocent pastors by the broad evangelical parachurch culture of the Top Men to reflecting once again on that...

On The Brink: Grace for the Burned Out Pastor is the title of a new book by Clay Werner. I don't know of another book on the subject quite like it. Werner does a faithful job of offering encouragement, some...

"I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation" (Ps. 111:1).One of the more popular features on our church website (www.spcgreenville.org) is the live video webcast that allows people...

I am I am, I am I am I think I am, I think I am I'm glad I am I'm proud I am A real [balanced] manWho is this person in the middle who carefully avoids extremes in his theologizing? It is all...

A reminder from Spurgeon to deal in our ministry with subjects suitable to an immortal being, taken from a sermon on The Word of the Cross (#1611):If I were able to explain to a general audience how to make unlimited...

Church planting requires many administrative tasks. From setting up email accounts and registering the church's 501-C3 status to fundraising and sending update letters, one can easily spend over one-hundred hours on the front end tackling these necessary duties. In addition...

John Pye Smith was a Congregationalist of the first half of the nineteenth century. He was theological tutor at the Dissenting academy known as Homerton College near Hackney, London, for forty-five years between 1805 and 1850. In addition he was...

Among contemporary theologians there are two I would rather read than all others. One is J.I. Packer and the other is Donald MacLeod. Like Packer, Donald MacLeod knows that theology is ultimately not for the academy but for the church....

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of Moses to the unfolding of God's plan of salvation. Arguably, Moses is the most significant Old Testament figure because of his unique role as mediator of the old covenant. In this sense,...

As far back as I can recall, Christians have utilized the phrase, "personal relationship" in evangelism. It is oft-times used as a synonym for "salvation." Perhaps pressing the phrase to its unlikely meaning, we might suggest that the phrase, "personal...

There is little doubt that an appetite for pornography is endemic in the modern West. That this is the case was driven home on a recent voyage. On my outward journey, I settled in to my seat for what was...

This week's MoS discussion is on strength in weakness.  Moving from reflections on boy bands through discussion of Bill Shatner's outstanding career as thespian ('He's our greatest cultural icon!' according to the Arts section of Canadian Librarian Monthly) to Aimee's...

Life and relationships have become all too superficial in our present age. It is the easiest thing in the world to say we know someone and yet really have nothing more than a nodding acquaintance. Indeed with the influence of...