Tim Challies has a good article about the challenge of raising children in A Pornified Culture. He talks about the long term damage done to both boys and girls by exposure to porn, and suggestions for parents who want to protect their children from developing a warped view of sex.

Lent is a time of soul-searching and repentance in preparation for the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection on Good Friday and Easter. In the Western Church, Lent consists of the 40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays. Read the rest»»

I wrote this FAQ on Christian Fasting several years ago. I decided to post it on my blog now because it is related to my article on Lent.

The Christian Church has a rich history of fasting. Moses, Elijah, Esther, Nehemiah, Daniel and Paul, fasted at crucial points. Jesus both taught and modeled fasting. Godly men and women throughout the centuries have used fasting as a means to draw near to God.
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Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it. (2 Samuel 23:20)

What in the world was Benaiah thinking? Most sane people would run away from the lion, not chase it! Beginning from this passage, Mark Batterson in Catalyst explains we need more gutsy leaders who are not afraid to take on a challenge. (You can read the entire article here.)

He quotes Dorothy Sayers to describe how we have “tamed” Jesus:

To do them justice, the people who crucified Jesus did not do so because he was a bore. Quite the contrary; he was too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have declawed the lion of Judah and made him a housecat for pale priests and pious old ladies.

Although the article does not make this connection, I think that the “taming of Jesus” goes a long ways towards explaining why many churches have a difficult time attracting men. What real man wants to follow a passive, accommodating, wimpy savior? Yes, Jesus was humble and gentle, but He was also strong and bold, and did not hesitate to offend people or incur their wrath when it was necessary.

For more on this topic, see this post on The Metrosexual Jesus.

The ESV blog has an article on Collaborative Bible Study Materials:

The Internet makes large-scale collaboration possible, with Wikipedia as Exhibit A. Theopedia and others have tried to do something similar for theology and commentary.

But sometimes smaller-scale ideas can be just as productive, as in the area of personal or family Bible study.

This is something that I have been thinking about for quite some time. Read the rest»»

If we are to judge from the media attention it receives, Valentine’s Day is a major holiday. My main memories of Valentine’s Day are from my grade school valentine exchange. The teacher had all of us bring a shoe box, cut a slot in the top, and decorate it. Then on Valentine’s Day we were supposed to bring little punch-out Valentine’s Day cards for each of our classmates and put them in their boxes. Some students also included little candy hearts. I’m not sure how much the students enjoyed this activity, considering we were at the age at which all girls had “cooties.” Picture a bunch of pre-pubescent boys forced to give all the girls a heart-shaped card that said “Be My Valentine!” and you get the picture. Some of them were probably traumatized for life.

It makes me wonder where this custom came from. Is it really about love, or is it a marketing ploy by Hallmark and your local florist and jewelers? There is a good introduction to the history of Valentine’s Day from Focus on the Family in The Pastor’s Weekly Briefing. I will quote it here for your benefit:
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I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Super Bowl this year. It was a great game, and the Indianapolis Colts did great job in earning a well deserved victory. But I also found the post-game presentation very exciting as well. I hope that you didn’t miss it!

Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy is a class act. When his team won the playoffs he said that he “wanted to give all the glory to the Lord.” (You can see the video here) Today at the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy after the Super Bowl he again publicly identified himself as a Christian. After saying that he was proud of his players, he said “There’s always going to be a storm… sometimes the Lord doesn’t bring you directly through, you’ve got to work for it.” When the commentator asked him about the social significance of his victory he said:
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