The rainbow was popularized as an official symbol of the gay community in the early 1970s. Consider the two authoritative constructions of the rainbow from the LGBTQ community: 1. The first flag had eight colors, consider the number and meaning: 2. The . . . Continue reading →
Abounding Grace Radio
Christian, Fear Not. You Have The Holy Spirit (Or Better, He Has You)
53. Q. What do you believe concerning the Holy Spirit? A. First, he is, together with the Father and the Son, true and eternal God. Second, he is also given to me, to make me by true faith share in Christ and . . . Continue reading →
Chris Gordon: Did Therapeutic, Moralistic Deism Give Us A “Woke Church”?
The joining of the church and the world in America has been years in the making. The American churchgoer was trained to view the church as having the sole purpose of making people happy, commonly labeled as moralistic therapeutic deism. Whatever struggle . . . Continue reading →
Romans The Power Of God For Salvation (30): Romans 8:1–8
In this episode Chris and I turn to Romans chapter 8, where Paul begins with the glorious good news: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1; ESV). This cones right on the heels of . . . Continue reading →
Dear Christian Parent, Your Pastor Will Fight For Your Kids But Will You?
This essay comes from the heart as a passionate plea to parents out of our shared concern for our covenant children. It is difficult to pastor a flock in a conservative church today, but not for the reasons that you might think. It . . . Continue reading →
Romans Series: The Power of God For Salvation (29)—chapter 7 (part 3)
Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →
Back On The Air: AGR On Romans—The Power Of God For Salvation
Chris and I have been working on the book of Romans for a while. We took a hiatus for the summer but we are back at it. We recorded two episodes today finishing Romans 7 and moving into chapter 8. They will . . . Continue reading →
AGR 2019 Conference Audio—Hospitality: The Gospel Comes With A House Key
On July 26, 2019 AGR and the Escondido United Reformed Church were pleased to co-host the first-ever Abounding Grace Radio conference. Our speaker this year was Dr Rosaria Butterfield. She is a former tenured professor of English and women’s studies at Syracuse . . . Continue reading →
AGR Conference Audio—Intersectionality: What It Is And Why It Matters
On July 26, 2019 AGR and the Escondido United Reformed Church were pleased to co-host the first-ever Abounding Grace Radio conference. Our speaker this year was Dr Rosaria Butterfield. She is a former tenured professor of English and women’s studies at Syracuse . . . Continue reading →
Deconversion And Covenant Theology
In the wake of Josh Harris’ announcement of his apostasy a group of leaders in the so-called Young, Restless, and Reformed movement (YRR) or New Calvinism has written of his “deconversion.” If one searches the history of Christianity one will probably not . . . Continue reading →
Photos From The First AGR Conference—Rosaria Butterfield: From Victim To Guest
Distinguishing Reformed From Evangelicalism: Realism
As evangelicals become dissatisfied with the emphasis on personalities, annoying trendiness, and the shallowness of Modern evangelical theology, piety, and practice they begin to look around for an alternative. One challenge they face right away is that, in many cases, their religious . . . Continue reading →
Josh Harris Kisses Christianity Goodbye
On July 20, 2019 I wrote about Josh Harris, “he has grave doubts about the truth of Christianity and he is intent on starting a podcast to share those doubts with the world.” Some of his defenders, ignoring the point of the . . . Continue reading →
AGR Audio: Rosaria Butterfield—From Victim To Guest
Before last night’s conference, Rosaria Butterfield sat with Chris for an AGR interview about her life, the sexual-social revolution (especially after the 2015 Obergefell decision), and how Christians should respond. The audio and video from the conference were recorded and will be . . . Continue reading →
Time To Kiss New Calvinism Goodbye
Yet another evangelical personality has announced that not only are he and his wife separating—this after he wrote a widely-read book on dating and courtship—but he has grave doubts about the truth of Christianity and he is intent on starting a podcast . . . Continue reading →
What The Gay Pride Movement Should Know About God’s Rainbow
Within the last twenty four hours, the rainbow has appeared everywhere. I’ve seen pictures of the White House painted with the colors of a rainbow. Silicon Valley companies are implementing all sorts of creative ways to use the rainbow as a sign of victory for the decision. Facebook has declared a celebration allowing members to add a rainbow filter to their profile picture to make clear those who support the decision. Twitter has added a rainbow heart icon with the hash tag: Love wins. From Google to Starbucks to AT&T, the rainbow has become the new flag for America, from sea to shining sea, America is now draped with the rainbow. Continue reading →
Therapy, Sin, and Shame
For most of world history, until quite recently, most of the world thought about the most basic questions in life categories of right and wrong or in legal categories. God was thought to be what he is thus we humans need to . . . Continue reading →
For Whom Is Christ Mediating?
If you are an adult you know about mediators. It is not uncommon now, when one signs a contract, to agree to “binding arbitration” or to “mediation” either in lieuof going to court or before going to court. A mediator, then, . . . Continue reading →
What Pastors Should Tell Their Wives
A few years ago I wrote an article on what pastors should not tell their wives. In it I argued that there is much that it said behind closed doors, in elder meetings (e.g.,consistory or session meetings), that should not be repeated . . . Continue reading →
It Is Not Too Late To Register For The Conference
You know about Revoice but do you know about Rosaria? There is an alternative to Revoice and Rosaria Butterfield will be articulating that case, in conference, in Escondido on July 26, 7:00 PM in the Heritage Center at Calvin Christian School. The . . . Continue reading →