Author: Pastor Rich Lusk
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Merry Christmas!
Yes, we are technically still in the Advent season for a couple more days, but this is the time of year folks begin to greet one another with “Merry Christmas!” The origin and exact meaning of the phrase “Merry Christmas” is somewhat debatable, largely because the word “merry” has carried different connotations at different times.…
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The Reason for the Season
This time of year, many Christians say things like, “Remember the reason for the season.” The point, of course, is that the real meaning of Christmas must not get lost amidst the presents, the parties, and everything else that typically goes with the Advent/Christmas season. I agree and disagree. On the one had, yes, we…
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Chesterton’s Wisdom on Home and Family Life
If there is one thing I have learned, it is that there is a Chesterton quote for every occasion. But Chesterton’s wit and wisdom especially come through when he is addressing home and family life. A collection of his essays entitled Brave New Family is a very jovial look at family life and a storehouse of insight.…
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Election Day Notes: Cast Your Vote and Move on with Your Life
In case no one has told you, we have election coming up next Tuesday. Some people think it’s a pretty big deal, so here are my pastoral guidelines for Christian citizens this time around. First, Jesus is Lord. That is our whole political confession. Obviously, the implications of Christ’s lordship have to be worked out,…
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Aiming at Shalom
THE CHURCH’S MISSION OF JUSTICE AND MERCY (This is an older article, originally published at Theologia.org in 2004.) Charles Spurgeon once quipped, “If you give a man the gospel, wrap it in a sandwich. And if you give a man a sandwich, wrap it in the gospel.” With those words, the great Baptist preacher captured…
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Discipleship and the Visible Church
This is an old article article, being republished for the blog. Discipleship is a vital dimension of the church’s life. The church’s motherly, nurturing role as discipler is indispensable. Indeed the church is the school of discipleship. We are enrolled in her school in baptism, educated in the word by her pastors and teachers, and…
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From Public Church to Private Christian
This is an old article article, being republished for the blog. It is critical for the church to understand the broader social trends that have undermined her existence as a public and visible community if she is going to act and react in appropriately biblical ways in our (post)modern situation. The progressive privatizing of religion…
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Orphan Care as a Christian Calling
This is an old article article, being republished for the blog. How does one become part of a family one was not born into? Adoption. One of the central privileges of the gospel is our adoption into the family of God. We are not children of God by nature; rather, we are by nature children…
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Plucking and Cutting — An Examination of Matthew 5:27-32
This is an old article article, being republished for the blog. While sex happens in private, it has public implications and so biblical law has quite a bit to say about it. We cannot keep God’s law out of our bedrooms. But neither can we keep God’s law out of our hearts. And so the Scripture…
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Death as “Frenemy:” Beating the Grim Reaper’s Scythe into a Plowshare
This is an old article article, being republished for the blog. We spend a lot of time in the church talking about what it means to live like a Christian. But what does it mean to die like a Christian? If we are to follow Christ in life, what does it mean for us to follow him in death…
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