Marilynne Robinson won the pulitzer prize for fiction in 2005 for her novel, Gilead. Some of you have heard me voice high praise for Gilead, both for the beauty of its prose and the truth-ful-ness of the story. For me, there is hardly another modern author, writing to a mainstream audience with a secular publisher, that accomplishes so much for the "things hoped for...the things unseen" (Heb.11:1).   Now having read Gilead twice and Home once, I can honestly say I've rarely been more impressed with the balance of truth and imagination displayed in these two novels. Robinson doesn't bypass the mind on...

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We reflected on I Thess. 1:1-3 last night at prayer meeting. It's a passage where Paul expresses deep thanksgiving for what He sees God doing in the community at Thesslonica. Three phrases stood out to me in Paul's prayerful remembrance: the work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope (1:3). What's interesting about these three descriptions is how closely tied they are to both heart and life. Paul's encouragement stems not from their faith alone, but their work of faith. His thanksgiving is not for their love alone, but their labor of love. His rejoicing is not for...

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Ligon Duncan has posted a very helpful reflection on the Bible's mandate to pray for our elected officials. His words are timely, given the recent election of Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Let me encourage you to check it out at reformation21.  

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Join us Thursday, November 6, for the Men of the Covenant lunch. The speaker this week is Dr. Samuel Hensley. Dr. Hensley, in addition to practicing medicine, serves as Bioethics Consultant to Mississippi Baptist Medical Center and is an Adjunct Professor at Covenant Theological Seminary and a Fellow at the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. He is president of the Board of Directors of Matthew 25:40 Ministries, an outreach to the elderly in Chicago. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the local campus based chapter of the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) and serves...

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The Christian life can be very discouraging. It can seem like the harder you try to be who you're supposed to be, the worse you become. It can often feel like everytime you take one step forward that you follow it up with two steps back. Yes, the Scripture tells us "to run the race that is set before us," but doesn't it often feel like you're running in circles instead? If you find yourself in that place right now, I ran across a beautiful passage in C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity that you might find comforting. It was for me....

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