Given that I am writing this for hard-working pastors, I’ll attempt to be as efficient as possible. I’ve got six categories for you: Habits, planning, overlap, locality, longevity, and tools.

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One hears that sentiment expressed so frequently and with such genuine conviction that it begins to feel logically irrefutable, despite the fact that it is clearly at odds with the teaching and example of Jesus. We have no record of Jesus ever telling a potential disciple to go home and focus on his family; rather we find him saying things like:

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37-38 ESV)/

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“Though it has roots in careful thinking about the genre of wisdom literature, this advice often goes too far and misses the point of the proverbs.”

Thus, contrary to the very clickable title, it would seem to be those who go too far with their interpretation and who intensify the principle beyond appropriate limits that are the target of his literary ire.

But wouldn’t that be true of every hermeneutical principle? A person can intensify the importance of context in such a way as to undermine the contemporary relevance of the doctrine being taught. Many things are true, that if overstated and left unrelated to other balancing principles, become distorted. Pointing out the danger of over intensification however, does not invalidate the original premise. It is undeniably true that Proverbs are not promises. Consider the following examples:

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As someone who has been reading through the Bible every year since 2012 – the New Testament twice a year – as part of the RMM Bible Reading plan, my jaw hit the floor. The Bible doesn’t refer to the church as a family?

What about Mark 3:31-33?

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“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25 ESV).

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15 ESV).

To state the obvious, nothing about those verses sounds conditional. However, in some circles, the word “forgiveness” is being used in a broad and expansive sense, such that it bleeds over into what many others mean when they use the word “reconciliation.”

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We see that very clearly in two passages, one in the Old Testament and one in the New. In the Book of Zechariah, a delegation from Bethel comes to Jerusalem to seek wisdom from Zechariah and the other leaders as to whether or not the several fasts instituted during the exile should be continued now that a remnant has returned and the temple is being rebuilt. The Lord takes the occasion to correct their overly ritualistic and formal approach to spirituality, telling them that justice and mercy were more important aspects of biblical worship (Zechariah 7:9-10). He does finally answer their original question in chapter 8:19, saying:

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Prior to 1980 very few Canadians were cremated, but according to recent data, about 75% of Canadians are cremated today. Most choose cremation because it is slightly less expensive than burial. Some prefer it because they want their ashes scattered in a location that has been meaningful to them and to their family. With religion on the decline in Canada, many are choosing cremation because they do not wish to have a traditional funeral.

How should a Christian think about such things?

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This question usually comes up when a person has encountered what Jesus says in Luke 17:3-4:

“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4 ESV)

There it does kind of sound like forgiveness is conditional upon repentance: “if he repents, forgive him”. However, that text needs to be held in tension with what Jesus says in passages like Mark 11:25:

“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25 ESV).

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I get asked this question a couple of times of year, usually after a relatively new believer has successfully read through the Book of Leviticus for the first time. Leviticus 19:28 says:

“You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:28 ESV)

Does that mean that a Christian cannot get a tattoo?

Most theologians and Bible scholars would argue that the ceremonial law has been fulfilled in Christ. He is the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. The ceremonial law was preparatory in nature. John Calvin said:

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In general, I use new numbers whenever I significantly alter the structure of a sermon and letters for lighter revisions and updates within the existing structure. I typically write my first draft on Tuesday whereupon I send it out to the other preachers in our Preaching Workshop. We then discuss the sermon on Wednesday, along with any other sermons submitted by the members of the group, whereupon I make further revisions on Wednesday afternoon.

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The Baby Boomers were affected by Vietnam, Watergate and the Sexual Revolution. Those great events inclined many people in that generation toward cynicism and self-indulgence and collectively they resulted in a massive expansion in divorce. Baby Boomers get divorced at a higher rate than any generation before them – and any generation after them[1].

The Millennials grew up in the aftermath of 9/11 and then had the rug pulled out from underneath them, financially speaking, by the Great Recession in 2006-2008 just as they were entering into the housing market. The experts say that these events inclined many people in that generation toward anxiety and resentment.

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I’ve been asked that question twice this week already. And one time, it wasn’t an erring son or daughter. It was an erring mother. Sooner or later we will all have to figure out what we should do when we are asked to support or affirm loved ones who are actively engaged in sin.

Here are a few things I recommend you consider.

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A surprising number of purportedly literate people seized upon the phrase "nothing more important" as if they were unaware of how the English language actually works. In common parlance, saying that “there is nothing more important than” is simply a way of saying, "I cannot overstate the importance of". Keller was claiming that, in his estimation, it is difficult to overstate the importance of reading through the whole Bible year after year.

I couldn’t agree more!

The online kerfuffle caused by Keller’s tweet only served to prove his point. The internet has changed the way we think, the way we feel and the way we communicate. Social Media is training us to be more tribal, more reactionary, less reflective and less empathetic as human beings.

If ever there was a people who needed to read through the Bible in a year, it is us!

If ever there was a time to commend the healing power of Scripture reading and study, it is now!

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So sheep stealing is definitely bad.

But what about when sheep move around on their own?

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Your first couple of sentences should probably go something like this:

First of all, I categorically condemn these horrific attacks by Hamas. The killing of women, children, and the elderly is barbaric in the extreme. I support Israel’s right as a nation to defend her people and her territory against her attackers.

If you are offered the opportunity for further comment, you may wish to respond as follows:

That being said, I believe that it is the responsibility of the international community to hold Israel accountable to the rules of war. All reasonable attempts must be made to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.

If you are offered the opportunity for further comment, you may wish to respond as follows:

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I get asked some version of that question pretty much every day and I find it surprisingly difficult to answer. In part that is because I have 5 children and on any given day a couple of them are probably doing very well and at least one of them is likely to be struggling. All of my children fall within the demographic typically referred to as Gen Z (born 1995-2012). My wife and I are both Gen Xers (born 1965-1979) which means we often feel like we are speaking a completely different language and living in a very different world than our children.

Parenting is hard!

It is probably harder now than at any point previous in living memory. You won’t find many people presenting themselves as experts on parenting Gen Z. Everyone is trying to figure this out. We’re still very early on in the process and about the only thing we know for sure is that we all need help. To be absolutely clear: I’m not writing this because my wife and I have somehow figured out the magic formula.

Far from it.

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Toward that end, I have assembled the following list of 100 passages that I have made frequent and fruitful use of in my preaching ministry.

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It would be difficult to defend an absolute prohibition of baptisms performed outside the confines of the gathered church given the descriptions of early Christian practice within the New Testament. The Ethiopian eunuch, for example, was baptized in a river on the side of the road:

And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. (Acts 8:36-38 ESV)

Likewise, we could cite the example of the Apostle Paul who was baptized in the house of Judas on Straight Street (Acts 9:10-19) or the household of Cornelius who were all baptized on his private estate (Acts 10:44-48). The Philippian jailor, along with his whole household, was baptized at his personal residence (Acts 16). The same could be said for Lydia in the same chapter. In fact, it is difficult to think of a single example in the New Testament of a person being baptized in the presence of the gathered church.

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If they do a sermon from the next passage in the book of the bible they are currently studying, they will be criticized for not honouring mothers. This criticism will come from older people who remember when the church did tend to make a bigger fuss about all the holidays – Mother’s Day, Fathers’ Day, Remembrance Day, Valentines’ Day, Thanksgiving etc.

If they have the children give out flowers to the ladies, they will be criticized for not understanding that “WOMAN” does not equal “MOTHER”. They will be lambasted for a lack of sensitivity to the challenges of singleness and the awful pain of infertility and miscarriage.

Here is my advice to pastors out there wondering what to do this coming Sunday: honour moms as best you can and eat whatever criticism may come

If they don’t give out flowers, they will be criticized for not recognizing the enormous sacrifice made by mothers and the critical, even world shaping influence that they wield.

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I couldn’t put it down and I read large sections of it to my wife and kids during Family Devotions. It helped us understand why our son was not as eager to get his driver’s licence as we had been. It helped us understand why most if not all of our oldest daughter’s friends were indifferent or even hostile toward the church. It helped us understand why all of our kids – and all of their friends – seemed several years behind where we had been, in terms of maturity and independence, at the same stage.

Generations matter.

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The following represents a summary of the guidance he believes he received in answer to that prayer.

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“Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her. (2 Kings 22:13–14 ESV)

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Case closed.

Complementarians, on the other hand, generally believe that men and women are equal with respect to dignity and worth and equal with respect to salvation graces, but different with respect to responsibility and role. Therefore, for complementarians, the answer to the question is more complicated. Many would argue that it depends on what you mean by the word “deacon”.

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“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16–18 ESV)

There is a clear and obvious point being made in this passage: beware the danger of religious hypocrisy! Do your acts of religious devotion and piety in secret. Do it for the Lord. Do not do it for the approval of others.

Fair enough.

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Plans:

If you haven’t selected a plan yet, see this useful compilation of plan options put together by Reagan Rose. Click here. I don’t love the version of the RMM plan that Reagan uses in this article, so for a different version of that plan, see here.

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Ahaz was an absolute train wreck.

He engaged in child sacrifice, he was an avowed pagan, he made stupid and wicked alliances and through his unfaithfulness and incompetence he brought the people of Judah to the brink of extinction as a nation; and then, all of the sudden, things turned around in the time of Hezekiah. The first chapter in the Hezekiah narrative acknowledges the rapid change of affairs, particularly with respect to the spiritual state of the nation:

"And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly." (2 Chronicles 29:36 ESV)

What accounts for this rapid and complete turnaround?

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