Tuesday's Catch: "Why I’m Wearing a Mask to Church Next Sunday" and More

Why I’m Wearing a Mask to Church Next Sunday

When the church reopens next Sunday, you’ll find me wearing a mask. Here’s why. Read More

As Churches Re-Open, What if We Have COVID-19 Problems?

In our rush to get churches open across the country, we need to be aware of the public response should something go wrong. What happens if your church discovers cases of the virus among those in the building? Worse, what happens if someone dies of the virus? Read More

When Certainties Are Shattered

I guess we’ll all look back on the coronavirus outbreak of March 2020 as a moment of transition. For the last two months, I have been working at home in the beautiful English countryside, surrounded by the rolling hills of the Cotswolds. No airplanes fly overhead. There is hardly any traffic on the streets. Our schools are shut. I work at Oxford University—but am only allowed to “meet” students and academic colleagues remotely, using Zoom or MS Teams. When, we all wonder, will things get back to normal? And what will the new “normal” look like? Read More

7 Reasons the Enemy Seeks to Create Division

While division may at times be necessary for the sake of the gospel, much division is nothing less than a tool of the enemy – the one who enticed Adam to blame Eve in the Garden of Eden. Here are some reasons division is one of the enemy’s primary strategies—and why we must guard against it. Read More

Paul identified divisiveness and divisions as works of the flesh, manifestations of our sinful human nature. The enemy takes advantage of our sinful human nature and stirs up divisions over such things as the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of precautionary measures like social distancing and face mask wearing in virus transmission prevention because such divisions cause more suffering and deaths. He also blinds those whom he is manipulating so that they do not realize that they are being used for his purposes.

Bring Back Isaac Watts’s Biggest Hit

You’ve probably never heard this famous hymn. That’s a shame. Read More

For those who have never heard "Come, Who Love the Lord," I am posting this link to a Youtube video of the congregation of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California, singing the hymn to an organ and snare drum accompaniment. It was popular with West Gallery Quires in the eighteenth century and was likely accompanied with a variety of musical instruments. While cathedrals and college chapels may have had organs and choirs, most parish churches did not. They had the West Gallery Quire, an ensemble of local village musicians and singers. The Oxford Movement suppressed the West Gallery Quire in the nineteenth century, replacing the local village musicians and singers with organs and vested boys choirs in imitation of the English cathedral and college chapel. The Oxford Movement also idealized Medieval church music.

4 Ways Not to Be a Jerk Online

Scripture calls us to “honor everyone” (1 Pet. 2:17). Obeying that command has never been easy, but has it ever been harder than in our social media age? Thankfully, Scripture gives us guidance. Here are four ways to be a faithful Christian online. Read More