What’s a Marriage? Does It Matter Whether There’s a Man and a Woman?

Mary Kassian answers the question of how a marriage is properly defined. I appreciate her thoughts. 

Dialogue with Publisher About Mary Neal’s To Heaven and Back

In the previous blog I expressed concerns about some doctrines in the new bestselling book To Heaven and Back, by Mary Neal. This is my second and last article on this subject. It’s lengthy, but I think it’s important and I don’t want to drag it out with several shorter articles.

Investing Time in Reading God’s Word

Revive Our Hearts, a great ministry that my daughters and a number of our ministry staff have benefited from, recently posted a link on Facebook to this two-minute video about finding time to read your Bible.

God’s Word as our Primary Influence

I’m often asked why I include so many Bible verses in my books, and if I really believe it is necessary to do so. I quote Scripture frequently because God promises that his Word “will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

The Word of God Entering a Tribe’s Language in 2010

My friend Tim Challies recently placed a ten minute video on his blog, documenting what happened earlier in 2010: the receiving of the completed translated New Testament by the Kimyal Tribe in Papua, Indonesia.

What Bible version do you use?

I actually use a number of translations, including the English Standard Version (ESV). I also use the New International Version (NIV) and in the past I’ve used the New American Standard Version.

Phil Vischer’s “What's in the Bible?” DVDs

While on a recent family vacation I pulled out an advance DVD of the first episodes of Phil Vischer’s “What’s in the Bible” (whatsinthebible.com). I asked my five-year-old grandson Matthew Franklin if he wanted to watch something by the guy who created VeggieTales. Of course he did. So we watched it together, and watched it again the next day and the next, bonus features and all, until the day we had to leave. Matthew is now a devoted fan of Buck Denver and the other characters who are part of this new series which I believe has great potential.

Building a Biblical Worldview

Acts 17:11 says that "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." We should come to God's Word with "great eagerness." If we're more eager to watch a sitcom or the evening news than to read God's Word, inevitably our worldview will be more influenced by sitcoms and the evening news than by God.

We should "search" the Scriptures—we must probe deeply, not just skim the surface and quote verses ...

The Bible: More Than Stories

I am often hearing people say these days that God has revealed himself to us in stories, and that story, not doctrine, is the framework in which we should see our faith.

I LOVE story (which is why I’ve written and enjoyed fiction and also love good biographies). However, story is NOT everything. There is also revealed propositional truth and many other forms of communication God has taken with us in his Word.

I love this blog from John Piper on this very subject. It’s not long so I’ll take the liberty of quoting it in its ...

Question and Answer of the Week: Is the Bible inerrant?

I believe in the inspiration and authority of Scripture, but I don't think this means I have to believe in inerrancy. The Bible isn't meant to be a textbook, and we don't need to believe in the details of the creation account, and the first man and woman in the garden, or about Jonah being swallowed by a whale. The Bible contains parables and metaphors. Do I really have believe it has to be correct in all the little details to be God's Word?

Usually when people say they believe the Bible contains errors, I ask ...