In reflecting on what it means to be a gospel-centered church, the question arises: does spiritual maturity involve moving beyond the gospel, or is the gospel integral to every stage of our faith journey? It could seem that maturity means shifting focus from the gospel to the law. But is that true? As Tim Keller famously said, “The gospel is not just the ABCs of the Christian life but the A to Z of Christianity.” This article builds on earlier discussions and seeks to explore the profound ways in which the gospel remains foundational—not just at the beginning, but throughout the entire journey of faith.

We live in a culture that doesn’t sing. Our culture listens (quite a lot) to other professionals who sing. But for most cultures in history, singing was an activity for common people. And certainly throughout the Bible, singing is crucial to a life lived to God’s glory. 

Since our founding our church has been, and continues to be, a gospel-centered church. We believe the gospel alone has the power to make us into a people of joy, freedom, and righteousness. But the gospel-centered movement has received some criticism of late—namely, that since its constant aim is to motivate the Christian life by God’s grace, it can at times fail to give practical instructions to believers about how to live as a Christian.

As a church, while we will benefit from wisdom wherever it is offered, we will not be making new parenting fads the core of our parenting philosophy. The basics around what the Bible teaches about being a Christian parent are more than sufficient for nurturing children in the grace and truth of Jesus Christ.

How can our Father love us and hate our sin at the same time? How should we imagine God’s disposition toward us as we wrestle through life in the flesh? The Scriptures are complex on this topic, but when we fit them together, we see that ultimately, God wants us to know what a good Father he is, wants us to take sin seriously, and wants us to be assured of his love and our salvation.

If you have to choose between Christ and your spouse, the choice must be Christ. Christians should be committed to marriage but not yield their identity to it.

Are pastels and Easter baskets a distraction? Is an egg hunt fitting for Resurrection Sunday?

It is very clear that the early church used wine and not grape juice. Grape juice did not even exist in Jesus’ day. It was an invention of the 19th century and was a part of the prohibitionist movement. Up until that point, using wine in communion had been the universal practice of the church in all her branches, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox.

As much as his book makes valuable observations about how Genesis 1 sees the world as a temple in which God seeks to dwell and make his home, there were two underlying assumptions that guided his reading of Genesis that seem to be deeply problematic and, ultimately, just wrong.

The basics of the pastoral argument are that the Bible gives us permission to regard the children of believers as Christians who need to be discipled, not unbelievers who need to be converted.

The basic promise of God’s covenant with his people in the Old Testament was to be a God to them and to their children after them. In fact, the Lord gave the lavish promise to those who love him that he would be a God to their descendants to a thousand generations.

The Word of God is central to our life as a church. It is the power by which God speaks and creates a Bride for his Son. For us to give God’s Word the reverence, love, wonder, faith, and obedience it deserves, we must think carefully about the role it plays in our life together. 

One of the primary ways Christians throughout history have passed down the faith to their children is through catechisms and confessions.

Church is not a lecture hall but a family gathering at our Father’s table.

The question came up recently, “If the Bible says to obey church leaders, is it ever okay to go against your pastor?”

A church member asked me this past week about what the Bible teaches about women in leadership in the church. There are two ways to answer that question.

A Letter to CCB introducing Renew Northwest & Renew Book Company

It has become common for people to criticize conservative Christians for "bibliolatry"—that is, worship of the Bible. Has our esteem for the Bible turned a book, a created thing, into the object of our worship? Are we idolaters?

Church planting is difficult, demands exorbitant amounts of resources, and is often unsuccessful. And yet we need to plant way more churches.

“I am not the Head of the church. Jesus is.” As a pastor, I had not only heard that many times, I had said it many times myself. And I really did believe it. But it left a major question unanswered for me: If I am not the Head, what part of the body of Christ am I?