The Heidelberg Catechism - The Foundations Of Our Faith

7 Things We Can Learn from Attractional Churches By Chuck Lawless on Oct 13, 2026 01:00 am The debate between being an attractional or missional church continues. I’m not a fan of a church that is ONLY attractional (and I’ve written about the importance of believers doing evangelism), but I do think we can learn some things from the attractional approach: Have an intentional strategy to reach people. Too many churches are neither attractional nor missional because they have little commitment to reaching the unchurched anyway. An attractional approach is at least an intentional start. Think about the unchurched. You might argue that the attractional approach gives too much attention to them, but it does focus on non-believing people that the Lord loves. It pushes us to be outwardly focused. Promote excellence . The consumerism of the attractional approach may go too far, but it nevertheless requires us to strive for excellence. Far too many congregations act as if a shoddy...

Some miracles I’ve seen as a pastor: Men freed from pornography. Some of us thought it would never happen, but it did. Adulterous marriages healed. They’ve sometimes been headed directly to divorce, and God turned them around. Angry men and women changed. I’ve seen them melted by the gospel in such a way that their anger becomes sweetness and joy. Atheists made whole. Somehow, God made Himself known to them, and they could no longer deny His existence. My Professor’s Professor Anthony Flu turned from being a world renowned atheist philosopher at Oxford University to the Lord. Shy, almost backward believers turned to strong preachers. Once they get to the pulpit, it’s clear the Spirit has worked and is working in their lives. Hardened hearts melted. Like my dad’s. We prayed for him for 36 years before God dramatically and completely saved him. And he saved him in the movie “The Passion of the Christ” though he only saw the first few words on the screen Isaiah 53:3-6 ...

Apologetics There are several forms of apologetic arguments that put different emphases on their arguments. The Wesleyan Quadrilateral provides an interesting perspective on the emphases of different churches and denominations. The emphases of each originate in our being created in the image of God (Genesis 1). John 4:46-54 CSB [46] He went again to Cana of Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum. [47] When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to him and pleaded with him to come down and heal his son, since he was about to die. [48] Jesus told him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe." [49] "Sir," the official said to him, "come down before my boy dies." [50] "Go," Jesus told him, "your son will live." The man believed what Jesus said to him and departed. [51] While he was st...

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LEARNING THE SECRET OF STRENGTH Philippians 4:9  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you Distress Brings Learning We may feel discouraged.   Problems shake us  -Persecution, pressures, people God’s desire for you is fulfilment, but so often our hearts are embedded to worldly things for our fulfilment. These come to bring you the opportunity to learn God’s secret of Power. 4:11 I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I have learned the secret  When peace like a river attendeth my way When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot  Thou hast taught me to say It is well It is well with my soul The Secret Is A Mystery The Secret Is Not Self-Sufficiency Kipling wrote: If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming you If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their do...

10 MARKS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN A BELIEVER by J. C. Ryle "What then are these general effects which the Spirit always produces on those who really have Him? What are the marks of His presence in the soul? This is the question which now remains to be considered. Let us try to set down these marks in order. 1. All who have the Spirit are QUICKENED BY HIM, and made spiritually ALIVE. He is called in Scripture, "The Spirit of life." (Rom. 8:3.) "It is the Spirit," says our Lord Jesus Christ, "who quickens." (John 6:63.) We are all by nature dead in trespasses and sins. We have neither feeling nor interest about true religion. We have neither faith, nor hope, nor fear, nor love. Our hearts are in a state of torpor; they are compared in Scripture to a stone. We may be alive about money, learning, politics, or pleasure—but we are dead towards God. All this is changed when the Spirit comes into the heart. He raises us from this state of death, and makes...

PREACHERS: WHAT MAKES A SERMON “GREAT”? There are Nine Key Ingredients: 1. BIBLICITY. “Preach the Word!” (2 Tim. 4:2). The pulpit is no place for humanistic talks about your personal cultural insights. You are a messenger of Scripture. Rightly divide and expound that Word! 2. CHRISTOCENTRICITY. “We preach Christ” (1 Cor. 1:23; cf. Phil. 1:15-16). What made the apostle rejoice? “Christ is preached” (Phil. 1:18). Look closely at “The Contents Commission” in Luke 24:46-48. The command is to preach Jesus the Messiah as the Son of God (cf. Jn. 20:31), so the hearers can meet the Son of God in the Word of God and be transformed by the Spirit of God. His Gospel is the power of God to His hearers’ salvation (Rom. 1:16). 3. CLARITY. In Colossians 4:4, Paul asks the church to pray for him, "that I may proclaim it [the message, the mystery of Christ] clearly, as I should." He views clarity in presenting the mystery of Christ as a direct duty of the preacher and teacher. “A ...

COERCIVE CONTROL IS ABOUT POWER, NOT LOVE Coercive control is one of the most damaging forms of emotional abuse because it is designed to strip away another person's independence, confidence, and freedom. Some individuals with Dark Triad personality traits, namely narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, may use these controlling behaviors in different ways to dominate the people around them. Although these traits overlap, their methods often differ. THE NARCISSISTIC STYLE A person with strong narcissistic traits often uses coercive control to protect an inflated self-image. They may rewrite reality through gaslighting, deny obvious events, dismiss your feelings, and blame you for problems they created. Over time, you begin questioning your own memory, judgment, and even your sanity while they maintain the appearance of being right. THE MACHIAVELLIAN STYLE People with strong Machiavellian traits tend to approach relationships strategically. Their manipulation is often pa...

You don’t need to have been a Christian for very long to run into the challenge of prayers feeling as if they are bouncing off the ceiling. So if you’re wrestling with this question, you’re not alone. The famous Christian writer C. S. Lewis said that unanswered prayer, especially as he prayed for his sick and dying mother as a boy, was one reason he abandoned faith until his 30s. Lewis wrote: The trouble with God is that he is like a person who never acknowledges one’s letters and so, in time, one comes to the conclusion either that he does not exist or that you have got the address wrong. ¹ At this point it’s easy for atheists to scoff and say “I told you so!” but the challenge is there’s no solace in secularism. If atheism is true, there is no God to be silent, but worse than that, the  universe  is utterly impassive and entirely doesn’t care. And when suffering comes, or you see injustice, or when life feels unfair, well suck it up: if atheism is true, we live in...

Do you ever feel tempted to give up? Perhaps right now you feel overlooked, forgotten, mistreated, and you want to quit. Satan’s goal is to get you to do just that—throw in the towel and call it quits. Discouragement is one of his most effective weapons. But remember this: while disappointments are inevitable, discouragement is a choice. You do not have to yield to the devil’s debilitating whispers of doubt and fear or be trapped in self- pity. If we are ever going to reach our full potential, we must understand a very important truth: God is for us. He is not against us. He often uses trials to position us for greater blessing, and even in times of great disappointment, we can trust that He has our best in mind and will work all things out for our good. He knows how He wants to use the disappointment or hardship for our benefit, and He desires that we see Him as our only source of salvation and strength and blessing. When you feel tempted to yield to discourage...

One : Seek to experience God every moment of every day. As Wendell Berry noted, “There are no unsacred places; only sacred places and desecrated places.”  Two : Trust him in the hard places. Edwin Louis Cole observed, “You don’t drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.” The motivational speaker Jesse Itzler has popularized the phrase, “You didn’t come this far only to come this far.”  Three : Bring temptation immediately to Jesus. John Piper warned: “Sin gets its power by persuading me to believe that I will be happier if I follow it. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier.” But Jesus will give us his discernment and strength to defeat temptation if we will seek them from him (Hebrews 4:15–16).  Four : Trust your Father to do what is best. Chuck Swindoll is right:   ...

8 WAY NARCISSISTS TRAIN YOU TO ACCEPT ABUSE 1. They slowly introduce disrespect Small insults, subtle put-downs, and boundary violations begin—just enough to confuse you, not alarm you. 2. They start with love bombing They overwhelm you with attention, affection, and promises—so you emotionally invest fast and deeply. 3. They normalize bad behavior What shocked you at first becomes “just how they are.” You start adjusting instead of resisting. 4. They gaslight you They make you question your memory, feelings, and reality—so you stop trusting your own judgment. 5. They punish your boundaries Anytime you speak up, they withdraw love, get angry, or blame you—training you to stay silent. 6. They reward your tolerance When you accept the abuse, they suddenly become kind again—creating a toxic cycle of hope. 7. They isolate you They distance you from friends and family so you rely only on them for validation. 8. They shift the blame onto you Over time, you start believing you...

SOME SIGNS OF A CHRISTIAN NARCISSIST 1. They appear holy but lack humility. They focus on looking righteous while resisting correction and accountability. 2. They weaponize forgiveness. They pressure others to forgive quickly while refusing to acknowledge or change their own harmful behavior. 3. They believe they are spiritually superior. They act as though they are closer to God than everyone else. 4. They use Scripture to control people. Bible verses become tools for manipulation instead of love, wisdom, and truth. 5. They demand unquestioning submission. Any disagreement is labeled as rebellion, disrespect, or a lack of faith. 6. They lack genuine compassion. They may speak about love and grace but show little empathy when others are hurting. 7. They seek admiration through ministry. Serving God becomes a way to gain praise, influence, or status rather than to glorify God. 8. They refuse to take responsibility. Mistakes are b...

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15 “How To’s” Pastors Wish Someone Had Taught Them By Chuck Lawless on Sep 28, 2026 01:00 am I’ve taught seminary students now for 30+ years, and I’ve worked with hundreds of graduates in doctoral programs or local church events. I always want to know what leadership issues pastors wish someone had taught them. Here are fifteen I hear often, in no particular order: How to oversee a budget  – Because financial issues often create tension in a church, the battleground is not the best place to learn about budget preparation, proper budget percentages, spending policies, etc. How to lead a meeting  – One reason people don’t like meetings is that they’ve never seen one led well. A poorly conducted meeting is a waste of everyone’s time. How to interview potential staff  – More than one of us have conducted interviews that were incomplete at best, borderline illegal at worst. That happens when no one trains you in recruiting and interviewing. How to prioritize family w...

Grace Davie, who coined the term “believing without belonging,” writes, “Europe  believes, but it does not belong.” She is describing those who subscribe to some belief,  however vague that belief may be—for example, “general statements of belief, the  notion of a religious disposition, and denominational self-ascription” which “remain  relatively high, whilst those that pertain to regular religious practice or to the creedal  statements of Christian doctrine have dropped very markedly indeed.” Many Europeans  believe, but their beliefs are vicariously experienced at a distance from mediating  institutions like churches.” The trend in Europe is not toward atheism. In fact only twelve percent of Europeans  “don’t believe in any kind of God, spirit or life force.” The number increases to 22  percent if you include those who “don’t know what to believe.”Europeans do  believe,...