Dr Paul Allen

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen (Romans 11:36). Why did God create the world? One of the most foolish answers advanced is that God was lonely and needed to create someone with whom to have fellowship. The Christian doctrine of the tri-unity of God stands completely against any such idea. God has eternal fellowship within Himself, and has no need to create anything. Creation results completely from His sovereign will. Some have said the purpose of creation was to prepare the way for redemption: God created it and predestined the fall of man so Jesus could redeem the world. At first glance this notion looks very pious, since it focuses on Jesus and His work. As we shall see, however, it is inadequate to explain God’s purposes as the Bible sets them out. Looking at Genesis 1 , some have said that the purpose of creation was to provide a world for man’s glory and happiness. Man, after all, is the crown of creation, a...

This morning the world woke to the news that Billy Graham, arguably the most recognized evangelist in history, has passed into glory. Born November 7, 1918, and born again at age 16 at a revival meeting, Graham became a household name for his evangelistic crusades. It’s safe to assume that most Christians in America personally know someone who was saved at a Billy Graham crusade .   By the Lord’s grace, Graham had a formidable influence on the world for Christianity. These facts and statistics, gleaned from his  Wikipedia page , give only part of the picture: Graham preached to live audiences nearing 215 million people in over 185 countries and territories. An estimated 3.2 million people accepted Christ as their savior at Graham’s crusades. Graham met personally with every sitting president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama and had close friendships with some of them. With the help of John Stott , Graham founded the Lausanne Movement , a gathering of around...

"Philip the Evangelist preaching the Gospel in Samaria" Deutsch:  (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Luke has brought together for us two examples of Philip’s evangelistic labours, and it is instructive to compare and contrast them. The similarities are plain.  In both instances the same pioneer spirit was shown by Philip, who won the first Samaritans and the first African to Christ. To both audiences the same message was proclaimed, namely the good news of Jesus Christ , for there is only one gospel. In both situations the same response was given, for the hearers believed and were baptized. And in both cases, the same result is recorded, namely joy. The differences are striking too. I am not now thinking of how the Spirit was received, or of the apostolic delegation to Samaria which had no parallel in the conversion of the Ethiopian . I am thinking rather of the people evangelized and of the methods employed. Take the people evangelized. The people with whom Philip shared...

English: Job's Sons and Daughters Overwhelmed by Satan, by William Blake. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) It is in such a book as Job that many suffering souls will find consolation and sustaining, and this because no attempt is made to explain the why of suffering, but rather an expression is given to suffering which leaves one with the inspiration of an explanation in the final issue. The problem in connection with suffering arises from the fact that there is seemingly no explanation of it. To say that Job was perfected by means of his sufferings is begging the question, for Job was perfect in moral and religious equipment before suffering touched his life. “Hast thou considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that . . . escheweth evil?” (Job 1:8). Job suffered “according to the will of God”; he never knew the preface to his story. Verses 6-12 are a record of the supernatural; there is nothing familiar to our minds in them....

At the first advent of Jesus Christ , the fullness of time had come and God sent forth His Son into this fallen world. As the prophets foretold, He was born of a virgin who was richly blessed of God. He was born under the law of God , not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. As was necessary to redeem those under the Law, He fulfilled the righteous demands of the Law and took upon Himself the sins of His people, His sheep for whom He laid down His life. As His people, we confess that Christ shall come again to judge the quick and the dead. We believe He will return to this world not as a babe in a manger but as the King of all the earth, in power and glory to manifest His reign over the new heavens and the new earth . We confess His return because of what He taught us at His first advent and on account of the hope that is within us. For this reason, during the wonderful Advent season that comes each year, we should eagerly await the second advent of Christ as we celebrate the fi...

Billy Graham Crusade New York Prayer wheel.  Related articles Six Decades of Faith, Reverence BIlly Graham. (theyoushowblog.wordpress.com) Confessions of a Billy Graham Crusade Phone Operator (brgulker.wordpress.com) Billy Graham in Quotes - A Treasure! (pamelastephens.me) 1957 Billy Graham ● New York Crusade (The Service) (lunaticoutpost.com) Remembering George Beverly Shea, Billy Graham Crusade Soloist dies at 104 (rockingfunmusic.wordpress.com) My Hope with Billy Graham (rethinkingnews.wordpress.com) Billy Graham's Last Crusade??? (jesusavesisrael.org) A Good Set of Articles on Separation from the IFCA International (ilyston.wordpress.com) George Beverly Shea dies at 104, sang at Graham crusades (blogs.tennessean.com)

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “ I have decided to follow Jesus ” is a polarizing hymn. Made popular by the Billy Graham crusades , it is inseparable from the concept of alter calls and emotional pleading. For some, it stands as a sort of Arminian anthem—a testimony to the power of human volition and an example of all that is wrong with modern Christian lyrics. For others, it is a song celebrating the simplicity of conversion–simple and sincere. But when you know the story behind the song, you realize that it is not a statement about free will, nor about the ease of placing your faith in Christ . It actually stands as a monument to the international nature of the gospel, as well as a radical call to suffer and die with Jesus. The late 1800’s saw an evangelistic explosion in India . Entire provinces formally closed to the gospel were swept up a missionary movement perhaps unparalleled in history. Wales in particular sent hundreds of missionaries to Northe...

Cover of The Kingdom of the Cults A few months ago Franklin Graham found himself in all sort of evangelical hot water when he removed a page from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association ’s website that had labeled Mormonism as a cult. The timing of the removal—a few weeks before the presidential election and a few minutes after Billy Graham gave his presidential imprimatur to Romney—made any nuanced reasoning behind the Graham’s move impossible. They compounded their problems when their defense of the action was “God has not called us to call other people names”—a defense which is about as thoughtful and persuasive as saying “Mormons really are nice people after all.” As Dan Phillips over at Pyromanics pointed out, how can you possibly argue with someone when they say that God has not called them to do what you think they should be doing? Doesn’t that mean you are arguing with God? Who, exactly, do you think you are? But there remains an obvious question that bears explori...

, American religious figure. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The White House blushed pink with embarrassment and issued this statement: We were not aware of Pastor Giglio’s past comments at the time of his selection, and they don’t reflect our desire to celebrate the strength and diversity of our country at this inaugural. ” What an honor. Evangelical preacher Louie Giglio was invited by the White House to pray at President Obama’s second inauguration. This is an honor bestowed on Evangelicals like Billy Graham (ten times over) and most recently Rick Warren . It’s a good move to invite an actual Christian to pray, since God only accepts the petitions of believers (Prov 15:8, Prov 15:29). What a faux pas. The inauguration committee summarily uninvited Giglio and basically apologized to the nation for even having considered him. So what did Giglio do since the invitation’s arrival to elicit the unceremonious retraction? Nothing. What happened was that someone trawling for controve...

Theologians and some significant others explain why the chicken crossed the road  Greg Boyd : It's a possibility that the chicken crossed the road. Rick Warren : The chicken was purpose driven. Mark Driscoll : The chicken crossed because of the rooster's leadership. Rachel Held Evans : We're talking about chickens here, not pigs. Pelagius: Because the chicken was able to. John Piper: God decreed the event to maximize his glory. Irenaeus: The glory of God is the chicken fully alive. C.S. Lewis: If a chicken finds itself with a desire that nothing on this side can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that it was created for the other side. Billy Graham : The chicken was surrendering all. Pluralist: The chicken took one of many equally valid roads. Universalist: All chickens cross the road.  Annihilationist: The chicken was hit by a car and ceased to exist.  Fred Phelps : God hates chickens. Martin Luther : The chicken was leaving Rome. Tim LaHaye : The chicken didn...

John Stott died today at 3:15 London time (about 9:15 a.m. CST), according to John Stott Ministries President Benjamin Homan. Homan said that Stott's death came after complications related to old age and that he has been in discomfort for the last several weeks. Family and close friends gathered with Stott today as they listened to Handel's  Messiah . Homan said that John Stott Ministries has been preparing for his death for the past 15 years. "I think he set an impeccable example for leaders of ministries of handing things over to other leaders," Homan said. "He imparted to many a love for the global church and imparted a passion for biblical fidelity and a love for the Savior."  Billy Graham 's spokesperson released the following statement from the evangelist: "The evangelical world has lost one of its greatest spokesmen, and I have lost one of my close personal friends and advisors. I look forward to seeing him again when I go to Heaven ...

Image via Wikipedia Before it does, make sure you read the book.  Unbroken  is, in a word, amazing—easily one of the best books I read in 2010. It’s written by Laura Hillenbrand who also penned  Seabiscuit . This new book has shot straight to #2 on the  New York Times  list of bestsellers just days after its release. Unbroken  tells the tale of Louie Zamperini, a character who is so much larger than life that I can’t believe I hadn’t encountered him before. Zamperini grew up in California in the 1930’s, a troublesome kid who was constantly stealing, constantly fighting, constantly getting into trouble. He was  that  kid, the kid who was known by the police, the kid who was every teacher’s nightmare. He was also lightning fast, eventually becoming a member of the 1936  U.S.   Olympic team where he ran the 5,000 meter race and even had the opportunity to meet Adolf Hitler . War came in 1941 and, like so many men his age, Za...