Dr Paul Allen

The Lord’s Supper has never been a meal that goes down easy. From the beginning, Jesus’s own words about eating his body and drinking his blood were widely misunderstood. “When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’” (John 6:60). Not only were they confused, but this proved to be the turning (away) point for many. “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:66). So too in the history of the church, the Supper has not gone down easy. Such simple language as “This is my body” and “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” can be anything but simple to understand and apply in the practical life of the church. For example, during the Reformation, the nature and meaning of the Lord’s Supper became a major flashpoint for debate between Catholics and Protestants. The Supper even became a point of divide among Protestants — and in some instances, the only major point of the divide. What, then, is the Lo...

In the last several years, observers of the western church life have noted that the definition of a regular church attendee is changing. With increasing affluence, mobility, commitments, and entertainment options, many Christians gather with their church family less often than they did ten years ago. Previously, a regular church attendee was a person who “only” gathered with their church one time a week. Now a regular attendee is a person who may attend twice a month. We often don’t think about what happens when we don’t regularly gather with our church. Sure, we may think about what I might miss. “I won’t hear the sermon today, but I can read a book, listen to Christian radio, or catch up on the podcast.” “I love to sing worship music, but I can do that in the car on the way to where I am going today. I don’t have to go to a building to sing praises to Jesus.” We make these excuses to ourselves and use them to justify how I can make up for what I am missing when I miss gathering wi...

Christians struggle with sin because we, in this life, are still sinners. The presence of sin in us will not be eradicated until that glorious day when we see Jesus face to face. What a day that will be! But until then, we fight sin by faith, and we can experience assurance inside the fight. But we also believe there are forms of “willful sin” that evidence a heart that has not been saved. Which leads to today’s question from Josh.  https://hopecollege.com Let's look at the book of Hebrews — specifically Hebrews 10:26–29 . The writer seems to be speaking about the ability to lose salvation by engaging in ‘willful sin,’ as it has been called.  What is the opposite of a ‘willful sin’? Is it an accidental sin? Or something else? Due to the presence of the Holy Spirit ’s conviction, all sin done by the believer is done willfully. Hebrews 10 and Hebrews 6 often give people the impression that a person possesses the fullness of salvation and then loses it. These texts can...

1. Suffering is a result of the fall. God warned Adam that eating the forbidden fruit would result in death ( Gen 2 ). Romans 5:12 confirms that this happened after Adam’s fall, “Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned .” Death (and the accompanying pain and suffering ) came as a result of that first sin and our continued sin. Pain, suffering, and death—in and of themselves—are not good. 2. God uses suffering for good. Thankfully, Romans 8 tells us “That for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” God never tells us our pain is good, but he uses pain to work for our good in his miraculous and mysterious way. One of the ways God uses pain is to wake us up and bring up to himself. Our tendency in times of trial may be to run away from God, become angry with God, or idolize worldly comfort. Charles Spurgeon said it well when he en...

A recent bipolar diagnosis shocks the group. Cancer ravages the health of a young wife and mother. An impending divorce threatens to tear apart a marriage, family, and community. A member struggling with same-sex attraction searches for ways to share his struggle. The lone black man in the small group is peppered yet again with questions about racism. The single mom cries out for help with her teenage son. A young couple struggles to accept that they can’t have biological children. The widow, married for more than six decades, gropes for reasons to go on. A father of six children shares the news of his recent layoff. Life is hard and broken. Christian clichés aren’t going to cut it in the unavoidable messiness of realities like these. Community Is Messy Christian community — in the local church, in small group, missional community , or wherever else — is messy. If our friends are plunging headlong into a dark place, someone needs to go after them. And we have no quick fixe...

And as long as there are sinful people in the church—which is to say, always, on this side of heaven—the church needs to be equipped to deal with sin according to the instructions the Lord Jesus left us. And we turn to Paul’s directives in 2 Corinthians 2:5–11 to observe five stages of faithful and successful church discipline and restoration. This week we come to that first stage, and that is the harmful sin that makes discipline necessary. This passage teaches us that all sin is harmful to the body of Christ . Paul says in verse 5: “But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you.” Grace and Charity Notice, first, the great pastoral sensitivity that Paul exhibits here. He speaks so vaguely about the offender and his sin that you almost have a hard time understanding what he’s talking about. He’s careful to avoid mentioning the man’s name; he only says, “If any has caused sorrow. . . .” That’s the most...

Sooner or later we will all have to face the death of a loved one. Christians meet this reality more than most because we belong to a bigger family: the church. In the body of Christ , God blesses us with many brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers — all dear loved ones whose spiritual bond with us will never be severed (Mark  3:31 –35). We must all reckon with death. Some day we will all confront our own end, but along the way, we will also witness beloved friends and family pass from this life into the next. Death is a real enemy — a frightening enemy. “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians  15:26 ). I have watched people die in front of me. I have lost friends, young and old. Death is always ugly. Death always brings sorrow. And there is nothing wrong with grief in the face of death. Jesus himself wept over the death of his friend Lazarus (John  11:35 ). God has so designed us that death is unnatural to us. We were meant to live. But wh...

It’s hard to disconnect our experience of God from our experience of the church — and that’s how it’s supposed to be. That’s why God hates the abuse of power in the church, which says, “God is an abuser” ( Psalm 94:16). That’s why God hates the neglect of the powerless, which says, “God neglects the powerless” ( Isaiah   1:17 ). That’s why God hates the worship of one gift over another, which says, “God plays favorites.” The power that the church has to sear impressions of God onto peoples’ souls is awesome and awful. For those who find their faith mangled in a head-on collision with the church, like a totaled car on the highway, what is the way forward? In between “I guess I’ll just wait things out” and “I’m leaving for good” are five realities that frame our wounds , bring them into a better light, and help us take the next steps. Every Community Wounds Itself It has become increasingly popular to tear the church apart for bearing characteristics that are simply ...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Rejoicing to Share with Christ In the book of 1 Peter , we’re exhorted to respond to the difficulties in our lives in a completely foreign and counter-cultural way: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12–13) Peter is calling us to have a heavenward focus in this life. Trials will surely come, and we should not be caught off guard. In fact, they’re the very thing God uses to test our faith. And we are not just to endure the hardships, but actually  rejoice  in the very suffering we experience, knowing that through suffering hard things in this life, we taste a small portion of the bitter cup Jesus endured when he was hung on the cross for the sake of our sins. God is using this...