Dr Paul Allen

BY BRAD VAUGH Few verses are as controversial as 1 Peter 3:7. Some people flatly ignore it, regarding it as plainly ridiculous. Here is what Peter writes: “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honuor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.” (1 Peter 3:7, NASB) What exactly does he mean by calling women “weaker” compared to men? Countless people argue that Peter refers to women’s physical strength. Perhaps, some seemingly suggest they are not as tough as men (i.e., they are more “delicate” to use an old English expression). Whatever the case, this verse has often been used as yet another reason to subtly affirm the inferiority of women to men. Peter Achtemeier offers a more nuanced view (though it needs improvement). He writes, “While in Hellenistic culture such weakness was taken as a description of a woman’s nature, moral and intellectual as well ...

One year ago, we lost our youngest daughter to her longstanding battle against addiction. Walking alongside her in this multiyear struggle sank us into parts of this broken world we never dreamed we would inhabit. Dark places with desperate people became familiar terrain. We fought for life. Death won. Now our precious daughter is gone. Each morning I stare into the eyes of her 2-year-old son, now entrusted to us. Since then, I’ve learned a lot about grief. I have seen how it attacks meaning and motivation. Grief creeps up and seizes a moment, an hour, an afternoon. I think it’s going to be like this for a while. The shadow of death; the empty chair; the burden of shame; the clay pot, broken. Ministry, if I’m honest, is conflicting. It’s been more splendid than I possibly expected and more painful than I ever dreamed. Somewhere along the way, I began to think differently about resilience. It’s no longer the place I am reaching for after the pain. It’s the work of God, in and through my...

People think depression is just a modern problem, but it’s not. There are even examples in the Bible of depression. You can think of David, the psalmist, in Psalm 32 and Psalm 51, or Heman in Psalm 88—the darkest psalm in the whole book of Psalms. In Job, there’s definitely evidence of depression in the chapters of his book. Jeremiah even wrote a book called Lamentations. Elijah But maybe the most obvious figure who suffered from depression is Elijah in 1 Kings. The interesting thing is his depression came after a tremendous spiritual accomplishment. He’d just been at Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal, and he had this great triumph. He’d shown God and all his glory, then he runs and he ends up totally alone, depressed, exhausted, scared, self-critical, despairing, pessimistic about the future, and he thinks he’s the only believer left in this world, so let me die. What’s really interesting is God’s response to that. What’s the first thing God does? He gives him food, he gives him ...

Author: John piper. If the aim of preaching is the glory of God through Jesus Christ , and if God is most glorified in our people when they are most satisfied in Him, and if the universal human experience of suffering threatens to undermine their faith in the goodness of God, and thus their satisfaction in His glory, then our preaching must aim, week in and week out, to help our people be satisfied in God while suffering.  Indeed, we must help them count suffering as part of why they should be satisfied in God. We must build into their minds and hearts a vision of God and His ways that helps them see suffering not merely as a threat to their satisfaction in God (which it is), but also as a means to their satisfaction in God (which it is). We must preach so as to make suffering seem normal and purposeful, and not surprising in this fallen age. The forces of culture are almost all designed to build the opposite worldview into our people’s minds. Maximize comfort, ease, and ...