Dr Paul Allen

We all have questions about death. What is death? Why do we die? Why do we all die? Why is death so scary? Why did Christ die? Why do Christians have to die? How can I face the death of someone I love? How can I prepare for death? How can I help others prepare for death? What happens after death? To answer these questions, we need to go to the Scripture and see what God has to say to us there. The Bible is God’s Word and is completely reliable and true. If the Bible tells us something about death, then we can stake our lives on it. We also have a lot of help. Our spiritual ancestors thought deeply and practically about death. Throughout the history of the church, pastors and teachers have sought to help God’s people face death in light of the riches of biblical truth. In the Protestant Reformation five centuries ago, the church recovered the gospel in its full biblical integrity. Martin Luther, John Calvin, the British Puritans, and their spiritual heirs have left us rich reflections ...

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the whole city stirred with one question: “Who is this?” (Matt. 21:10). That same question reverberates through the Gospel of Mark—and still echoes in our culture today. Mark doesn’t merely offer theological claims about Jesus; he constructs a narrative arc that progressively unveils His identity in dramatic, revelatory moments. Here are seven powerful ways Mark’s Gospel reveals who Jesus truly is: Mark Opens with a Bold Declaration: Jesus Is the Son of God Mark wastes no time: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). From the first verse, we’re told that Jesus is not just a man — He is the divine Son, the visible Yahweh revealing the invisible God. At His baptism, the heavens rip open and the Father declares, “You are my beloved Son” (Mark 1:11). This is more than a title; it’s a declaration of identity and purpose. Jesus isn’t merely bringing good news — He is the good news. Even Demons Recognise His Auth...

One woman with cancer told me years ago, “I’m not a believer anymore—that doesn’t work for me. I can’t believe in a personal God who would do something like this to me.” Cancer killed her God. What would happen to me? I felt like a surgeon who was suddenly on the operating table. Would I be able to take my own advice? Facing such a serious diagnosis, Keller was forced to reexamine not only his “professed beliefs” but his “actual understanding of God.” He writes, Had [my ideas about God] been shaped by my culture? Had I been slipping unconsciously into the supposition that God lived for me rather than I for him, that life  should  go well for me, that I knew better than God does how things should go? The answer was yes—to some degree. I found that to embrace God’s greatness, to say “Thy will be done,” was painful at first and then, perhaps counterintuitively, profoundly liberating. To assume that God is as small and finite as we are may  feel  freeing—but it offers no...

Understanding Anxiety Some find it helpful to contrast anxiety with fear. Fear and anxiety share many of the same symptoms and cause the same reactions. But fear is focused on a present threat, something right before you, like a rattlesnake slithering on the trail.  Anxiety is focused on a possible threat. Fear focuses on what is happening. Anxiety focuses on what might happen. Fear goes as easily as it comes, once the snake slithers away into the brush. Anxiety is far more slippery, far more diffuse, far more difficult to get behind you. Consider a few definitions of anxiety. The American Psychological Association defines anxiety as a “future-oriented, long-acting response broadly focused on a diffuse threat.”1 The American Psychiatric Association says “Anxiety refers to anticipation of a future concern.”2  And here is perhaps the most helpful definition I’ve seen: “Anxiety is both a mental and physical state of negative expectation. . . . Anxiety is meant to capture attentio...

Anyone who has ever served in leadership will know that death and taxes are not the only two certainties in life. There is at least one other that we can add to the list: criticism. Leadership and criticism go hand in hand. The more public our leadership role, the more frequent, unfair, and unpleasant that criticism will be. It is, after all, the soldiers who lead the charge in battle who take not only the bulk of the enemy’s fire but its greatest intensity as well. With that in mind, the question we need to answer is not, How can we avoid criticism?—because we cannot avoid it and still be faithful in serving the Lord with the gifts and abilities He has given us; rather, we should ask, How can we prepare ourselves for the criticism that will come?  In this way, when it does come, we will know how to respond and how to keep it from destroying us and the work God has given us to do. I have personally found help in answering this question from Ecclesiastes 7:21–22: “Do not take to hea...