Owen Strachan

"Theologian Owen Strachan makes clear, wokeness is not true justice, nor is it true Christianity. While wokeness employs biblical vocabulary and concepts, it is an alternative religion, far from Christianity in both its methods and its fruit. A potent blend of racism, paganism, and grievance, wokeness encourages 'partiality' and undermines the unifying work of the Holy Spirit. It is not simply not the Gospel; it is anti-Gospel"--

How the Social Justice Movement Is Hijacking the Gospel - and the Way to Stop It

Christianity and Wokeness

the essential Edwards collection

Jonathan Edwards on the good life

Jonathan Edwards on beauty

Douglas Sweeney

Jonathan Edwards, lover of God

John Piper

Mark Dever

Russell Moore

Jonathan Leeman

Timothy Larsen

Michael Haykin

Daniel Bays

Phillip Jensen

Bruce Kent

Mike Gilbert-Smith

Thomas Kid

Matt McCullough

Greg Cochran

What good is a church if it loses its distinctness? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.The growing opposition to the Christian faith in Western culture is heart breaking and worth challenging. That said, God has good purposes for letting the nations-even a so-called Christian nation-oppose his people. And one of them is to sharpen the church's distinctness. He is seeking a bride for his Son, and he means for her to radiate.The nature of our relationships inside a church should be distinct. Our ways of serving our employers and employees should be distinct. Our treatment of spouses and children should be distinct. Our loves and our laughter should be distinct. Our sexuality and family budgets and vacation plans should be distinct. And the more our culture opposes God and his people, the more the distinctness of our churches should shine. Yes, there should be points of commonality. We never stop being human, and our lives and loves should be deeply humane. But we are the new humanity. Our neighbors should find us both familiar and exotic.Notice, then, the further a nation moves away from Christian moral assumptions, the more its churches have occasion to radiate the life-changing power of God. Which means, cultural opposition shouldn't scare us. It sets a backdrop for the display for the glory of God in our lives.Not only that, our evangelistic power is tied to our distinctness. An old friend of mine known as a Christian who works deep in the heart of British politics recently affirmed gay marriage. He doesn't know it today, but a couple decades from now he just might look back and see that he lost all his prophetic power on the day he made that affirmation. He blended in. He became indistinct. His salt was no longer salty. Might as well throw it out.How precious for evangelism's sake are our doctrines of sin and conversion.As cultural opposition grows, in short, church leaders must not be all lament. Or all battle-cry. There might be places for both. But pastors must preach hope, recognizing divine purposefulness in that very opposition. God is behind it. We should not presume to know what God is specifically doing through any moment of opposition, but we can assume that all the purposes for his church are love.The goal of this 9Marks Journal is to help pastors adopt a fuller perspective regarding the growing cultural opposition all around us. How should we think? How should we speak and pray? They might subpoena our sermons or fine our florists. But the game is God's, and he moves about his opponents like pawns.

Seeking the Right Perspective As Opposition Grows

The Vanishing Church? - 9Marks Journal

Kevin J. Vanhoozer

Many pastors today see themselves primarily as counselors, leaders, and motivators. Yet this often comes at the expense of the fundamental reality of the pastorate as a theological office. The most important role is to be a theologian mediating God to the people. The church needs pastors who can contextualize biblical wisdom in Christian living to help their congregations think theologically about all aspects of their lives, such as work, end-of-life decisions, political involvement, and entertainment choices. Drawing on the Bible, key figures from church history, and Christian theology, this book offers a clarion call for pastors to serve as public theologians in their congregations and communities. It is designed to be engaging reading for busy pastors and includes pastoral reflections on the theological task from twelve working pastors, including Kevin DeYoung and Cornelius Plantinga.

Reclaiming a Lost Vision

The Pastor as Public Theologian

Douglas Allen Sweeney

Beauty is hard to describe, but easy to identify. It resides in expected and unexpected places in our world. Beauty is present in our world in a variety of forms. Yet while the average person might think about the reality of beauty from time to time, few people would think about the source of beauty. Where does beauty come from? Why is it here? Several hundred years ago Jonathan Edwards did some thinking of his own on this difficult subject. This volume explores his meditation on the subject and lays out a Christian framework for understanding and experiencing the beauty God has planted in His world. Edwards found in the study of beauty the person of God. Where Edwards saw beautiful images and acts, he saw a representation, a small picture, of a reality too great to comprehend, a God too majestic to adequately adore. He sets in motion a path of glory that begins with the Lord, moves to creation, continues to the incarnation of Christ, moves to the church, and ascends to the glory of heaven, where the Holy Trinity dwells. Easily accessible and readable, you do not need to be a scholar to enjoy these insights about Jonathan Edwards and his writings.

Jonathan Edwards on Beauty

What is the good life that we so often hear talk of in our modern age? Is it cars that drive fast, houses that resemble castles? Is it unbounded sexual pleasure, unrestrained personal gratification of all one’s desires? Is it quiet and solitude, individual removal from the storm and thunder of modern society? Or is it obedient Christian faith that causes spiritual corpses to burst forth with godly passion and holy worship that transforms one’s own life, one’s environment, and one’s eternal destiny? This other way of life proceeds from an ancient book that lifts life in this age and all mothers to another plane. This is the truly good life, the path plotted for the steps of mankind by almighty God. It involves sacrifice, and hardship, and hard work. It means self-denial, self-abasement, and an others-centered mindset. It is radically God-centered and deeply rooted in Scripture. This, and no other path, offers the souls of humanity lasting happiness. For Jonathan Edwards, submission to God and His will was the path to true fulfillment and the good life. Easily accessible and readable, you do not need to be a scholar to enjoy these insights about Jonathan Edwards and his writings.

Jonathan Edwards on the Good Life

You've heard his name, you've probably heard your pastor quote him, but who is he really? 250 years later, Jonathan Edwards, America’s consummate pastor-theologian, continues to capture the attention of Christians around the world. Yet Edwards left us over 1,200 sermons and thousands of pages of other publications, not to mention the literal thousands of books that have been written about Edwards since he died. Where does one even begin? That’s why we created The Essential Jonathan Edwards. It serves as a perfect introduction to Edwards’s life and thought. It explores Edwards day-to-day life, and his views on beauty, true Christianity, heaven and hell, and the good life. Strachan and Sweeney strike the perfect balance between necessary background information and giving Edwards’s own works room to speak. Whether you’re an Edwards fan already or only know Edwards because of “that Angry God sermon,” this book will lead you to drink deeply of Scripture and gaze longingly at God.

An Introduction to the Life and Teaching of America's Greatest Theologian

The Essential Jonathan Edwards

Matthew Hall

In an age that is increasingly conflicted about evangelical identity and theological truth, Christians need a foundation for navigating the shifting culture. Although forgotten by some, twentieth-century theologian Carl F. H. Henry stands as one of the most influential leaders of modern evangelicalism. In this collection of essays written by leading theologians, readers will discover the extraordinary legacy that Henry left behind—a legacy desperately needed in our world today. Highlighting Henry’s unshakable confidence in the truth of God’s Word, these essays demonstrate how a renewed commitment to theology will lead to a greater love for God and others.

The Enduring Influence of Carl F. H. Henry

Essential Evangelicalism

Jonathan Parnell

“Male and female he created them.” —Genesis 1:27 It’s one of the most important—and controversial—topics of our time. God created men and women in his image—equal in value and complementary in roles. These distinctive roles are not the vestiges of a bygone era, but integral to God’s timeless good design for humanity. Designed for Joy includes fresh contributions from fourteen young leaders, casting a unified vision for Christian manhood and womanhood. Whether discussing the significance of gender, the truth about masculinity and femininity, the blessing of purity, or the challenge of raising children in a confusing world, this practical resource challenges us to embrace God’s good design—for his glory and our joy.

How the Gospel Impacts Men and Women, Identity and Practice

Designed for Joy

Gavin Peacock

Lust is a problem. A big problem. Our sexualised culture, promising freedom and pleasure, is creating a terrible cocktail of abuse, pain, despair, and suffering. The problem is not simply our actions, but our sinful desires. But there is hope. Christ is more powerful than any lustful desire, any temptation. He has defeated death and sin, and his way leads to true freedom.

A Short Book on Desire

What Does the Bible Teach about Lust?

People all around us are seeking wholeness and happiness and acceptance. These are good things to seek. But if we seek them in the wrong places, we will surely reap calamity. This is just what's happening today regarding the LGBTQ movement. People are being told that if they follow their heart, their deepest instincts and desires, they'll be whole and happy and affirmed. But this is not true. Gavin Peacock and Owen Strachan delve into what God's Word says about gender identity and transgenderism.

A Short Book on Personal Identity

What Does the Bible Teach about Transgenderism?

God made sexuality. It is a gift and stewardship from God. But there is much more to human identity than sexuality. We were made for eternity, where the church will be married to Christ. Let us look at the words of God about homosexuality and run straight into the arms of Christ, the Savior who welcomes repentant sinners of every kind to a kingdom not built with man's strength, but with the very power and grace of God.

A Short Book on Biblical Sexuality

What Does the Bible Teach about Homosexuality?

Reenchanting Humanity is a work of systematic theology that focuses on the doctrine of humanity. Engaging the major anthropological questions of the age, like transgender, homosexuality, technology, and more, author Owen Strachan establishes a Christian anthropology rooted in Biblical truth, in stark contrast to the popular opinions of the modern age.

A Theology of Mankind

Reenchanting Humanity

A leading young theologian and public intellectual shows how the life and legacy of Chuck Colson can equip Christians to live a bold and loving faith in the public square. During his life, Chuck Colson was the preeminent evangelical in American public life. He dedicated himself to public witness in the mold of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and William Wilberforce, creating and leading efforts such as Prison Fellowship, Angel Tree, Breakpoint, and the Centurions program. He worked tirelessly on behalf of humanity because he believed that all people needed help to flourish. He knew the importance of working practically to advance truth and justice in public. And he knew that to be courageous—and to speak and act courageously in line with Scripture—was by definition to be loving. Chuck Colson’s life reveals there is no division between truth and love, between embracing biblical guidance and loving our neighbor. The Colson Way uses the legacy and wisdom of Colson to show Christians a way of living in a public square increasingly hostile to evangelical conviction.

Loving Your Neighbor and Living with Faith in a Hostile World

The Colson Way

This year, get to know the true Jonathan Edwards—and see the hand of God in your own life like never before. Jonathan Edwards is one of the most respected early American theologians. In Always in God’s Hands, Owen Strachan recovers the real Jonathan Edwards—the thinker, the compassionate father, the courageous reformer—as opposed to the caricature of him that is often presented. Edwards believed God was ever-present in each of our lives, caring and encouraging us in every moment. In a moving letter to his daughter, he reminds her of that comforting truth by describing her as “always in God’s hands.” Through daily quotes from Edwards’s letters and sermons, this inspirational devotional reveals the soaring theology and comforting spirituality of one of history’s most faithful and gifted pastors. With each meditation, compiler Owen Strachan offers refreshing and relevant insights, encouraging you in your walk with God.

Day by Day in the Company of Jonathan Edwards

Always in God's Hands

How do you access a real, thriving, vibrant faith? You trust a big God, and you start living like he’s real. It’s time to put our comfort and ease and false security on the line. If we know God is real, let’s pray as if he’s actually listening. If we know he’s good, let’s reflect that goodness in the world. When our problems feel big, let’s lean on the One who is bigger. Is that risky? “Sure,” says Owen Strachan. “Embrace it anyway. It’s literally the only way to live.”

Abandon Fear and Build Something Awesome

Risky Gospel

The world has gone gray-fuzzy, blurry, gender-neutral gray. In a secularist culture, many people today are confused about what it means to be a man or a woman. Owen Strachan and Gavin Peacock clear away the confusion and open up the Scriptures.

Owen Strachan

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