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LONDON, England, July 19, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – A July 13 document from the hospital refusing to release baby Charlie Gard reveals it doesn't think parents should be the only ones who have a say in what happens to their kids. Dominican Father Thomas Petri shared a portion of the document on Twitter. The paragraphs he highlighted are deeply troubling to those who think parents rather than hospital and government bureaucrats should decide the fate of their children. The full document can be accessed here. Charlie's case has captured the world's attention. Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) is arguing in court...

Talk of sin and grace is out of style. Now, before we attack the culture, secularism, or those other Christians who are not part of our tribe, it’s important to ask two questions: Do I believe in sin and grace as a reality? Do I recognize sinfulness in my own life, and do I see God’s ongoing, supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in my life as a work of God’s grace? Sin and grace are core doctrines of Christianity. Sin, rebellion against God, a state of defiance—this is not just something I do, but something I am. To be...

In the New Testament, the Greek word for “bishop” is the term episkopos. The word episkopos has a rich and fascinating history. It is made up of a prefix epi and a root scopus. We get the English word scope from this root. A scope is an instrument we use to look at things. We have microscopes to look at little things and telescopes to look at things that are far away. The prefix epi serves simply to intensify a root. There is, for example, knowledge (gnosis) and profound knowledge (epignosis). There is desire (thumia) and passionate desire or lust...

July 19, 2017 Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 3:1-6, 9-12Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian.Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb,the mountain of God.There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fireflaming out of a bush.As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush,though on fire, was not consumed.So Moses decided,"I must go over to look at this remarkable sight,and see why the bush is not burned." When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it...

We have all heard evangelists quote from Revelation: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20). Usually the evangelist applies this text as an appeal to the unconverted, saying: “Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart. If you open the door, then He will come in.” In the original saying, however, Jesus directed His remarks to the church. It was not an evangelistic appeal. So what? The point is that seeking is something...

July 18, 2017 Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 2:1-15aA certain man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,who conceived and bore a son.Seeing that he was a goodly child, she hid him for three months.When she could hide him no longer, she took a papyrus basket,daubed it with bitumen and pitch,and putting the child in it,placed it among the reeds on the river bank.His sister stationed herself at a distanceto find out what would happen to him. Pharaoh's daughter came down to the river to bathe,while her maids walked along the...

Rob Bell, who once enraged many evangelicals by questioning hell, is back with a new book that could re-ignite their fury. It’s called “What is the Bible?” And in it, Bell calls for the Bible to be read “literately, not literally.” In these polarized times, many Christians who claim to read the Bible are really more interested in cherry-picking verses to support their political or social points of view, Bell said in a phone interview with the Observer. “You can pull a verse out to justify almost anything,” he said. “When you read the Bible fuller and in-depth, suddenly you...

Those who have fled for security to the house of evasion must know that the structure has crumbled. It always does.Was he against it, before he was for it? Is he really against it now? The ordeal experienced last week by popular author Eugene Peterson was agonizing to observe, largely self-inflicted, and virtually inevitable. You should pay close attention to it, for you might very well be next. The ordeal began with Peterson, one of the most influential authors among evangelical pastors, responding to two straightforward questions about homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Jonathan Merritt of Religion News Service referenced homosexuality...

In the aftermath of Eugene Peterson's controversial remarks about homosexuality, followed by his retraction, many have asked me if they should still use The Message.My answer to the question remains the same today as it has always been: The Message is not a translation and should not be used as your primary Bible. However, as a very free paraphrase, it is sometimes powerful and brilliant while at other times it is seriously off target.We can get a glimpse of the strengths and weaknesses of The Message by looking at how Dr. Peterson treated a number of key verses dealing with homosexual practice. This...

In a sense we are fortunate that we cannot see God. If for one second the veil were removed and we caught a brief glimpse of the face of God, we would perish instantly. His effulgence is so brilliant, His glory so dazzling, that in our present corrupted state we could not bear the sight of Him. He remains invisible both as a curse and as an act of protecting grace. As long as we remain infected by sin we are doomed to wander in His world sightless with respect to Him. We may be comforted by His Word and...

"You are . . . a people for God's own possession" (1 Pet. 2:9). Since God paid the price to redeem you, you belong to Him. When Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me" (John 10:14), He stated a truth that has been especially dear to me since the early years of my theological education. One of the pleasant memories from my seminary days is sitting in chapel and singing the hymn by the nineteenth-century lyricist Wade Robinson "I Am His and He Is Mine." I may never fully comprehend...

“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22). The answers to believers’ prayers bring assurance of salvation. Another reliable way to know if you are a Christian is if God answers your prayers. The apostle John gives us the infallible reasoning for this statement. First, you can know your prayers will be answered if you keep His commandments (1 John 3:22). And second, John says the only way you can obey God’s commandments is if you belong to Him (v. 24). Therefore,...

July 17, 2017 Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 1:8-14, 22A new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt.He said to his subjects, "Look how numerous and powerfulthe people of the children of Israel are growing, more so than we ourselves!Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase;otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemiesto fight against us, and so leave our country." Accordingly, taskmasters were set over the children of Israelto oppress them with forced labor.Thus they had to build for Pharaohthe supply...

The sermon was titled “Fatal Attraction.” It was a cautionary message to those of us who were married members of the congregation to scrupulously observe the wedding vows we took according to God’s holy ordinance: To have and to hold each other from our wedding day forward. To forsake all others who might come between us. To love each other, comfort each other and keep each other, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, in health, until death do us part. But wait, said the junior pastor. He had an additional vow to suggest to Christ- following...

"You are . . . a holy nation" (1 Pet. 2:9). Holiness involves the decreasing frequency of sin and the increasing frequency of righteousness. Christians are a holy nation—a people set apart from sin and hell to an intimate relationship with God. Originally Israel was God's holy nation, but by unbelief she forfeited that privilege. Now the church, which consists of both Jew and Gentile, is His unique people, and will remain so until the nation of Israel repents and receives her Messiah at His return (Zech. 12:10). Biblical holiness (sanctification) is often misunderstood, but it needn't be. When the...

“The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him” (1 John 2:10). Loving other Christians gives assurance to your own faith. Loving fellow Christians is instinctive for genuine believers. Paul told the Thessalonians, “Now as to the love of the brethren . . . you yourselves are taught by God to love one another” (1 Thess. 4:9). He further encouraged them to “excel still more” in love (v. 10) because there is always room for believers to love one another more completely. Nevertheless, if we are truly saved we will...

July 16, 2017 Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Is 55:10-11Thus says the LORD:Just as from the heavensthe rain and snow come downand do not return theretill they have watered the earth,making it fertile and fruitful,giving seed to the one who sowsand bread to the one who eats,so shall my word bethat goes forth from my mouth;my word shall not return to me void,but shall do my will,achieving the end for which I sent it. Responsorial Psalm Ps 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14R. (Lk 8:8) The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.You have visited...

As stated last week: We are in desperate need of broken, humble men—men who are not afraid to admit that they need God; men who are more worried about prayer than about status and recognition; men who petition God rather than position themselves. While we may want recognition, respect, and honor, God first wants brokenness, humility, and a servant’s heart. Many men want the recognition, but not the brokenness; the honor, but not the humility. While dads jockey for position, build reputations, chase careers, go out with friends, and so on, its often mothers who pray, petition, nurture, care for,...

You are . . . a royal priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:9). Christians serve the King and will someday reign with Him in His Kingdom. In Exodus 19:5-6 God says to Israel, "If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples . . . and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." They were to be both priests and royalty, but they violated the covenant and forfeited those privileges. Now, according to Peter, Christians are the royal priesthood of God. The Greek...

“No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9). A decreasing pattern of sin in a believer’s life means his faith is genuine. A sinful life pattern is incompatible with salvation. If you could continue in the same sinful pattern after being saved from sin, that would mean salvation is ineffective. Therefore, 1 John 3 deals with the saving work of Christ and reveals just how effective it is. Verse 5 says Christ “appeared in order to take away sins.” If...