From Tito Mercado:

For the past two weeks I have had the joy of teaching a biblical counseling course and will continue to do so over the next two weeks. During this time, I have learned two things: 1. I have far more content than I can reasonably cover in four classes; and 2. I immensely enjoy our class interactions. As a result of these two factors, I will have to be more committed to working through the remaining content of my notes a bit more judiciously, reserving time for questions until the last segment of class time.  read more »

From D.A. Carson, on Paul's understanding of when cultural accommodation crosses the line into legalism.

"Paul refuses to circumcise Titus, even when it was demanded by many in the Jerusalem crowd,
not because it didn’t matter to them, but because it mattered so much
that if he acquiesced, he would have been giving the impression that
faith in Jesus is not enough for salvation: one has to become a Jew
first, before one can become a Christian. That would jeopardize the
exclusive sufficiency of Jesus.  read more »

I like to highlight ways that God is glorified in the media, and I can think of no clearer example than a lengthy cover story of this week's New York Times magazine about my dear friend, Mike Allen, chief political correspondent for Politico.  The title says it all: "The Man the White House Wakes Up To."  Mike has visited our church, and is a part of the new Sovereign Grace church in Arlington.  Mike's faith in Christ is genuine (and clear in this story), and his humility is evident to anyone who is near him -- he's one of the most respected (and probably the most influential) journalist in the country, but if you try to ask him about himself, he immediately is seeking to get to know you, asking questions about your life.   read more »

It's rare for me to even think about recommending a book that I haven't yet read.  There are probably 4 living authors that I would do that for, and D.A. Carson is one of them.  This new book by D.A. Carson (which we will be stocking shortly in our bookstore) promises to be among the most accessible of Carson's works, as it is a collection of 5 messages that Carson gave at a recent conference on Jesus' death and resurrection, titled, "Scandalous."  This would be a fantastic book to go through as individuals or families to prepare our hearts for the glory of Easter.

Here are the chapter titles and Scripture references:

1. The Ironies of the Cross: Matthew 27:27-51a

2. The Center of the Whole Bible: Romans 3:21-26  read more »

After 3 painful consecutive cancellations of our Sunday meetings I'm so grateful that there is no expectation of snow this weekend!  Thanks so much to the church for how you have gathered with us on the past two Monday nights to worship together.  What wonderful times we have had meeting together in the beautiful auditorium of Our Savior's Way Lutheran Church the past two weeks!   read more »

As a church without our own building, we have at various times over our 8-year history had our Sunday morning meetings cancelled by Loudoun County Public Schools due to inclement weather.  On the Saturday before those occasions this is what you would typically find at the Donohue house: My older three children digging through the coat closest, looking for their winter gear so they can romp around in the snow with their neighborhood friends, while their dad is closely monitoring weather.com and entertaining thoughts like, “I wonder if a meteor could rip through the ozone and allow enough ultra violet radiation to melt everything by the morning?”  read more »

Here's a blog from John Piper on how to be discerning even with our favorite authors and preachers, and in this case a critique of some uncareful statements CS Lewis made on doctrine.  

"I encourage you to measure your favorite authors and your favorite quotes by what the Bible teaches and what the Bible includes."

Read the whole thing here.

Whenever there is a natural disaster, Pat Robertson can always be counted on to say something particularly cringeworthy and embarrassing to his fellow evangelicals, and the tragic events in Haiti yesterday, unfortunately were no different.

Robertson, the Pentecostal televangelist who founded Regent University and the 700 Club, today proclaimed that the earthquake that struck Haiti yesterday, leaving tens, if not hundreds, of thousands dead, was the result of God's judgment on an alleged pact that the founders of the nation made with Satan to free them from French control.  It's a claim based on Haitian folklore, not in any historical accounts.  So the truthfulness of the claim is very much in doubt to begin with.  read more »

It seems that every month, I read another article or hear of another book proclaiming the impending death of evangelicalism.  read more »

You may be aware from media accounts last Fall about a document that was signed by a
number of Evangelical authors along with Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church
leaders called the Manhattan Declaration, and our pastoral team has received
some questions regarding our position on the document.  You can read the document here.   read more »