A Gracious Hope: Isaiah’s Biblical Theology of Creation
Good authors know how to weave important themes throughout the tapestry of their texts. For example, Homer does this masterfully with honor and respect in the Iliad (ca. 1194-84 bc), Augustine with citizenship and heaven in City of God (ca. 413-26), Chaucer with religion and social class in The Canterbury Tales (ca. late-1380s), and Hawthorne with sin and legalism in The Scarlet Letter (1850). How much more reliable is this truism...
The Benefits of Expository Preaching
By Dr. Jeff Manning Am I crazy? That thought was on my mind as I stood before the congregation of Unity Free Will Baptist Church on the first Sunday morning of August 1991. I had just been voted in as the Senior Pastor four days earlier, after having served as the Youth Pastor for nine months. As I stood there, safely anchored behind our large pulpit, I proceeded to ask my people to open their Bibles to the Gospel of John. My text...
A Critique of the Christ-less Church
Christianity has always had its critics—some from within the body of Christ, and others from spectator seats. While some criticize with tact and tastefulness, most do so in a tasteless fashion that is unbiblical. Still, there are those critics along the way who love Christ and hope to see His Church strengthened through their work. Flannery O’Connor was such a person. Mary Flannery O’Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia on March 25,...
The Politics of Fairness
Essay by Matthew Steven Bracey and W. Jackson Watts “[W]e are in the midst of a financial crisis the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Great Depression.” These words were famously stated by business tycoon George Soros after the recent economic recession [1]. In its aftermath, many Americans found themselves without jobs and without money. Since then, a conversation has emerged in our nation concerning the economic disparities...
To God Be the Glory: Celebrating Two Years of Ministry
A Message from the Helwys Society Forum In the winter of 2009, three of us perceived the need for an online venue where believers could engage issues confronting the church. With this basic but simple thought, the Helwys Society Forum (HSF) was born. In late February 2010, the Helwys Society posted its first essay on the Forum. Since then, we have posted nearly 75. To God be the glory. For more information concerning our origins,...
Why Being In the Flesh Is a Good Thing
We all have hobbies: cooking, film, photography, reading, sports, and many others. People who know me know that one of mine is running. However, this hasn’t always been the case. In the fall of 2009, God began to convict me about the increase in my eating and the decrease in my exercising. This conviction climaxed that Christmas when I realized that I had gained nearly 30 pounds in the previous year. “Am I really honoring God with my...
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