Articles by Paul Ellis

Completely Forgiven? When Confession is Bad for You

February 18, 2010 // 32 Comments

Jesus died to set men free. Galatians 5:13 tells us that we have a holy calling to be free – to live free, walk free, stay free. One way that we can lose our freedom is to burden ourselves with ungodly demands and expectations. This can happen when we take scripture out of context. It can also happen when we [...]

Why do Churches Have Mood Music?

February 16, 2010 // 5 Comments

It’s the end of the service and the preacher is coming to the punch line. Quietly the keyboardist goes on stage, selects “warm pads” or “strings” and begins to play in the background. As the preacher makes his challenge, the sound of synthesized seraphim singing begins to wash over the audience. Hand [...]

What Would Jesus Drive?

February 13, 2010 // 24 Comments

A standard question asked at youth groups used to be “Should Christians drive BMWs?” I never understood the point of this. I wondered, does God hate German cars? Yes I know it was never about the car. But how could we cruise around with 300 brake-horsepower under the bonnet when poor people were starving and [...]

Top 12 C.S. Lewis Quotes

February 9, 2010 // 1 Comment

CS Lewis was probably the most quotable Christian of the past century. I dare say that every second book in a Christian bookstore has at least one quote from the great thinker. I have been looking for an excuse to publish some of my favorite CS Lewis quotes. Well today, February 9th, just happens to be the 68th [...]

The 3Rs of Christianity

February 6, 2010 // 4 Comments

At the risk of overlooking some liberating truths, the basics of following Christ can be reduced to 3 Rs. 1. Righteousness The gospel reveals a righteousness that comes from God and is received by faith from first to last (Rms 1:17). This kind of righteousness can be distinguished from self-righteousness which is [...]

Whose Medicine are you Taking? The Dangers of Taking Scripture out of Context

February 4, 2010 // 53 Comments

Two men go to see the doctor. The first is suffering from advanced cancer and needs a life-saving intervention. The second is completely healthy and is going for a routine check-up. The doctor is a perfect physician and prescribes the appropriate medication in each case. However, the pharmacist bungles the [...]

Gifts + Message + Mission: Lessons from 2 Timothy

February 3, 2010 // 2 Comments

Near the end of his life Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy. It is full of practical wisdom for every Christian. In the first two chapters we find three timely challenges for the church: (1) Fan the gift of God into flame (1:6) Like many, Timothy battled timidity and fear. He needed lots of [...]

That’s My King

February 3, 2010 // 2 Comments

From time to time we’ve been fired up by SM Lockridge’s awesome “That’s my king” sermon. (The full text can be found at the bottom of this post.) Last Easter Sunday we watched the following version of it… But the version I really like – but can’t show in church [...]

Getting Caught by Your Calling

February 3, 2010 // 4 Comments

Christians in their twenties often struggle with the issue of God’s calling, as in, what does God want me to do with my life? I’m a big believer in reflection and taking time out to think over such matters, but often this leads to paralysis. Travel anywhere in the world and you’ll meet young Christians [...]

Leaders Are Readers: What I’m Reading

February 3, 2010 // 0 Comments

One of my favourite cliches, often heard at leadership conferences, is “leaders are readers.” This one I actually agree with. If you love learning you’ll love reading. I read for work and I read for pleasure. I read in the bathroom, on the bus, in bed, on the train, in airports and on planes. [...]

The Need for Unreasonable Men

February 3, 2010 // 0 Comments

Reasonable men adapt to the world around them; unreasonable men make the world adapt to them. The world is changed by unreasonable men. This is one of my favorite quotes because it provides a great excuse for my bad behaviour. Whenever my wife complains I’m being unreasonable I just explain “that’s because [...]

How Do I Know the Bible is True? The Test of Prophecy

February 3, 2010 // 3 Comments

There are literally hundreds of excellent websites that address this question and many truth tests are available. Let’s just consider one such test here, specifically, the Bible’s very own test for veracity. By its own standard the Bible says that if any single prophecy does not come true its prophet was not [...]