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The greatest grace preacher you’ve never heard of

June 4, 2020 // 11 Comments

D. L. Moody, the great American evangelist, told millions of people about the love of God. But who told him? It was this guy… Henry Moorhouse may be the most prolific grace preacher you’ve never heard of. Born in Manchester in the UK in 1840, the teenaged Moorhouse was a gang leader who battled depression. He [...]

What makes a great Christian movie?

May 27, 2020 // 66 Comments

I recently turned 50, and to mark the occasion I ranked my all time top 50 movies. Every guy has a list of his favorite five or ten movies. I wanted to go all the way to 50 baby! It turned out to be a worthy challenge because there are so many great movies. In the end, I listed 100 movies (my top 50 + 50 [...]

What does it mean to have an ear to hear?

May 20, 2020 // 17 Comments

At the end of the Bible we find letters from Jesus to seven churches. At the end of each letter, he says this: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (see Rev. 2:7a). We like to think that we have heard Jesus. But how do we know we have? How can we be sure? What does it mean to [...]

The sky is falling! Darkened suns and falling stars

May 14, 2020 // 34 Comments

Pamdemics. Economic collapse. Locust plagues. Murder hornets. Whenever the world goes through a crisis, it’s natural to wonder if we have reached the end of days. “This is it! We’re all going to die!” We turn to social media and YouTube for answers and encounter wacky end time predictions. Some involve [...]

Did Jesus say adultery is the only grounds for divorce?

May 6, 2020 // 96 Comments

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said this about divorce and remarriage: It has been said, “Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.” But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced [...]

Is the Bible sexist?

April 29, 2020 // 47 Comments

Some people reject the Bible because they believe it promotes a male-dominated worldview. “The Bible is oppressive to women. It reinforces patriarchal stereotypes that view women as inferior.” There is a measure of truth to this claim. Consider the laws of ancient Israel. Israel had laws that permitted the [...]

Seven zeroes

April 21, 2020 // 49 Comments

On its first day, Escape to Reality was viewed 20 times and I was stoked. Three years later it reached a million page views, and I was astonished. A few days ago, we passed 10 million page views and I don’t know what to say. Except, thank you. And wow. 10,000,000. There is nothing particularly significant about [...]

Why is this an excellent time to get water baptized?

April 15, 2020 // 36 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I baptized our two daughters in the sea behind our house. We had an informal service in front of a small group of friends. And by small group, I mean, really small. There were only three other adults plus our two other kids. At the time, our city was not yet in lockdown, but [...]

How D. L. Moody endured his most frightening crisis

April 8, 2020 // 12 Comments

The world is in lockdown, which makes it a great time to read. We may not have jobs, movies, sport, and takeout food, but we still have books. Thank you, Jesus. I’ve been reading a biography on D.L. Moody, the great American evangelist. I have no doubt that the present crisis would not have troubled him [...]

Your Ten Point COVID-19 Survival Plan

April 3, 2020 // 20 Comments

How the world has changed! A month ago we were wondering how Harry and Meghan were going to pay their bodyguards; now we are facing the greatest crisis of our lifetimes. A few weeks ago no one had heard of COVID-19; now all of us have had our lives disrupted by it. In February, I wrote an article on how the [...]

A free study guide and a sweet treat!

March 30, 2020 // 13 Comments

Hi friends, I have TWO exciting book announcements to share with you. 1. The Chocolate Gospel ebook is now on sale My latest book, The Chocolate Gospel, has just gone live on Kindle. You can also get it for your Android device and in PDF form here. If you missed out on the Kickstarter project, you will not be [...]

How the Church can shine during COVID-19

March 25, 2020 // 27 Comments

Last Sunday in New Zealand, we set a record for the lowest church attendance in living memory. Next Sunday will smash that record because we have just begun a four week lockdown. No one is going anywhere. In an attempt to curtail the spread of COVID-19, many governments are banning public gatherings. Churches, [...]