Yancey’s Three Questions

Posted on October 1, 2015 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Yet behind the three questions stands a person who claims to have the explanation and the answer to these questions.

Philip Yancey on the problem of pain

Posted on December 26, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

A quote taken from Where is God When it Hurts? by Philip Yancey speaks to those who are “smoldering with rage” at God for allowing pain and suffering in the world.

On Grace and Mercy Combined

If we are honest, the fact that we are not moral train wrecks has more to do with God’s grace than our ability to live out the Christian life. So why not extend that same grace to others?

Grace combined with even a modicum of mercy will have a powerful effect.

The Church and Summum bonum

When a visitor comes to your church, what would they perceive is the summum bonum of your group? Does the visitor feel loved? Does the visitor see the work of God in the lives of the congregants?

But are we any happier as a society? Have the new-found freedoms brought personal peace? Based on the angry rhetoric from those who most loudly proclaim freedom from limits, I struggle to see that we are indeed happier.

Who builds the church?

When I am tempted to be overwhelmed by the problems in the church, I need to remind myself that it is not up to men to build the church. Jesus told us that he, himself, is the one who builds his church (Matthew 16:18).

More than you can handle

On the surface, it seems correct to say that “God will not give you more than you can handle.” Paul does tell us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to escape the situation. But it is a huge jump to infer from this that God will not allow you to encounter situations that you cannot handle.

America’s Colosseum Spectacle

Someone once jokingly said of TV news, “if it bleeds, it leads.” In other words, the most shocking story is the one that gets the most attention. We, as fallen human beings, seem to gravitate toward shocking.