Construction began on President Trump's new $250 million White House ballroom.

Bringing Down the Curtain on the Touring Theatre JamesHoare Tue, 10/21/2025 - 08:13

‘Peacemaker’ by Thant Myint-U review JamesHoare Tue, 10/21/2025 - 08:14

When people think of the Netherlands, they might likely conjure up images of rides along the canals, tulips fields and windmills, or even the coffee houses that can be found in most towns and cities throughout the country. The fact is, though, the Netherlands can boast of some of the most thought-provoking and intriguing UFO and alien encounters on record, ranging from encounters with strange, humanoid figures, to sightings over air bases, and bizarre close encounters that span decades and involve some kind of strange secret security services. Moreover, these incidents continue to be reported today.

Every church has one ministry that shapes its future more than any other. Ironically, it’s often the one that gets the least attention from pastors. Peter’s instruction to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Pet. 5:2) includes the children in our pews. Yet many churches treat children’s ministry as glorified childcare rather than a discipleship lab. Wise pastoral leadership means stewarding a church’s most valuable resource: its people. Imagine an experienced, highly skilled Bible teacher joined your church and asked for a place to serve. It’d be tempting to drop that person into an adult Sunday school class or small group—and that could be a good fit. But what if your children’s ministry is an even better fit? Here’s why it might be. 1. Children’s ministry is a gospel opportunity. Think about how much effort churches put into evangelism programs, training church members to introduce the lost to Jesus. This is right, but we should also remember that most people trust Jesus when they’re between the ages of 4 and 14. Consider how many kids in this 4–14 window come to your church each week. Yes, you should train parents to help win these kids to Christ at home, but you should also position some of your best teachers in your classrooms. These kids need to hear the gospel over and over from loving, gifted leaders who can explain it to them on their level. Our kids should never stop hearing the gospel. Just like us, they need to hear of its beauty and the power again and again so they not only come to believe it, trusting in Jesus for salvation, but also to embody it in how they live. Research shows the best way for this to happen is for the church and home to echo one another. A 2020 Barna study found that 53 percent of “habitual churchgoers” and 77 percent of “resilient disciples” indicated that a key to their continued faith was having close personal friends who were adults in the church. That godly, caring children’s ministry leader can make a huge difference now and well into the future. If the 4–14 window is a strategic mission field, what better way to penetrate it than to raise up a committed and engaged missionary force? Evangelism is one beggar telling another where to find bread. A child who has trusted in Jesus knows enough to help another do the same. Placing gifted teachers into your children’s ministry who can train kids to do just that may be one of the greatest evangelism efforts you can make. 2. Children’s ministry is a discipleship opportunity. If a child trusts Jesus, he’s a part of the regenerate church. There’s no “junior Holy Spirit” nor “junior-varsity church.” There’s “one body” (Eph. 4:4–6). And, as Paul stated plainly, pastors have a responsibility to “watch out for [themselves] and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made [them] overseers” (Acts 20:28, NET, emphasis mine). God’s desire is for the entire church—adults, teens, and kids—to be discipled and released on mission. That should be our desire too. If the 4–14 window is a strategic mission field, what better way to penetrate it than to raise up a committed and engaged missionary force? Beyond our sense of responsibility for young image-bearers made new in Christ, we should be motivated by love and a desire for their growth. Ask any financial adviser when it’s best to invest in retirement, and he’ll tell you: early! The sooner you begin, the more time you allow for compound interest to work its magic and multiply your investment. The same is true of discipleship. One of the best ways we can love and serve the next generation of Christians is to disciple them early and deeply. Laying a strong gospel foundation in a child’s mind and heart will pay dividends for decades to come. It’ll position the child to avoid many pitfalls and hardships and maximize her effectiveness for kingdom work. 3. Investing in children’s ministry is a church-health strategy. In Major League Baseball, the difference between a championship team and a dynasty is its farm system. Invest in the MLB squad and you can win now; invest in the farm system and you can win in perpetuity. The same is true in the church. God’s desire is for the entire church—adults, teens, and kids—to be discipled and released on mission. If you want a church to be healthy and vibrant for decades, invest heavily in the next generation. Believing kids are an important part of the church today, but they’re also a critical part of the church tomorrow. A gifted teacher can surely make a mark in other areas of ministry, but in children’s ministry, perhaps more than any other ministry, that teacher’s influence ripples well beyond his lifetime. Children’s ministry isn’t merely keeping children occupied while their parents are discipled. It’s the front lines of discipleship, evangelism, and church health. Those front lines are a great place for strong teachers to serve. A mark of a strong theologian is being able to take complex doctrines and boil them down into the simplest terms without compromising truth. That’s exactly what’s needed in children’s ministry. Kids can grasp doctrine, and we can help them do so if we place gifted teachers in our children’s ministries.

Imagine you could save your life through one simple, regular act. You wouldn’t always want to do it. Every week, you’d come up with multiple excuses. The night before would often be a struggle. Same with the morning before. Every time you finished, you’d feel refreshed, energized, and eager to undertake that day’s agenda. But then, when it came time to do it again, somehow you’d still struggle to do it. I don’t know what comes to mind for you. Maybe the gym. Maybe a quiet time of Bible reading and prayer. Maybe a call or meeting with a family member or friend. But I’m talking about church and a new book by Rebecca McLaughlin, How Church Could (Literally) Save Your Life (TGC/Crossway). Rebecca is widely known to Gospelbound viewers and listeners as the author of several of the most encouraging and successful books in TGC history, including Confronting Christianity, The Secular Creed, and Jesus Through the Eyes of Women. She’s also a fellow with The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. She returns to Gospelbound to discuss the life-changing research on what makes church good for your health. In This Episode 04:30 – What makes church unique 08:00 – How many modern moral values come directly from Christianity 16:00 – Real benefits, real belief 23:00 – The church as family 30:00 – Sharing faith in a skeptical world 45:00 – Healing from church hurt 48:00 – Practical vision for believers Guest Resources: How Church Could Literally Save Your Life by Rebecca McLaughlin Rebbeca’s website Confronting Christianity podcast Follow Rebecca SIGN UP for my newsletter, Unseen Things. Help The Gospel Coalition renew and unify the contemporary church in the ancient gospel: Donate today. Don’t miss an episode of Gospelbound with Collin Hansen: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube TGC Updates

Several weeks ago, my husband and I packed all we own into a U-Haul and moved from a sleepy Southern town to a bustling New England city. Leaving behind old friends, family, and familiar stomping grounds has been hard. I’ve felt uprooted. I’m sure we’ll settle in, but right now everything feels unsettled. But my sense of uprootedness goes even deeper than my recent move. The world around us seems to be rocking on its foundations. In recent months, my phone screen has been crowded with breaking news about train stabbings, school shootings, and public assassinations. As our culture bubbles over with stories of violence, darkness, and hate, everyone’s wondering what’s wrong with the world. For many, the answer is political. For Tim Keller, the answer to this pressing question is spiritual: the sin in our hearts. What Is Wrong with the World? The Surprising, Hopeful Answer to the Question We Cannot Avoid is a collection of sermons from Keller’s early years at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. In these sermons—edited for publication by his wife, Kathy—Keller examines the nature of sin and its pattern of growth, as he provides pastoral answers for the feeling of uprootedness in the world. Uprooted by Sin Understanding sin begins with seeing it clearly in our own and others’ lives. The New City Catechism, whose publication Keller oversaw, defines it this way: “Sin is rejecting or ignoring God in the world he created, rebelling against him by living without reference to him, not being or doing what he requires in his law—resulting in our death and the disintegration of all creation.” Keller’s sermonic explanations are consistent with this definition and other writings, but he often looks for concrete images to help explain the nature of sin. For example, he describes sin as “putting our roots into something besides God” (59). Sin’s power is embodied in human thoughts, words, and deeds. Sin creeps over us, never satisfied until it has fully wrenched us from the nutrient-rich soil of our relationship with our Lord. “[Sin] has a power and vitality to it,” Keller warns. “And its job is to have you” (26). It’s described in Scripture as a predator, leaven, or leprosy because sin seeks to destroy from the inside out. Sin manifests in our lives as pride, self-deception, and idolatry. Sin creeps over us, never satisfied until it has fully wrenched us from the nutrient-rich soil of our relationship with our Lord. Keller draws these vivid images from Scripture, and he explains them through biblical theology. In his sermons about Cain, Saul, Jonah, Naaman, or David, he shows that the Bible is full of ordinary people whose sin nature led them to root their hope in temporary pleasures, which resulted in awful decisions. Sin affects us the same way. Sometimes we like to think of sin as the evil deeds that make the news. When a school shooting or political violence occurs, we take comfort in distancing ourselves: Well, at least I’m not that bad. But we ignore the disturbing awareness that something is wrong within us too. “If we do not understand the essential spirit of sin—that a very religious, seemingly moral person can be just as bound by it as an irreligious or skeptical person,” Keller writes, “then sin stands a good chance of defeating us” (71). Restored to God Keller offers two keys to overcoming our sin: repentance and intimacy with God. In his final two chapters, Keller explores these themes through the lens of Psalm 51—David’s sin against God, Uriah, and Bathsheba. Keller explains that “until you understand true repentance, the gospel will remain only an implicit, untapped power in your life” (178). Restoration to God is only possible through the gospel, and repentance is the necessary first step. Leaning on the Puritan understanding of mortification, Keller breaks down repentance into four elements: seeing our sin as God sees it, confessing our sin, mourning our sin, and hating our sin. He argues that we must walk through all four stages to reach true repentance. Only through this kind of repentance can we gain true intimacy with God. Repentance isn’t merely a turning away from our sin; it involves a turning to God. It draws our attention to his beauty, mercy, love, holiness, and justice. It opens our heart to want him, need him, receive him. It melts the metallic hardness of our hearts in the fire of God’s mercy and allows us to be reshaped by his grace. As Keller argues, If we repent, God takes us to Jesus’s blood—and it petitions God to bless us with his grace, his mercy, and his salvation. It cries out, “Father, sin must be paid. I have paid for the sins of those who believe in me. It would be unjust for you to punish them, lest you receive two payments.” . . . Without Jesus, God’s justice is against us. With Jesus, God’s justice can be for us. (20) Ultimately, it’s Christ’s sacrifice that enables us to repent and restore intimacy. The unrighteousness that unleashes evil on the world and in our hearts is no match for the work of Christ. “It is finished,” he said (John 19:30). Fight Sin Reading Keller’s sermons is different from reading his other books. He doesn’t offer a systematic analysis of sin’s effects as in Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering. Neither is this book primarily an apologetic argument for Christianity, like his 2008 book, The Reason for God. Fans of Keller’s essay-length endnotes, where he dives into philosophical and theological debates, won’t find those in What Is Wrong with the World? These are sermons, designed to answer big questions with everyday, pastoral application. Repentance isn’t merely a turning away from our sin; it involves a turning to God. Keller’s approach in these sermons is more like a biography of sin than a systematic theology. The exploration of the various biblical metaphors will benefit even seasoned students of Scripture. Yet this short book’s accessibility and practicality will open Keller’s thinking to new audiences, who might have been daunted by some of his other books. In What Is Wrong with the World?, Keller offers hope and clarity for those who feel uprooted by the evil in this world.

At a time when conservatives are calling to divest from the Middle East and confront crises at home, Gaza is the last place America should pour time, treasure, or troops. What national interest do we have in defending a territory run by the most violent Islamists on earth?Thanks to a coordinated online propaganda campaign — part cyber-jihad, part influencer echo chamber — some on the right have begun parroting communist and Islamist talking points about a “Gaza genocide.” Voices like Tucker Carlson now argue that Israel’s defense partnerships no longer justify U.S. involvement. From an America First perspective, that sounds reasonable: fewer entangling alliances, less foreign aid. But if Israel supposedly offers us nothing, what on earth does Gaza offer?If we’re serious about an America First foreign policy, we should begin disentangling from the Middle East altogether.On October 13, the entire communist world — and its pseudo-right allies — got what it wanted. Israel withdrew from Gaza’s populated areas and exchanged 2,000 terrorists for 20 hostages, trusting Hamas to disarm.Peace in our time, right? More like no Jews, no news.Hamas immediately reneged, of course, refusing to return most hostage remains and launching a campaign of public executions. The largest slaughter of Muslims in the Arab world wasn’t committed by Jews, but by other Muslims. Remove the Jews, and Gaza doesn’t grow peaceful — it turns on itself. Yet without Jews in the headlines, global media suddenly loses interest in reporting on “genocide.”Once the internal purges were done, Hamas returned to its favorite target: infidels. On Sunday, terrorists emerged from tunnels in Rafah and attacked Israeli forces, killing two IDF soldiers. Snipers fired on Israeli positions near Jabalia. At the same time, Hamas used Gaza’s hospitals — Al-Shifa, Al-Ahli, Al-Aqsa, and Nasser — as makeshift detention and interrogation centers, confirming what Israel long claimed: Those “civilian” sites serve as terror bases.Israeli troops now sit exposed, ordered to hold positions but forbidden to act pre-emptively. They’re surrounded by tunnels and terrorists, trapped in another international “ceasefire” that only empowers killers.Gaza’s terminal diseaseThe “Free Palestine” lie has collapsed under its own weight. Rebuilding Gaza under Arab control isn’t just naïve — it’s suicidal. No society so steeped in religious violence can sustain peace or self-government. Hamas is not an aberration; it’s a symptom of a deeper rot in Islamic political culture.So why is President Trump involving America in this mess through the so-called 20-point plan? For a movement that claims to oppose endless wars and foreign aid, the right’s silence on this scheme is baffling. The Pentagon has already confirmed plans to send 200 U.S. soldiers to the Gaza border. If Israel defending itself against Iran supposedly meant “Americans dying for Israel,” what exactly do we call Americans dying to protect Hamas from Israel?RELATED: Trump receives roaring applause for historic peace deal after all remaining hostages are freed Photo by Evelyn Hockstein - Pool/Getty ImagesThe British blueprintThis entire plan was crafted by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair — the same man who recently declared Britain must become “a nation of global citizens.” No wonder it leads to deeper entanglement, not withdrawal. Once again, globalist bureaucrats are trying to pull America into Middle Eastern “peacekeeping,” which always means nation-building with American blood and money.If we’re serious about an America First foreign policy, we should begin disentangling from the region altogether — starting by weaning Israel off U.S. weapons systems so it can act freely without American political interference. But under no circumstances should we send troops or tax dollars to Gaza. Peacekeeping there isn’t in our interest. In that part of the world, “peace” means paralysis, and paralysis means death.The wolf and the lambPresident Trump’s desire to see the “wolf dwell with the lamb” is noble, even biblical. But Isaiah’s prophecy won’t be fulfilled through U.N. peacekeepers or Pentagon deployments. It won’t come through Islam, whose theology demands submission, not reconciliation.Let Gaza be the Arab world’s problem. Let Israel defend itself without our restraint. And let America finally wake up to the rising threat of political Islam — in our own communities, not 6,000 miles away.