What Is the Value of Studying Systematic Theology?

July 26, 2021 By Randy Alcorn

A reader asked me, “What is the value of systematic theology? Isn’t there a risk of misinterpretation because of trying to process all of God’s Word through a system rather than letting it speak for itself?” I think it’s impossible to teach theology without teaching worldview, and impossible to teach worldview without teaching theology, and in particular, systematic theology. A doctrine is a teaching that summarizes biblical truth. Hence the “view” in worldview amounts to a doctrinal lens, a belief system through… Read more

Thirteen Years Later, Alex and Brett Harris on How God Has Used Hard Things in Their Lives

July 24, 2021 By Randy Alcorn

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Incredibly, it was thirteen years ago that I first shared about Alex and Brett Harris’s excellent book Do Hard Things. I said then, and I still believe, that it is a vitally needed book in our churches and our culture. I keep in touch with Brett and Alex, and I followed up with a blog in 2015 talking about how both of them were continuing to do hard things. I love these two young men, and the wonderful wives God has given them. (Here’s a powerful… Read more

His Name Is Jesus

July 22, 2021 By Randy Alcorn

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The name Jesus comes from the transliteration of the Greek IESOUS (pronounced ee-ay-soos; there is no J in Greek) from the Hebrew name Yeshua, which means “Yahweh saves.” No matter how it is spelled or pronounced—whether Yeshua, Yēsū, Jesus, or something else—we are told that His name is above all names, and that one day every knee in the universe will bow to Him (Philippians 2:9-10). Some will bow in humble adoring worship; others will bow with unrepentant hearts, subject to the King they have never recognized… Read more

Was There Any Value in Purity Culture or Was It All Just a Mistake?

July 19, 2021 By Randy Alcorn

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A reader asked me, I see a lot of people pointing out the harm done by the “purity culture” of the 90s and early 2000s. But it seems like it’s easy to throw out the baby of purity with the bathwater of a manmade culture. God says purity is His will for us, but perhaps some people had the wrong motives and thought there was a guaranteed outcome if they followed a formula and set of rules? The problem is… Read more

Why Do You Want to Be Happy?

July 15, 2021 By Randy Alcorn

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Based on books I’ve read, sermons I’ve heard, and conversations I’ve had, it’s clear many Christians believe that humanity’s desire for happiness was birthed in the fall and is part of the curse. Hence, the desire to be happy is often assumed to be the desire to sin. But what if our desire for happiness was a gift designed by God before sin entered the world? If we believed this, how would it affect our lives, our parenting, our ministry,… Read more

He Turned His Business over to God: Stanley Tam’s Story

July 12, 2021 By Randy Alcorn

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When I was writing my book Giving Is the Good Life, there were some people of times past I wished I could have interviewed. One of them was Stanley Tam, whom I’d read about years earlier. I couldn’t find Stanley’s date of death online, but considering he was born in 1915, it seemed safe to assume he had already died. I contacted a friend who’d known Stanley to find out more about his life. I was shocked by his response: “Want… Read more

A Paralympic Swimmer’s Story and the Value of Every Child’s Life, No Matter the Challenges They Face

July 10, 2021 By Randy Alcorn

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It’s been five months since the Super Bowl, but this commercial, featuring American Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long, was by far my favorite ad shown during the game. It was transcendent: NBC Sports reports, “Jessica was born in Siberia with fibular hemimelia, which means she didn’t have fibulas, ankles, heels and most of the other bones in her feet. She was adopted by Americans from a Russian orphanage at 13 months old and raised in Baltimore. At 18 months old, her legs were amputated below… Read more

My Novel Deadline and a Story of God’s Relentless Love

July 8, 2021 By Randy Alcorn

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Deadline was my very first novel. I am still amazed by its ongoing impact. And so grateful. Because it was my first fiction book, and therefore, I didn’t know what I was doing, I think it is probably the poorest written of any of my novels. Yet certainly God has reached far more people through it than, for instance, one of my later novels, a book the publisher was certain at the time, would affect far more people. Though that other… Read more

Does Using VidAngel to Screen Offensive Content out of Movies Still Involve Financially Supporting Hollywood?

July 5, 2021 By Randy Alcorn

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A reader wrote: I ran across your blog while researching VidAngel. I’m a Christian, and a mom to seven. We love movies and are pretty choosy because of content. I’m thinking VidAngel is an amazing answer for us, in wanting to enjoy so many stories without the smut. But I had a friend ask, “Aren’t we still supporting those who make movies with all this content we wish to avoid?” I’m struggling with the moral question of whether to financially… Read more

Spurgeon on the Ever-Living Gospel and the Person of Jesus

July 1, 2021 By Randy Alcorn

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Note from Randy: I’d been a pastor for ten years before I discovered the writings of Charles Spurgeon, and then I couldn’t get enough of him. The Bible oozed out of his pores, and he let Scripture be Scripture, rarely twisting it to fit his theology. One of my books on Heaven, We Shall See God, contains segments from his sermons on Heaven, so about 60% of the book is Spurgeon. It was one of my favorite books to work on, since… Read more

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