This article originally appeared in the Sept/Oct 1996 issue of The Baptist Preacher under the title, “Why are there pious pretenders in the pews?” In exalting faith, we are not immediately putting ourselves in contradiction to modern thought. Indeed faith is being exalted very high today by men of the most modern type. But what […]
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Author: Rick Shrader
The Baptist Name
This originally appeared in the May/June issue of The Baptist Preacher with the title, “Why we won’t take the name ‘Baptist’ off our church.” There is no denying we live in a generation that disdains labels. To assert any belief with a personal label is to be intolerant and insensitive to those who disagree. The […]
Preaching the Word in a Pagan Age
This article appeared in The Baptist Preacher, December, 1998. William Wordsworth once said, “Language is the incarnation of thought,”1 which may tell us either why conversation is so scarce these days, or why it is such light fare. But it was Confucius who said, “When words lose their meaning, people lose their liberty.”2 That makes […]
Evangelizing the Postmodern Man
This paper has been presented to pastors’ meetings (March, June 1999). It has been published in The Baptist Preacher, September/October, 1999. The battle for the soul of postmodern man is a dilemma: how do you bring the truth of the gospel to a man who does not believe in truth? Perhaps Blaise Pascal said it […]
The Church in Postmodern Times
This article appeared in the December, 1998 issue of The Baptist Bulletin. Has there ever been a time like ours, when the believer at one moment can be so encouraged about the prospects for the gospel and in the next moment be so disappointed? We rejoice to see the modernism of yesterday losing ground in […]
Postmodernism
This complete paper appeared in the Spring 1999 edition of The Journal of Ministry & Theology, Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, PA. When Charles Dickens wrote The Tale of Two Cities depicting the French Revolution, he began with the words, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Now at […]
The Believer and Prayer
Prayer is the most neglected power on earth. God has given us two wonderful tools with which to get things done: work and prayer. C.S. Lewis called these the dignity of causality which God has given to His creatures. A.W. Tozer wrote that there are three legitimate ways a desire may be obtained, “one is […]
Reading God’s Word
The Bible is the greatest treasure in the world today. By it we know of eternal life in Jesus Christ and by it we can make sense of our world both in the past, the present, and the future. John Newton once wrote, “A child that has read the Bible knows more than all the […]
What Child Is This?
Following this introduction, beginning on the second page, is a reprint of the December 1995 Aletheia article, “What Child Is This?” At this time of year we cannot emphasize enough the timeless truths of the Scripture. We do not limit our preaching of the birth of Christ and the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ […]
Thanks Be Unto God
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks unto the God of gods; for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth forever. Psalm 136:1-3 There is no greater characteristic of believing people than thanksgiving. Of all […]