When the Going Gets Rough: Obstinate and Pliable We continue with our look at the "bad guys" of John Bunyan's classic work, The Pilgrim's Progress. As Christian leaves the City of Destruction he is intercepted by two characters: Obstinate and Pliable. These two men represent two reactions often seen in others when they encounter someone gripped by the gospel. Each one reacts to Christian's convictions differently, but both, ultimately, end up not traveling with Christian to the eternal city. Getting Started: Continue to read the first stage of Christian's journey, especially his conversations with Obstinate and ...Read More
The Pilgrim’s Progress (Week 2 of 13)
Enemies in One’s Own House: Christian’s Family As Pilgrim's Progress opens, we begin to get a glimpse of Christian and his family. Living in the City of Destruction, Christian's family is sadly oblivious to the conviction Christian now feels about God's impending wrath. What does Christian's conversation with his family look like? How does Christian's experience relate to our own family experiences? Getting Started: Read the first stage of Christian's journey, especially his encounter with his family in the very beginning. Also read ahead to Christian's conversation with Charity in stage three. ...Read More
The Pilgrim’s Progress (Week 1 of 13)
Bunyan's 'Apology' of Pilgrim's Progress According to his opening 'Apology,' Bunyan originally wrote Pilgrim's Progress for his own personal edification, to apply his mind to spiritual things while in prison, not wanting to fall into the temptation of idle thoughts. "I did it mine own self to gratify," he writes. Later Bunyan showed his book to others and there were mixed opinions about it. "And some said, Let them live; some, Let them die. / Some said, John, print it; others said, not so; / Some said, It might do good; others said, no." What his critics said... It seems Bunyan's chief detractors were among the ...Read More
A Brief Biography of John Bunyan, Author of The Pilgrim’s Progress
Famous Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said that next to the Bible, the book he values most—one he had read nearly a hundred times—was The Pilgrim's Progress. Who is the man behind this Christian classic? Below is a brief biography of John Bunyan. Bunyan's Early Life John Bunyan was born in 1628, just three years after the beginning of the reign of Charles I in England. He was born into a poor family and received a meager education—learning basic reading and writing. He was a tinkerer by trade, someone who fixes broken metals such as pots, pans, and plumbing. This meant the Bunyan family lived a somewhat nomadic, ...Read More
Modern Parables: Prodigal Sons (Review)
Sadly, a couple weeks ago I finished teaching my Sunday School class on Modern Parables (published by Compass Classroom). It has been an excellent series, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Prodigal Sons is part of the Modern Parables series, and is, in my opinion, the best of the whole collection. Why is it called "Prodigal Sons" (emphasis on the plural)? Jesus' original parable, popularly called "The Prodigal Son," is probably inappropriately named (by commentators). The original story told by Jesus is actually about two lost sons, not just one. Prodigal Sons is the story of two adult sons of a wealthy ...Read More
The Pilgrim’s Progress: Christian Classics Book Club
The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come was written by Puritan pastor John Bunyan nearly 350 years ago, and remains to this day one of the best-selling Christian books of all time. What benefits can modern readers get from this fiction book, written from a jail cell by a Puritan preacher? Why You Should Be Interested in The Pilgrim's Progress Despite the skepticism some had about The Pilgrim's Progress when it came out, it has endured as a Christian classic for centuries. Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “Next to the Bible, the book I value most is John Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrim’s ...Read More
Christmas Devotional #9: The Gifts of Wisdom and Knowledge
Tonight's Christmas devotional was to help the kids appreciate that God has given us the gifts of wisdom and knowledge. We homeschool our kids, so this is something we try to impress on them all the time. For their object lesson tonight we had them open packages with notepads and pencils inside. We asked them about all the things they could do with that notepad and they listed many different learning activities. We also discussed what the boys have recently been learning about—they were excited to reiterate all of the things they're doing currently for school. From there we started talking about the blessing of being ...Read More
Christmas Devotional #8: The Gift of Health
For tonight's Christmas devotional we wanted to impress on our kids that good health is a gift from God. ...Read More
