White Horse Inn Blog

Is sound theology only for people who have their act together? How is the gospel of free justification relevant to people who struggle with utterly broken lives? Michael Horton discusses this issue with Elyse Fitzpatrick, coauthor of Counsel from the Cross: Connecting Broken People to the Love of Christ. Mike also talks with Elyse about the problem of moralistic parenting as she addresses it in her new book, Give Them Grace: Dazzling Kids with the Love of Jesus.

Is Christianity primarily about what God is doing in your life right now, or what he did one afternoon two-thousand years ago? Is the idea of Jesus “in your heart” more important than Jesus “in the manger” or “on the cross”? Do you value your own personal experience of faith more than what God accomplishes externally through the proclamation of the gospel? In the not-too-distant past, theological liberals were the ones answering yes to questions like these, but increasingly American evangelicals are moving in this direction. On this program, the hosts discuss this troubling trend and offer some challenges to this “new liberalism” of our time (originally broadcast March 23, 2008).

After almost 22 years of being solely a weekly radio show, White Horse Inn is testing itself on daily radio in San Diego on KPRZ (1210 AM) at 10:30am, Monday-Friday!

Be sure to tune in at 10:30am PDST to hear our debut! Click here to listen to KPRZ live

On this edition of White Horse Inn, Michael Horton talks with Mark Galli, senior managing editor of Christianity Today magazine and author of God Wins: Heaven, Hell and Why the Good News is Better than Love Wins. Mike and Mark spend time discussing some of the troubling aspects of American evangelicalism in general and the theology of Rob Bell in particular. They also discuss Mark’s other new book, Chaos & Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit.

Over five hundred years before the time of Christ, Jeremiah prophesied that the days would come when God would “make a new covenant with the house of Israel” (Jer. 31:31). So how is this new covenant fulfilled in Jesus’ life and sacrificial death? How is it different from the old covenant received by Moses on Mount Sinai? Is it true that before Christ the Old Testament saints were really saved by works? On this edition of the program, the hosts will discuss these questions as they walk through Hebrews 8-10. White Horse Inn: Know what you believe and why you believe it.

If you ask contemporary Christians what they think the gospel is, you’re likely to get a number of responses that focus on an individual’s life and testimony. But is the gospel really about what God does for us today? Is the good news we are called to proclaim in the Great Commission chiefly about our changed lives, or about Christ’s life, death, and resurrection? On this program, the hosts tackle this issue as they discuss the implications of Paul’s comments on the “Gospel of God” in 1 Thessalonians 2.

Regardless of their denomination, most Christians would argue that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a free gift of God’s grace and mercy that no one deserves. By his righteous life and sacrificial death, Jesus provides for us what we cannot provide for ourselves. But at this point, some argue that the free gift of God’s grace still has to be “accepted,” and that it is on the basis of our embracing the gospel that we are saved. What do you think? Are we saved by “choosing” to follow Christ? Is believing in Jesus the “one work” we have to do in order to get to heaven? The hosts discuss these questions and more as they interact with Ephesians 2.

Throughout this year on White Horse Inn, the hosts have been making the argument that unlike the law the gospel is not in us by nature but must be preached into us from the outside. This is why the proclamation of “Christ and him crucified” is the primary task of the Great Commission. But if the gospel is really to be understood as a foreign announcement, is it enough to hear about it in sermons once a week? If the law is in us by nature and our consciences regularly accuse us of sin hour by hour, shouldn’t we learn to preach the gospel to ourselves? Michael Horton discusses this issue with Joe Thorn, author of Note To Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself. The second half of the program features a discussion between Michael Horton and White Horse Inn executive director Eric Landry about our upcoming conference cruise, “Conversations for a Modern Reformation.”

The White Horse Inn is going back to Minneapolis to broadcast live from the Desiring God National Conference from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm on Friday, September 23, 2011.

The theme of the conference is, “Finish the Mission: For the Joy of All Peoples.” Our program will be titled, “Making Disciples: The Mission & Its Methods.” In some churches, the emphasis is on being the church, living missionally. Other churches focus on “the worship experience,” spiritual formation, or the pursuit of various social and political agendas. What is the mission of the Church? How are we to make disciples of Jesus Christ? Turning to the Great Commission itself and various passages that unpack it, this special live edition of the White Horse Inn will focus on disciple-making through the marks of the Church that Christ himself ordained.

Be sure to sign up for our breakout session and join the conversation. We’ll be taking questions from the audience. Mike Horton, Ken Jones, Rod Rosenbladt, and Kim Riddlebarger will all be there.

On Saturday, Sept 24, 2011 Mike Horton will be speaking about his recent book “The Gospel-Commission” taking questions (12:30 – 1:00), and signing copies at the Conference Exhibit Hall (1:00 – 1:30).

Hope to see you in Minneapolis!

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul warned his readers about various slick preachers that he referred to as the “super-apostles.” Though their style was smooth and rhetorically attractive, the substance of the gospel was either being ignored, or distorted. So Paul admonishes the Corinthians church saying, “if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus…you put up with it readily enough!” On this edition of the White Horse Inn the hosts discuss Paul’s concerns about style over substance, especially as it relates to trends in the contemporary church.