The Confessions of Mark Heard

By Joey Royal  Mark Heard, who died in 1992, was one of the truly great American songwriters. He spent much of his career on the margins of the Christian music industry, and never found mainstream success du... Read More...

On Being Other-Worldly

By Joey Royal In 430, as the elderly Augustine lay dying, Vandals were sieging his North African city of Hippo. He spent those final days alone, in prayer, surrounded by the words of penitential psalms writt... Read More...

On Viruses and Judgment

By Joey Royal Given how much attention the Scriptures give to divine judgment, it’s remarkable how little attention we give it. The creed tells us that Jesus “will come to judge the quick and dead,” but prea... Read More...

Justice, Mercy and The Irishman

The world of The Irishman is a deeply moral one, with a strong sense of retribution and justice, but without much hope of reconciliation or redemption for its central characters.

He Gives to His Beloved Sleep

I’ve been reflecting on the phenomenon of sleep, and in particular on how the Bible’s description of sleep can illuminate our understanding of what it means to be a creature of God.