“Be still and know that I am God.” —Psalm 46:10 Often this verse is used as a source of encouragement, and it is one of the most “liked” verses in the Bible. I remember hearing this verse often in Bible studies back in college and reading...
The truth upon which the church stands and falls is the doctrine of justification. It is the door hinge upon which the Christian religion turns. Without it, the door will literally swing off of its hinge! We need this doctrine because without it the church is no...
1. Preaching A church cannot exist without or apart from the preaching of the gospel (Rom. 1:16; Eph. 1:13–14; 1 Thess. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:23). The apostle Paul teaches us that “faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Preaching is the most basic element...
Didn’t Jesus teach us not to judge other people? That seems to be the consensus of our culture. Nothing is worse than being judgmental—it’s associated with intolerance and bigotry. After all, Jesus himself did say, “Judge not” (Matthew 7:1). It seems fairly straightforward. Interestingly, to say “judge not” is...
We always live in the now. We are not a culture that likes to look to the past; we want to see what’s trending now. What did our favorite celebrity tweet moments ago? What is available to stream right now on Netflix? Any talk of studying history...
Chances are, at least one of your friends or family members doesn’t believe that Jesus was raised from the dead. Here are some suggestions for communicating the most central Christian claim to others—and not only at Easter dinner! 1. The gospel’s effects are deep and wide, so...
In answering this question, it’s helpful for us to return to the “facts of the case.” Here, speculation is useless. It does not matter what we thought reality was like: whether we believed in thirty gods or none. It doesn’t matter what we find helpful,...
Since the one God is three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—God did not need to create us. Still, God had a purpose when he created you and me and took good pleasure in his creation (Gen. 1:31). Here are four purposes for...
God loves to share things with us—life, breath, all of creation—but there are some things that only he has because he is God. We sometimes imagine that God is just like us, only bigger, smarter, and more powerful. God, however, is not just more than we...
Christians use the word “holy” a lot, especially when describing God, but what exactly does holiness mean? Watch this video on what it means to come near to a holy God.