1. Can anyone verify these promises? The obsession with the new, with progress, with technology as a way to improve the church, has always been a problem. In seeking to be relevant, Christians have created problems for later generations to correct. Our response to a new...
1. The Bible makes sense of our experience in the world. The Bible teaches us about what it means to be human. It exposes our flaws. It shows us what it means to live by faith. It gives us examples of God’s faithfulness. It shows...
Whenever I’m away from my family for work, church matters, or because of emergencies, I remember the blessings and curses of singleness. As a “temporary” single, I usually have the blessing of more time in the day to do what I want to do. I’m able...
Whether it is in our work, our home life, or our Christian walk, it’s easy to become overly interested in goals. We can become caught up in measuring success by cultural standards. We turn to gimmicks and fads to get “results” when living the Christian life seems difficult...
I recently came across another book on productivity that I decided not to read. Sometimes I want to waste some time doing all the things that seem unproductive. I want to sleep in on a Saturday morning. I want to take a walk in the park...
Let’s face it. The Bible is a big book with lots of strange stories and images. It is sometimes difficult to know what anyone should take away from it. The underlying logic seems to escape us. To those on the outside, it seems Christians just pick...
Things are not always what they seem. This is especially true about the way God works in the world. It seems wise to assume that I’ll get out no less—hopefully more—than what I put in, that being either rich or poor is a direct result of hard work or laziness....
“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...