Applying the Gospel Study Bible
For Teens and College Students
Answering Kids’ Hardest Questions: Does God Love Everyone the Same?
God hates the sin that’s in us, but he sent his son Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins so that we can have a relationship with him.
Articles
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How Do We Define “Success” in Ministry?
We do the work of pastoral ministry so that our people might treasure Christ together. That’s the often unheralded yet beautiful definition of “success.”
5 Ways the Church Makes You Wiser
Church can be an indispensable source of stability and growth; a treasure trove of communal and Spirit-infused wisdom that we’d be foolish to neglect.
Daniel Shows Us How to Plead with God When You’ve Blown It Badly
Daniel 9 gives us a surprising answer to a deeply practical question: How do you approach God when you’ve blown it badly?
Experiencing conviction over sin should actually encourage rather than condemn us, because it is evidence of being alive in Christ.
Why You Need a Sabbath from Your Tech
The human body is remarkable in similarities to an efficient machine, but we are physical beings with finite limitations and eternal souls.
What Is Pastoral Burnout, and What Contributes to It?
The things that contribute to pastoral burnout are actually very simple. Coleman Ford explains several of these and offers something for pastors to consider.
3 Crucial Qualities of All Good Sermons
Pastors need all three of these views in order to give an accurate account of what God is doing and will do.
The Fruits of Suffering in the Life of John Bunyan
In 1655, when the matter of his soul was settled, John Bunyan was asked to exhort the church, and suddenly a great preacher was discovered.
The church must be dedicated to hearing and attending to the cry of the afflicted. May all Christians resist the temptation to burrow our heads in the sand because we dread emotional upheaval.
Dear Pastor . . . We Are Out of Balance
The world as God created it was designed with perfect balance. What is balance? It is everything in its right place doing what it was meant to do. We cannot even picture such a world.
God speaks in light of who he is and what he has done, and we respond back to God.
How Stories Teach Kids about Sin
The calling to raise children to love God and hate sin is daunting, and Christian parents should avail themselves of all the help they can get.
Jesus Is Not Ashamed of Those with an Embarrassing Past: The Story of Tamar
While we may blush over our sin and our stories and our embarrassing past, we have a Savior who doesn't blush. He actually enters into the mess with us.
What Is Distinct about the Theology of Revelation?
The book of Revelation is characterized by symbolism and dazzling—and sometimes confusing—visions which can make the book difficult to understand.
Is “Be True to Yourself” Good Advice?
You don’t need to look far today to notice that personal identity is a do-it-yourself project. People think about themselves constantly, it seems, and with high expectations!
2 Audacious Demands We Are to Make of God
Moses didn't want God simply to send down orders; he wanted to know the purpose behind God's plans.
Dear Pastor . . . Pride Is a Subtle Enemy
How frequently does pride come with us into our studies and sit with us as we prepare our sermon? How often does it choose our subject and more often choose our words and ornaments?
Reading God's Word When You Don't Want To
Pick God’s Word up not with the burden of guilt or as a call to duty, but because it’s a gift given to you by a God of amazingly tender mercy and grace.
2 Truths to Help Navigate Doctrinal Disagreement with Other Christians
This side of heaven, we see through a glass dimly. It’s just reality. We’re not going to agree on everything.
Dig into God’s Word with the Updated ESV Bible App for Android
One of the most immediate, inexpensive, and portable options for accessing God's Word is via digital means.
The Role of Systematic Theology in Preaching
If biblical theology helps you to discern the progressive unfolding of God’s redemption plan in Christ, then systematic theology helps you to synthesize everything that the Bible says in the form of doctrines.
The Only Solution to World Poverty
After extensive research in both economics and biblical ethics our conclusion is this: poor nations must somehow produce their own prosperity, and it is possible for them to do this.
What Should We Keep in Mind When Considering the Ethics of the Bible?
When we speak about the ethics in the Bible, we are not just thinking of the Old Testament law or of the Sermon on the Mount, nor do we only have in mind actual moral instructions, injunctions, and prohibitions.
A really intriguing thing, which goes against the notion of expressive individualism, is the fact that we live in shared stories.
Your Words Will Change the World Today
Do you ever consciously and deliberately set your words to work, sending them off into the world and into someone else’s life to do them good?
God’s Word Is Living and Active (Even Genealogies)
Is there any hope that reading a biblical genealogy can lead us to encounter God? The (perhaps surprising) answer is yes, but first we need to learn about the purpose of these passages.
What Is at the Heart of the Book of Acts?
If this is a book about what the apostles did, it is interesting that after the twelve are listed in the first chapter, we don’t hear anything else about most of them.
Why do we need suggestions on how to express gratitude? Shouldn’t a truly grateful heart just naturally overflow in expressing that gratefulness?
To know the attributes of God is to not only know God, but to know what God is like. To know what God is like is to know what God is toward us. More pointedly, to know God is to know Christ.