We were made for closeness to others and to God through Christ, and yet it doesn’t always feel as though we can grasp God’s nearness to us.
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Stay on Mission—Even in the Later Years
One joy of aging is a stillness of soul that helps us see the small moments as sacred moments when we can reflect God’s glory to someone else.
Podcast: Tips for Leading an Effective Bible Study (Lydia Brownback)
What does it look like to lead an effective Bible study? How can a leader keep the conversation on track and guide people to discover the treasures of God's Word?
44 Activities for Kids That Don't Involve Screens
Most Christian parents would like their children to spend less time in front of a screen. Since ideas can be hard to come up with in the moment, here’s a list of 44 activities that don’t involve screens.
Why You Shouldn’t Neglect the First 39 Books of Your Bible
Trying to understand the New Testament without the Old Testament is like trying to understand the last four chapters of a book without reading the first eight.
The Case for Traditional Marriage in the Midst of Efforts to Redefine It
Over the course of decades, widespread divorce, cohabitation, and unwed childbearing changed how people thought about marriage.
The Promise Jesus Offers to Those Who Leave Everything Behind
Jesus is always honest, even blunt, about the cost of discipleship. He never buries suffering in the small print. He wants us to know that following him will be hard.
Differentiating the Work of the Son and Spirit in Salvation
A classic way of looking at the two-handedness of God’s work in salvation is the relationship between how the Trinity accomplishes redemption and how the Trinity applies that redemption to us.
Encouragement for Parents in Our Sexually Confused Culture
The world has been transformed and the influences in our children's lives are pervasive, profound, and powerful. Parents need to be aware of that.
6 Ways to Live in Light of the Serpent-Slayer Story
Jesus is the serpent slayer. So how should a Christian live in light of that thrilling storyline?
A Devotional on Prayer by Jane Austen
Teach us to feel the importance of every day, and every hour as it passes, and earnestly strive to make a better use of what thy goodness may yet bestow on us, than we have done of the time past.
The biblical proverbs as a whole have a Godward goal: the fear of the Lord. As preachers, our job is to focus on that fear.
“Docetism,” was a heresy which could not accept the direct union of God and man.
We Must Worship God on His Terms
True worship is not possible unless God himself enables it, because human beings are unable to truly worship him without his enabling.
Understanding the Book of Revelation Isn’t Your Biggest Challenge
The most challenging part of Revelation's very clear message is a call to bold allegiance to Jesus Christ, and a call to refuse to compromise with the world.
I’ve Heard It Said the Gospels Are Full of Contradictions
What I like to do with this question is to take it out of the culture war it can be used in and to slow down and really think about what’s going on.
4 Strategies to Help You Wait Better
I’m sure you’d like to move from anxiety to faith-filled, hopeful waiting. How do we make this practical? Let me give you a fourfold strategy from Psalm 25.
What It Means That God Is Rich in Mercy
Nowhere else in the Bible is God described as rich in anything. The only thing he is called rich in is mercy. What does this mean?
The doctrine of the necessity of Scripture reminds us of our predicament: the One we need to know most cannot be discovered on our own, and this same ineffable One has made himself known through his word.
6 Practical Steps to Help Grow Your Confidence in God’s Word
Sometimes we have our doubts about the stories we read in the word of God, about its moral convictions and the promises it makes.
We Need Spiritual Sight to Read about Jesus
The disciples’ journey with Jesus on the road to Emmaus poignantly illustrates the fact that we need spiritual sight to recognize Jesus’s true identity as revealed in the Scriptures.
Is Singleness an Advantage in Ministry?
Pastors being single is not prohibited by Scripture, nor is singleness necessarily a hindrance to effective gospel ministry, even in contexts where the majority of people are married.
We don’t truly understand who we are as the church of Jesus Christ unless we know our own story.
How Does God's Love in Christ Relate to Islam?
How do we bear faithful witness to the love of God in Christ to our Muslim friends?
10 Things You Should Know about Jesus’s Final Days on Earth
Jesus clearly explains the message of the Scriptures “concerning himself” in Luke 24; he also provides a model for faithful Bible reading.
The book of Job helps free us from believing in a “score-keeping” God.
For explaining the cross, the New Testament uses many images, many categories, many modes of thought blended together.
Why Do Christians Still Feel Depressed?
Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down. The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always happy.
You Are Set Free from Self-Improvement
Many of us believe that Christian discipleship is synonymous with self-improvement. But true Christian discipleship is a call to die, not to improve.
Everything John tells us about Jesus leads us to his cross and his empty tomb—to his substitutionary death and glorious resurrection.