Amy Hanson on The New Old

Amy Hanson on The New Old – In our aging population, Amy Hanson gives four characteristics of the “new old”.

The Aging World

The Aging World – Our world is aging rapidly, especially the developed world.

That Sunday After Easter

That Sunday After Easter - Few of us remember those Sundays that come the week after Easter. These Sundays may more closely resemble the original Easter Sunday.

How Do You Set Your Mind on Heaven?

How Do You Set Your Mind on Heaven? - In Sunday’s sermon we concluded with some application points. I wanted to make those available to you for your personal reflection.

• Do I daily reflect on my own mortality?
• Do I daily realize there are only two destinations…heaven or hell…and that I and every person I know will go to one or the other?
• Do I daily remind myself that this world is not my home and that everything in it will burn, leaving behind only what’s eternal?
• Do I daily recognize that my choices and actions have a direct influence on the world to come?
• Do I daily realize that my life is being examined by God, the Audience of One, and that the only appraisal of my life that will ultimately matter is His?
• Do I daily reflect on my ultimate home and with anticipation look forward to being with God?

A Biblical and Theological Analysis of Near Death Experiences

A Biblical and Theological Analysis of Near Death Experiences

When It Seems Like God Did You Wrong

When It Seems Like God Did You Wrong – Lessons from the life of Naomi.

Jesus’ Closest Companion

Jesus’ Closest Companion – He is the third person of the Trinity, the “self-effacing” member. He works ever in tandem with God’s word — incarnate, spoken, and written. He is one of the Christian’s greatest sources of comfort. And too often he is one of the church’s greatest sources of controversy.

Loneliness in the Age of Facebook

Loneliness in the Age of Facebook - We have hundreds of “friends.” Why do we feel so alone?

What the Bible Belt Stereotypes Don't Tell You

What the Bible Belt Stereotypes Don't Tell You – This is an enlightening word from someone who came from outside the Bible Belt and their experience in a more “Christian” culture.

In Defense of Short-term Mission Trips

In Defense of Short-term Mission Trips – They won’t accomplish the Great Commission alone but they play a key role.

Gospel Inclusion and Instagram

Gospel Inclusion and Instagram - This was a warm devotional thought today.

Tolerance Is Our God

Tolerance Is Our God – “How often do we hear of Christians or people of other faiths being rebuked for standing for any value that may conflict with the notion that everyone and everything is morally acceptable? Bastions of tolerance are conveniently ignorant of their own intolerance.”

How Mothers Can Worship in the Midst of Inconvenience

How Mothers Can Worship in the Midst of Inconvenience - This application fits for busy moms and the rest of us too. Worship most often falls in the flow of life, not in blocked worship times.

You Can’t Claim a Promise

You Can’t Claim a Promise – This is a good word on the “name it and claim approach” to Bible promises.

20 Habits to Quit In the Next Year

20 Habits to Quit In the Next Year – A few things to sweep out of your regular routine

Biblical Literacy in the Church: Three Benefits

Biblical Literacy in the Church: Three Benefits

What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Heaven

What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Heaven – This is a good article on a hot topic. “Yes, the Bible teaches that heaven is a place of ultimate comfort, with “no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). But it is also a place where the reality of God’s unbridled majesty reigns supreme – and that’s scary.”

God, the Gospel, and the Gay Challenge

God, the Gospel, and the Gay Challenge – Al Mohler responds to the new book by Matthew Vines and offers a free e-book that addresses the issues in more detail.

To Experience God's Love

To Experience God's Love - Many Christians live at a great
distance from a felt experience of the love of God. So much Christianity in the
West is shallow and satisfied. It affirms a creed, but it so often lacks
spiritual life. Across the country there are millions of people who have a
faith, who've been brought up in the church to believe Jesus died and rose, but
they have no living experience of God's love.

We need this prayer from 2
Thessalonians 3:5: "May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love
and Christ's patience."

Seven Prayers for Jesus’ Church

Seven Prayers for Jesus’ Church – These are great scripture prayers to pray for your church and churches around the world.

Explaining Hard Things to Our Children

Explaining Hard Things to Our Children - There are many conversations you wish you never had to have with your young children but they come. 

China to Be ‘World’s Most Christian Nation’ in the Next 15 Years

China to Be ‘World’s Most Christian Nation’ in the Next 15 Years - Though officially, the communist country of 1.3 billion is atheist, Christianity has spread so rapidly, that by 2030, it could be home to more than 247 million Christians. 

A Prayer of Boundless Hope on Easter Sunday

A Prayer of Boundless Hope on Easter Sunday

Have You Found What You’re Looking For? (Easter Sunday)

Have You Found WhatYou’re Looking For? (Easter Sunday) – He is Risen!

Let His Blood Be on Us (Holy Saturday)

Let His Blood Be on Us (Holy Saturday) -  A Holy Week devotion for “silent Saturday”.

The Controversy of the Cross

The Controversy of the Cross - Jim Denison comments on a recent cross-related controversy and the cross of Christ through the centuries.

A Prayer for Good Friday

A Prayer for Good Friday

It Is Finished (Good Friday)

It Is Finished (Good Friday) – On this Friday, we remember the death of Jesus at the cross.

Jesus Between the Criminals

Jesus Between the Criminals – “It shows us the similarities of these three dying men, and yet, at the same time, how very different Jesus is.”

It's Friday... But Sunday's a Coming

The Greatest Prayer in the World (Maundy Thursday)

The Greatest Prayer in the World (Maundy Thursday) – This is the next installment of the Holy Week series from Desiring God.

Has Mayor Bloomberg Earned His Way into Heaven?

Has Mayor Bloomberg Earned His Way into Heaven? - He thinks so. What does the Bible say about earning our way to heaven?

What Easter Says About You

What Easter Says About You - Christians rightly celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus this week—but do we fully understand why? Sure, we all know that Jesus died for our sins. But do we really know what that means for us?

The Escalating Conflict

The Escalating Conflict – (Tuesday of Holy Week)

Spy Wednesday (Wednesday of Holy Week)

Spy Wednesday (Wednesday of Holy Week) – From Desiring God’s holy week series.

8 Things Healthy Couples Don’t Do

8 Things Healthy Couples Don’t Do – A few habits to avoid to keep your relationship healthy.

Why Did Methuselah Live So Long?

Why Did Methuselah Live So Long? - “Anyone who’s ever played Bible
trivia knows that Methuselah lived longer than anyone else. He died at the ripe
old age of 969. But have you ever wondered why?”

Stop Stopping at the Disney World Sign

Stop Stopping at the Disney World Sign – Where are you looking for your identity?

A Medical Account of Jesus’ Death

A Medical Account of Jesus’Death - When you reconstruct the medical aspects of Jesus’ crucifixion, the result is a brutal, vivid picture of what Jesus endured to save people from sin.

A Bubba With a Passion for the Gospel and Golf

A Bubba With a Passion for the Gospel and Golf - The rest of the story of Bubba Watson.

The Escalating Conflict (Tuesday of Holy Week)

The Escalating Conflict (Tuesday of Holy Week) – The Holy Week series continues.

It’s Back — The “Gospel of Jesus’s Wife”

It’s Back — The “Gospel of Jesus’s Wife” – The story is back and more absurd than ever.

Don't Invite a Friend to Church for Easter

Don't Invite a Friend to Church for Easter - One in five Americans hasn't yet decided if they will attend
church services this Easter. Don’t invite someone to church. “Bring them
to church.”

A Prayer for Palm Sunday

A Prayer for Palm Sunday - A good word as we enter Holy Week.

No Turning Back (Monday of Holy Week)

No Turning Back (Monday of Holy Week) – This continues the Desiring God journey through Holy Week.

The Problem of Palm Sunday

The Problem of Palm Sunday – This article begins a Holy Week series.

How Can I Teach My Child That Easter Means More Than the Easter Bunny and Baskets of Candy?

How Can I Teach My Child That Easter Means More Than the Easter Bunny and Baskets of Candy?

This is a helpful article from the archives of Discipleship Journal. How can a parent take the secular traditions that have come to surround Easter and draw out biblical applications and truth?

How Can I Teach My Child That Easter Means More Than the Easter Bunny and Baskets of Candy?

It's certainly true that cultural traditions in the celebration of Easter can quickly overshadow family celebrations of the Lord's resurrection if we let them.

So should we throw out all those "secular traditions" and start over? Should we just ignore them and start some of our own? The best solution may be to keep a balance. Remember that Easter, with its Easter baskets, egg-dyeing, and new clothes, is a joyful, fun time for children! And that's not all bad. Easter is a time to celebrate! Is there any way a family can enjoy our culture's secular traditions and still focus on the meaning and joy of the empty tomb? I think there is.

Learn from earlier Christian parents.

The early church chose to celebrate the resurrection at the same time as the ancient pagan festival of Oestre, the goddess of spring. Believing families faced our same dilemma. They apparently decided not to ignore this celebration of spring but to transform its traditions and symbols. Perhaps they knew how effectively children learn from object lessons, so they used the symbols already familiar to their children to point directly to Jesus.

For centuries before the resurrection, eggs were a symbol of new life. Even the Hebrews include a "paschal egg" in the Passover celebration. If your children dye eggs, tell them how they symbolize the new life Christ gives and decorate them with Christian symbols, such as a cross or a tomb with the stone rolled away.

If you buy new clothes for your children at Easter, this can symbolize the new righteousness ("right-ness") we can havewith God because of the resurrection. We can "put on" this new "right-ness" because of the Lord's victory over sin and death, just as we put on new clothes.

If you object to this tradition because of the commercialism, use the money saved to help the poor, or give it to missions. Giving to the needy is one of the oldest Christian traditions associated with Easter. Establish a family project during Lent to raise money for the needy. That helps shift the focus of Easter away from just "What's in my Easter basket?" to "What can I do to honor Jesus?"

Start some traditions of your own.

Early Christians greeted each other on Easter morning with, "The Lord is risen" and the reply, "He is risen indeed!" Your children will enjoy introducing this tradition to everyone they see Easter morning.

Many families may not observe the season of Lent, but observing Holy Week can be a powerful way to help your children enter into the joys and sorrows of the season.

Read the Scripture narrative about Palm Sunday. Let your children imagine (or act out) the cheering of the crowds. Explain the reason for their excitement. On Thursday, get out a towel and bowl of water so each can wash another family member's feet. Explain how Jesus came as a servant and to give His life. This is a good time to talk again about why He had to die and help your children understand the need for repentance.

On Friday, have your children experience the sadness of Jesus' disciples as you read the crucifixion narrative. Then, on Sunday, get up early to watch the sun rise so you can get to the tomb early (as the women did). Read the gospel narrative and let the children act out peeking in the tomb, seeing the angel, and being surprised with joy at the good news. Many families establish advent traditions and observances to help their children prepare for the joy of Christmas. Observing Lent prepares them to enter into the true meaning of Easter.

But what about the Easter Bunny? I admit he's more of a challenge to turn to a spiritual use! The best approach is to treat him with a kind of benign neglect. Make it clear to your children that this rabbit is just a part of the fun pretending that some children (and adults) enjoy at this season. Give him no more than the minor attention due such a character. Major in the risen Lord. Your children will get your message.

It takes careful thought and resourcefulness, but as we use Easter traditions, our children will grasp spiritual truths in the way they learn best—through familiar symbols explained within the context of the family. At the same time, these spiritual truths are planted deep in a child's heart and guarded well by warm childhood memories of family fun and celebrations. This approach follows the example of Christ, who did not come to judge the world but to transform and redeem it. Centuries of Christian parents understood this, and worked to reclaim and redeem its Easter traditions.

Traditions and symbols are part of the common language of the world we live in. Using this common language to teach children the meaning of the resurrection of Christ equips them to share this good news with their friends in language both understand. Surely that, too, is the true meaning of Easter and honoring to its risen Lord!

 

Keep It To Yourself

Keep It To Yourself - What are you actually asking a Christian when you ask him to keep the gospel to himself?

Who Were the Women at the Empty Tomb?

Who Were the Women at the Empty Tomb? Justin Taylor provides information on the various women who visited the empty tomb.

Heaven Is For Real - David Platt Responds

Gay Marriage: Not Just a Social Revolution but a Cosmological One

Gay Marriage: Not Just a Social Revolution but a Cosmological One - The issues are bigger than just same-sex marriage.

A Prayer for Seasons When It’d Be Easy to Lose Heart

A Prayer for Seasons When It’d Be Easy to Lose Heart - Sometimes it would be easy.

Outrage Porn and the Christian Reader

Outrage Porn and the Christian Reader – “Christians seem to be too easily outraged. Like pornography, this kind of outrage is ultimately self-centered and self-gratifying.”

9 Things You Should Know About The Rwandan Genocide

9 Things You Should Know About The Rwandan Genocide - This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the beginning
of the campaign of genocide in Rwanda. 

When You're Waiting in the Wilderness

When You're Waiting in the Wilderness -  “There will be
no 1 Kings 18 power without 1 Kings 17 preparation.”

Offering Hope to the Dying

Offering Hope to the Dying - This article answers hospice questions.

Moralism is Not the Gospel

Moralism is Not the Gospel – (But Many Christians Think it Is) writes Al Mohler.

Three Characteristics of Disciples of Jesus

Three Characteristics of Disciples of Jesus - How do you teach new Christians what it looks like to follow Jesus? You learn from Jesus’ first disciples.

Failing with Family

Failing with Family - How do you live your faith and failings in the context of your own family?

Talk is Cheap: The President and Religious Freedom

Talk is Cheap: The President and Religious Freedom - Johnnie Moore is right—it's time for President Obama to act.

Ten Lessons from a Hospital Bed

Ten Lessons from a Hospital Bed – God is always speaking and He has great lessons for us - even in a hospital bed.

When Evil Dug Its Own Grave

When Evil Dug Its Own Grave – “When you’re in the middle of intense suffering, it’s easy to lose your bearings. Questions arise reflexively: Is God really in control? How can a good God allow so much pain? Is God good? The pain that we feel can make it hard to even think straight. We need anchors that keep us tethered to the truth so we do not drift when we encounter suffering.”

Fatherhood of God: Forgiveness

Fatherhood of God: Forgiveness– This article is a good summary of God’s forgiveness with additional Bible study suggestions.

Fall In Love Again

Fall In Love Again - If you had to write a short
description of Christianity, what would you write? If you had one sentence to
capture the essence of your belief, how would you phrase it? Paul Tripp gives a good response.

9 Things You Should Know About The Chronicles of Narnia

9 Things You Should Know About The Chronicles of Narnia - The end of March marked the sixty-fifth anniversary of C.S. Lewis
completing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. Here are nine things you should
know about the Lewis' beloved novels.

Ten Forgotten Ways to Teach Politeness to Children

Ten Forgotten Ways to Teach Politeness to Children – These are good basic principles in parenting children.

How to Identify False Teachers

How to Identify False Teachers – Denny Burk provides simple, biblical principles for meeting the challenge of a world filled with false teachers.

‘Noah’ Has Made a Lot of Internet Users Very Curious about Genesis

‘Noah’ Has Made a Lot of Internet Users Very Curious about Genesis – “The new readers may have been disappointed in the lack of knife fights …”

Do We Want to be a Wonder Christian or Do we Want Christ

Do We Want to be a Wonder Christian or Do we Want Christ – “Here’s
the question, though: do I want to be a wonderful Christian, or do I want
Christ? Does my soul long to be a better Christian or does my soul long for the
living God?”

Millennials and the False 'Gospel of Nice'

Millennials and the False'Gospel of Nice' – Don’t believe everything you’ve been hearing.

Why God Gives Us More Than We Can Handle

Why God Gives Us More Than We Can Handle – Jon Bloom shares applications from the story of Gideon.

Are You Obeying the Third Commandment?

Are You Obeying the Third Commandment?

Six Lessons in Good Listening

Six Lessons in Good Listening – We can all get better at this one.

Where Everyone in the World is Migrating

Where Everyone in the World is Migrating—in one gorgeous chart

The Antidote to Feeling Spiritually Empty

The Antidote to Feeling Spiritually Empty – What do you do when your faith is feeling lifeless?

Four Things to Teach Your Children This Easter

Four Things to Teach Your Children This Easter - Here are four key things to teach our children this Easter.

Are You Aiding and Abetting Apathy?

Are You Aiding and Abetting Apathy? – Erik Raymond addresses some great stuff in this article. Brace yourself…