10 Ways to Grow Your Marriage While Having Young Kids

10 Ways to Grow Your Marriage While Having Young Kids – “Here are some strategies we’ve reflected on that might be helpful to other young parents in a similar season of life.”

Why We Worship on Repeat

Why We Worship on Repeat – “Take Psalm 136 as a flashing red light from the divine that our newfound intolerance for repetition is out of step with what it means to be human.”

Some Reflections on my Fiftieth Birthday

Some Reflections on my Fiftieth Birthday – Here were some good observations and reminders about our lives from David Murray.

The Transgender Conversation You Need to Have With Your Family

The Transgender Conversation You Need to Have With Your Family – Tim Challies shares some recent events and issues for family consideration.

My Sin, Not in Part, But the Whole

My Sin, Not in Part, But the Whole – “If we want to savor the sweetness of the gospel, we have to be honest with the horror of our sin. Don’t look at part of your sin or confess half-truths; come to the cross with all of your sin in its entirety.”

Joy Changes Everything

Joy Changes Everything – “It’s often important to assure despondent Christians that Jesus himself sometimes plumbed the emotional depths. But it’s equally important to guard against the opposite extreme, as if joy were a luxury we could well do without.”

You Don’t Have to Know God’s Will

You Don’t Have to Know God’s Will – Jon Bloom writes, “You don’t have to know God’s will if you are confident in God’s word.”

What We Lose When We Yawn at God

What We Lose When We Yawn at God – “God is good. But until we understand the truth that He is not safe, that He is not under our control, until we come to grips with His holy majesty, transcendence, and utter independence, we will never begin to appreciate His fascinating and awe-inspiring character. Indeed, we will find Him boring—as all man-made gods are, and as the one and only true God is anything but.”

What Does the Gospel Teach Us About War?

What Does the Gospel Teach Us About War? – “As we celebrate Memorial Day, millions of Americans will be reflecting on war.”

Memorial Day Tribute

Beware the Busyness of Summer Break

Beware the Busyness of Summer Break – “My prayer is that a busy summer would not crowd out our intimacy with Christ and his church. How can we avoid a spiritual regression in the summer months? Here are two suggestions.”

Which Animals Were On the Ark with Noah?

Which Animals Were On the Ark with Noah? – This article explains at least one way you can reconcile a relatively small ark with a massive number of animals.

10 Things You Should Know About Satan

10 Things You Should Know About Satan – This is a helpful summary with verse references.

No Small Breaches

No Small Breaches – John MacArthur explains that “integrity isn’t usually forfeited in a single moment of spectacular failure. Instead it’s slowly chipped away at by small compromises repeated over time, until the façade of righteousness collapses and the secret hypocrisy is exposed.”

The Wow of Worship

The Wow of Worship – “We treat worship like that man who said the Grand Canyon really isn’t that great, and settle for watching at a distance, gaining intellectual knowledge apart from intimacy, or having an emotional experience apart from a life submitted to his authority.”

Thankful, Peaceful, and Joyful… All Because of the Gospel

Thankful, Peaceful, and Joyful… All Because of the Gospel – “May I never be able to speak about these things without my knees buckling, my heart dancing, and my worship igniting.” 

It’s Never Too Late for Jesus

It’s Never Too Late for Jesus – “Only as we confront the reality of death will we appreciate the hope of resurrection. There is nothing like death to make us desire resurrection.”

Muslims Turning to Christ - a Global Phenomenon

Muslims Turning to Christ - a Global Phenomenon -  An unprecedented number of Muslims are becoming Christians. David Garrison, who has spent years researching the phenomenon, shares his findings.

Majority of American Christians Do Not Find Bible Reading and Church Attendance Essential

Majority of American Christians Do Not Find Bible Reading and Church Attendance Essential - When you imagine “a week in the life of a Christian” you might imagine a church visit, an occasional Bible reading before bed, and some community involvement after school or work. However, this is not likely the case, if American Christians act in accordance with what they find essential to their faith.

4 Ways The Gospel Is Shaping My Parenting

4 Ways The Gospel Is Shaping My Parenting – A very helpful take on parenting as a Christian.

3 Truths to Speak To Your Temptation

3 Truths to Speak To Your Temptation – “The temptation to sin is inevitable when you are a sinful person living in a sinful world. But the actual committing of sin is by no means inevitable when you are made a saint through Christ Jesus. Learn to speak truth, his truth, to every temptation.”

How The Lord’s Prayer Transformed My Heart

How The Lord’s Prayer Transformed My Heart - "For most of my Christian life, prayer has been more of a duty than a joy. Maybe you are like me and have had these kinds of thoughts while praying:

Hmmm…That didn’t take very long, I must be doing something wrong, what else can I say?"

A Quarter-life Crisis Survival Guide

A Quarter-life Crisis Survival Guide - Three things to know when adulting gets hard.

Four Reasons Why We Leave

Four Reasons Why We Leave – “Jesus Christ was the greatest missionary because he died to save the nations, and to send his messengers all over the world with the gospel. We were his mission. We are his ambassadors. Our God left the earth for now, and until he returns, he has left a legacy of leavers.”

LGBT: Great Thoughts But What Can We Actually Do?

LGBT: Great Thoughts But What Can We Actually Do? – It’s easier to engage in intellectual analysis of “Why?” than to address the practical question of “What now?”

The Divorce Delusion: Marriage Matters for the Gospel's Sake

The Divorce Delusion: Marriage Matters for the Gospel's Sake – “The prevalence of divorce today means Christians should understand marriage even better.”

Living in a (Nominal) Religious Context

Living in a (Nominal) Religious Context – “The fastest shrinking category in American religion is still the largest catagory—people who self-identify as Christian, but whose religion is not a central part of their lives. We call these people nominal Christians.”

To the Women Who Wish Their Husbands Were Spiritual Leaders

To the Women Who Wish Their Husbands Were Spiritual Leaders – “I get it. You see who your husband COULD be. If only…”

Actively Serving Christ in Older Age

Actively Serving Christ in Older Age – “One of the characteristics that has always impressed me about highly committed servants of Jesus Christ is that they continue to actively serve Him to the very end of their lives. Long after others have retired from their vocations and various forms of Christian service, these deeply dedicated Christian servants continue right on actively ministering for the Lord in whatever ways they are able.”

Five Things the Psalms of Lament Teach Us About Emotions

Five Things the Psalms of Lament Teach Us About Emotions – “My emotions are not always honest with me. They exaggerate things. They make me think that my circumstances are worse than they really are.”

Why The Culture Wars Rage On

Why The Culture Wars Rage On – “No longer do we think we have the power merely to discover moral reality and truth – we think we have the power to actually create it.”

Fifteen Crazy Things That Happened at Weddings

Fifteen Crazy Things That Happened at Weddings – This one is just for fun.

Why Doesn’t God Still Speak Audibly?

Why Doesn’t God Still Speak Audibly? – “Why doesn’t God show himself like that anymore? Why does he seem invisible after revealing himself so visibly and tangibly in the Old Testament?”

Why Are Christians Bitter and Unhappy?

Why Are Christians Bitter and Unhappy? – “Many non-Christian young adults view Christ’s followers as “hypocritical,” “insensitive,” and “judgmental.” These words all describe unhappy people. (If the world judges us, so be it, but it shouldn’t be because we’re chronically unhappy.)”

The Attributes of God

The Attributes of God – “Committing these characteristics of God to memory has been one of the most life-changing disciplines for me. They’re easy to remember, they remind me I am not God, and they speak to nearly every lie I am tempted to believe about Him.”

How to Honor Your Parents as an Adult

How to Honor Your Parents as an Adult - “What does it mean to honor your parents?”

The Goal of Missions May Not Be What You Think

The Goal of Missions May Not Be What You Think – “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.”

The Remedy for Our Helicopter Parenting

The Remedy for Our Helicopter Parenting – “I’ve heard Christian parents say they loathe the helicoptering trend, but we recognize a problem that’s even worse than the loss of independence: that we inadvertently model for our children that God’s faithfulness isn’t dependable.”

Why Social Media (and the Church) Is Making You Sad

Why Social Media (and the Church) Is Making You Sad – “In the kingdom, we receive comfort in a very different way than we’re taught to in American culture. We receive comfort not by, on the one hand, whining in our sense of entitlement or, on the other hand, pretending as though we’re happy. We are comforted when we see our sin, our brokenness, our desperate circumstances, and we grieve, we weep, we cry out for deliverance.”

God-Shaped Comfort

God-Shaped Comfort - “Practical atheism thrives on deficient views of God,
eroding the joy that Christians should experience in their everyday lives,
enveloping the disciple in a mist of uncertainty, confusion, and anxiety.”

Bible Still Standing Strong in 2016

Bible Still Standing Strong in 2016 – “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isa. 40:6-8).

Americans Greatly Overestimate Gay and Lesbian Population

Americans Greatly Overestimate Gay and Lesbian Population - Jim Denison writes, “Now that this movement has been both normalized and
legalized, we're in the third phase: criminalizing opposition.” He provides some sobering examples.

The Danger of Drifting Away

The Danger of Drifting Away – “The biblical passages that follow are a way of waking our drowsy souls to feel a pure and holy dissatisfaction and stirring us up to pursue ‘all the fullness of God.’”

Answering Our Kids’ Questions About Transgender Policies

Answering Our Kids’ Questions About Transgender Policies – They may encounter the challenge before you do. Here are some suggestions for preparing them.

SLED: A Simple Way to Talk with Those Who Are Prochoice About the Personhood of the Unborn

SLED: A Simple Way to Talk with Those Who Are Prochoice About the Personhood of the Unborn – “Scott Klusendorf of Life Training Institute points out there are only four differences between a preborn and a newborn, and none of those differences justify killing unborn children. They can be remembered through the acronym SLED.”

The Flow of the Psalms

The Flow of the Psalms – “Robertson’s thesis is that we shouldn’t treat the Psalms like Hershey’s Kisses – beautifully, individually wrapped treats that have no relationship to one another. He argues that there is a flow to the Psalter, a very deliberate, sophisticated arrangement and a logical progression over the course of the 150 ancient songs that were collected together over several centuries.”

How to Evangelize Professing Believers

How to Evangelize Professing Believers – “It can be difficult to “evangelize” those that think they need it least. Convincing someone raised in the church that they are lost is often even harder than getting someone saved.”

Are You Ashamed of Jesus? Consider These 13 Examples

Are You Ashamed of Jesus? Consider These 13 Examples – “What does it look like to be ashamed of Jesus? How would this inner reality be demonstrated in my actions? How would I know if this was how I felt?”

The Importance of Integrity

The Importance of Integrity – “The greatest threat to the church is not persecution. It’s not the rise of atheism, Islam, or liberal politics. It’s not the Pope. And it’s not the rampaging immorality of the world around us. No, the greatest threat to the church—and to individual believers—is compromise.”

Do Biological Facts No Longer Matter?

Do Biological Facts No Longer Matter? – “The result is a fragmented, dualistic worldview that denigrates the physical body as inconsequential and insignificant – a worldview that alienates people from their own bodies.”

3 Priorities for Christian Parents

3 Priorities for Christian Parents – Here is some parenting advice from 1 Thessalonians that is simple and clear.

May the Gospel Overwhelm Our Hearts on This Lord’s Day

May the Gospel Overwhelm Our Hearts on This Lord’s Day – “Father, continue to ‘rip and grip’ our hearts with the gospel of your grace.”

Never Once

Never Once – “Who could replace Moses? While Moses had left his people, God had not. Never once did they ever walk alone. Never once did God leave them alone.”

Never Retire!

Never Retire! – Joe McKeever writes, “Never stop doing what God put you on earth to do. For the seniors among us, this is no time to slack off. It's just getting good.”

What Pastors Can Do about the Gender Neutral Bathroom Controversy

What Pastors Can Do about the Gender Neutral Bathroom Controversy — Transgender and gender neutral bathrooms have become a topic of intense national debate in the past 10 days. Sam Rainer examines details from a practical, pastoral point of view.

A Subjective Definition of Death

A Subjective Definition of Death – “An influential cadre of utilitarian bioethicists wants to redefine it to include a subjective and sociologically based meaning. Their purpose isn’t greater scientific accuracy. Rather, by making ‘death’ malleable, they hope to open the door further to treating indisputably living human beings as if they were cadavers.”

Child-Like Humility Produces Peace

Child-Like Humility Produces Peace – “One of the shortest psalms of the Bible gives us a beautiful picture of the kind of peace and quiet that God wants us to experience: It is the peace and quiet of a weaned child. What is that?”

Why Are We Flushing Thousands of Years Down the Toilet?

Why Are We Flushing Thousands of Years Down the Toilet?  – “Why would the President and his supporters want to obliterate thousands of years of the most basic distinction of the planet? We’re left shaking our heads utterly perplexed. Why, why, why? Here are the only reasons I can think of…”

Our Respectable Sin—Laziness

Our Respectable Sin—Laziness – “The testimony of the Bible from beginning to end says that laziness is wicked. But we don’t often look at it that way. Why is that?” 

Don’t Be Embarrassed by Your Ordinary Church

Don’t Be Embarrassed by Your Ordinary Church – “Let’s remember that the church has the highest calling on the planet. Her job is to glorify God. There is nothing more noble nor important than this.” 

Parenting in Paradox

Parenting in Paradox – “Wisdom doesn’t just sit on the side of the fence that feels most natural. It maintains a Biblical balance especially where it confronts our blind spots.” 

Why Christians Care About Economics

Why Christians Care About Economics – “Economic activity is one of the most common and basic forms of human interaction and the Bible has much to say about it. However, it takes time to understand the complexities of our modern economy so that we can better apply God’s principles to our everyday activity. Here are five reasons your effort will be worthwhile.”

No Man Left Behind

No Man Left Behind – “As Christians, we are charged with caring for one another—the shepherds first and every church member after them. It brings all manner of joy, comfort and security when we affirm, and when we insist, that we will not leave even one person behind.”

Are You Flexible for the Gospel?

Are You Flexible for the Gospel? – “Cultural sensitivity and flexibility must become tools to enable us to address the challenges of cross-cultural evangelism wisely and courageously, rather than ends in themselves to create a myopic elite of lovely, flexible people.”

Same-Sex Marriage Cannot Deliver on Its Promise

Same-Sex Marriage Cannot Deliver on Its Promise – This video of Al Mohler is 45 seconds long, and it carries a powerful message.

Why Believers Must Avoid Immoral Joking

Why Believers Must Avoid Immoral Joking – “I write these very words because I, too, could easily fall into the trap of ungodly speech – and I must daily remember these truths myself. Here’s why we must fight for holiness in our joking.”

4 Reasons to Be of Good Courage in Suffering

4 Reasons to Be of Good Courage in Suffering – “What does it look like to suffer well?”

Your Sin Is Not What You Think

Your Sin Is Not What You Think – We tend to think of sin in terms of behaviors. The Bible teaches that sin runs deeper than that.

Forgiveness Doesn't Mean Forgetting

Forgiveness Doesn't Mean Forgetting - And six more things we get wrong about forgiveness.

Answering This Generation’s Question of Essential Identity

Answering This Generation’s Question of Essential Identity – “These cultural battles may be defining new, necessary starting points of our discussion regarding true identity. Yet the ending place of finding it in the true God-man is still the same.”

How To Backslide in 9 Easy Steps

How To Backslide in 9 Easy Steps – People are often surprised to find themselves drifting far from God. It shouldn’t be a surprise.

Who Gave Paul His Thorn?

Who Gave Paul His Thorn? – “It might sound like a slightly obscure, angels-on-a-pinhead question, but it is actually very significant, because it cuts to the heart of questions about divine sovereignty, suffering, goodness and the agency of the devil. Does God send adversity, to teach us or bring us to maturity? Do God and Satan work together, in some weird way?”

10 Reasons Why the Church Gathers

10 Reasons Why the Church Gathers – “As Christians, we should all desire to gather together with one another as often as possible. As motivation, here are ten reasons why gathering regularly with the church is important.”

8 Arguments for Why You Should Be Anxious Today (and How the Bible Responds)

8 Arguments for Why You Should Be Anxious Today (and How the Bible Responds) – We choose to be anxious. These are the reasons why we make those choices and what the Bible has to say about it.

Talking to My Boys after the Transgender Talk at Their Public School

Talking to My Boys after the Transgender Talk at Their Public School – Brad Hambrick’s talk with his boys may help you navigate this subject in your own family.

Persistent Prayer to a Loving Father

Persistent Prayer to a Loving Father - “Many of us struggle to maintain persistence in prayer
because we tend to think of the Father as harsh, hard, and severe. His love
seems fleeting and His apparent lack of response to our prayers seems to
confirm this suspicion. But don’t we know that He is the fountain of love?”

7 Ways Parents Unfairly Provoke Our Children

7 Ways Parents Unfairly Provoke Our Children – “Parents, do not provoke your children to anger lest they become discouraged, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

The Ingredients of Inner Peace

The Ingredients of Inner Peace – “While we all crave inner peace, and recognize that the Holy Spirit is its only source (Isa. 32:15-17), we often fail to really grasp how it’s produced in the soul.”

You Can’t Mess It Up

You Can’t Mess It Up – “God will most certainly use our missteps to further his plan—this for our good and his glory.”

Doctors Opting Out

Doctors Opting Out – “Naylor has no desire to quit medicine. But she says she is appalled at the thought she could be forced to refer patients seeking assisted death to an obliging doctor.”

The Power of Conformity

The Power of Conformity – In these days of rapid cultural change, a herd mentality seems to drive the crowds.

Seven Resolutions for Finishing Well

Seven Resolutions for Finishing Well – “We could call these seven resolutions from God’s word and God’s grace for aging and getting ready to meet Jesus. Each of them is based on Psalm 71.”

Are You a Closet Annihilationist?

Are You a Closet Annihilationist? – “My prediction is that, even within conservative evangelical circles, the annihilation view of hell will be the dominant view in 10 or 15 years,” says Preston Sprinkle, who co-authored the book Erasing Hell, which, in 2011, debuted at number three on the New York Times bestseller list.

There Is No Place for Regret

There Is No Place for Regret – “The essence of legalism is self-atonement…The desire to be pleasing to God is commendable, certainly, but the effort to please God by self-effort is not, for it assumes that sin once done may be undone, an assumption wholly false.”

4 Bigger Repercussions of the Bathroom Decree

4 Bigger Repercussions of the Bathroom Decree – “We need to take a step back and look at what the White House guidelines signify about our culture.”

Explainer: Federal Government Issues Letter on Transgender Policy

Explainer: Federal Government Issues Letter on Transgender Policy – This article answers basic questions about the new policy and what it means for schools.

Why Do We Major in the Minors?

Why Do We Major in the Minors? – We tend to give God the cheapest gifts. 

Transgendered Men Do Not Become Women

Transgendered Men Do Not Become Women – Dr. Paul R. McHugh, the Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University and former psychiatrist–in-chief for Johns Hopkins Hospital, who has studied transgendered people for 40 years writes, “Transgendered men do not become women, nor do transgendered women become men. All (including Bruce Jenner) become feminized men or masculinized women, counterfeits or impersonators of the sex with which they ‘identify.”

Obama Administration Requires Transgender School Bathrooms

Obama Administration Requires Transgender School Bathrooms - “The Obama administration has issued what The New York
Times calls "a sweeping directive telling every public
school district in the country to allow transgender students to use the
bathrooms that match their gender identity." This directive was issued in
a letter that went out today to school districts signed by Justice and
Education department officials.”

I have posted several other responses to the directive in
previous blogs today.

Suffering and Singing

Suffering and Singing - Singing to the Lord is a significant means of ministering to our own souls in times of suffering. Here are five lessons from Psalm 44.

3 Principles for Relating to the Government

3 Principles for Relating to the Government – “Peter’s first letter speaks to the heart of our uneasy relationship with government. The apostle gives us three principles for an attitude check—a check we’ll need repeatedly between now and November 8, and beyond.”

What the Transgender Bathroom Debate Means For You

What the Transgender Bathroom Debate Means For You – Russell Moore weighs in  on President Obama’s decree: “So why is this important, and what should the church do?”

15 Discernment Diagnostics

15 Discernment Diagnostics – “Obviously, there is no foolproof scheme for identifying false teaching. Biblical discernment takes years of prayer, preaching, and practice. But there are certain questions that may be help us sift the good from the bad. Here are 15 discernment diagnostic questions” all from 2 Timothy 3:6-9.

Three Reasons Why the Old Testament Still Matters Today

Three Reasons Why the Old Testament Still Matters Today – These are good, foundational reasons to consider.

Deuteronomy: The Great Commission of the Old Testament

Deuteronomy: The Great Commission of the Old Testament – “Christians often think of Deuteronomy as boring legal code – a second-giving or re-run of the law. Why then did New Testament authors find it their third favorite book of the Old Testament to quote?”

Come, All Who Are Weary

Come, All Who Are Weary – “Deep soul weariness: We all experience it, though in different ways and for different reasons.”

Glossary for the Gender Revolution

Glossary for the Gender Revolution – Joe Carter has provided definitions for 31 terms commonly used by the gender identity movement.

President Obama: Accept Transgenderism or Else

President Obama: Accept Transgenderism or Else – Denny Burk responds to the news that “President Obama has released a letter directing every public school in the country to recognize and accept transgender identities.” 

3 Neglected Objects of Stewardship

3 Neglected Objects of Stewardship – “While we should think deeply about the money God has seen fit to flow into our lives, our view of stewardship cannot stop there. It’s got to be bigger. In light of that, here are three neglected objects of stewardship for you to think about today.”

The Family Idols

The Family Idols – “There is always someone or something other than ourselves on which we have hung our whole identity or self-worth. If we turn our backs on the true God, we inevitably attempt to fill that void with something else.” 

Does the Bible Really Mean That God Appoints Our Leaders?

Does the Bible Really Mean That God Appoints Our Leaders? - Sovereignty, divine providence and democracy.

Is ‘Allah’ God?

Is ‘Allah’ God? – This is a hot topic and this article won’t settle the issue but gives a unique perspective.

How to Develop a Christian Ethic

How to Develop a Christian Ethic – “Here are the three most important things you can do to develop a solid Christian ethic.”

Stop Complaining

Stop Complaining – “This pervasive discontentment colors virtually every area of modern life. Man’s rebellious default setting is to grumble, complain, argue, and whine about anything and everything he doesn’t like.”

The Moral Revolutionaries Present Their Demands: Unconditional Surrender

The Moral Revolutionaries Present Their Demands: Unconditional Surrender – “Now that the moral revolutionaries are solidly in control, what is to be demanded of Christians who, on the basis of Christian conviction, cannot join the revolution? The demands have now been presented, and they represent unconditional surrender.”

Seven Ways to Remain Relevant to Your Child

Seven Ways to Remain Relevant to Your Child – “We must become relevant to Millennials and Generation Z. I suppose this is the challenge for every parent in every generation. How do we pass on principles that are universal and timeless to a young population that seems to be totally caught up in the ‘now?’”

Ten Things You Should Know about Generation Z

Ten Things You Should Know about Generation Z – “Their birth years are 2001 to 2020. The oldest Gen Zer is 15; the youngest has not yet been born. We have much to learn about this young generation, but we have learned much already. Church leaders, particularly, need to keep an eye on this generation. There are some fascinating trends taking place.”

Who Made Satan?

Who Made Satan? – “Scripture says a lot about his character and actions—who he is and what he does—but what about his origins? Where did he come from? Who created the Devil?”

Don’t Turn Motherhood into an Idol

Don’t Turn Motherhood into an Idol – ““When motherhood becomes the center of a woman’s life and identity, rather than Christ, a blessing easily turns into a burden. A path of joy turns into a path of despair. The attempt to quantify why your life matters by your performance as a mother will produce frustration and inevitable discontentment. To put it another way, motherhood is a glorious mission but a horrible idol.”

8 Ways To Be A Mom Without Going Crazy

8 Ways To Be A Mom Without Going Crazy – “Sane mommies are good for kids. How are we to avoid being driven crazy by all the angst, mommy wars, and parenting books out there? Here are eight things that we should remember in our quest to remain sane. ”

Think About Your Death

Think About Your Death – “Death is not an easy thing to meditate on, but the wise person will think about death often. Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)”

Essentials in the Ministry of the Lord

Essentials in the Ministry of the Lord – “I like to make it a habit to read through the Pastoral Epistles regularly and in one sitting so that the Spirit of God exhorts my soul with truths from Holy Scripture regarding the ministry of the Lord. I want to remain on track. I want to major on the essentials. I must prioritize what God tells me to focus on and avoid what He tells me to flee from. Today I want to highlight seven essentials in the ministry of the Lord.”

Love the Season You’re In

Love the Season You’re In – This article, written for moms, has a word for all. “Love the season you’re in and don’t wish you were in a different season of life.”

Where’s Your Heart?

Where’s Your Heart? – “Do you wish you cared more about eternal things? Then reallocate some of your money, maybe most of your money, from temporal things to eternal things. Put your resources, your assets, your money and possessions, your time and talents and energies into the things of God. Watch what happens.”

Restroom Laws and Jim Crow Laws

Restroom Laws and Jim Crow Laws – “But really, this debate isn’t about transgender men or women using the restroom of their choice. Instead, the restroom wars are merely a proxy debate for a larger conflict about what it means to be male and female.” 

Why Grief Is Evidence for God

Why Grief Is Evidence for God – “Christianity insists that we grieve because something is wrong.”

5 Ways for Couples to Argue Well

5 Ways for Couples to Argue Well - Not every argument is a good one.

Fight Anxiety Without Fear

Fight Anxiety Without Fear – “Unchecked fear has kept me in bed for hours past what is healthy or wise, like a chilling paralysis. But anxiety can also show up as a fiery anger, in unkind speech and hurtful attitudes. I hate anxiety, and I want to know how to slay it.”

The Coyote and Rightly Assessing Social Media Influence

The Coyote and Rightly Assessing Social Media Influence – “As I scroll through my Twitter feed I’m thinking a bit about the coyote. Social media has the capacity to create a bit of coyote in all of us. It’s easy to overestimate our influence. The whole machine is designed to place us at the center of our own little universe. Twitter is especially prone to this.”

An Open Letter to Someone Having an Affair

An Open Letter to Someone Having an Affair – “An affair is a relationship built on deceit and artificially fueled by the passion-allegiance of a shared secret and not having to bear the weight of day-to-day life. The story line of ‘forbidden love’ evaporates as soon as there are ‘shared responsibilities’ and no ‘them’ to keep ‘us’ apart.”

When Jesus Sends You into a Storm

When Jesus Sends You into a Storm - …He has and He will…for your good.

Gratitude for the Last Command in the Bible

Gratitude for the Last Command in the Bible – The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.  Rev. 22:17

Say Hard Things

Say Hard Things – When was the last time someone told you you were wrong?

9 Perspectives on Trump, Clinton, and the Evangelical Christian Voter

9 Perspectives on Trump, Clinton, and the Evangelical Christian Voter - The article presents nine different perspectives from
Christian leaders on navigating the political issues before us. The quote from John Adams at the end makes the read worthwhile.

How We Pray

How We Pray – Of all the things in the article, this may be the most significant, “Reid said the most striking result was the evidence that prayer habits often carry through from childhood. The survey showed that if people prayed as children, they were overwhelmingly more inclined to pray as adults, and the opposite was also true.”

Don’t Call Me the Best Mom Ever

Don’t Call Me the Best Mom Ever – “It’s a Supermom contest or a Mom Fail contest on the one day a year we should be loved for simply being a mom.”

Every Mother’s Son

Every Mother’s Son – “One of the great commands in Scripture, and the first one with a promise, is the command to honor both father and mother. Both sons and daughters are called to this privilege and responsibility, but it is worth noting that both sons and daughters need to render at least half of their honor into alien territory.”

A Game-Changing Perspective of Motherhood

A Game-Changing Perspective of Motherhood – Laura Booz writes, “I think we'd see motherhood for what it is and would feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment at the end of the day, don't you?”

The Church Needs Your Humility, Not Your Criticism

The Church Needs Your Humility, Not Your Criticism - Are we too good at pointing Christianity's flaws?

The Best Pastoral Advice I Ever Received

The Best Pastoral Advice I Ever Received – While written with a young minister in mind, it’s good advice for any believer.

The Right to Be Differently Excellent: Why Christian Colleges Should Be Allowed To Be Christian

The Right to Be Differently Excellent: Why Christian Colleges Should Be Allowed To Be Christian – Colleges and universities have the right to exclude religious groups. Colleges and universities should also have the right to be distinctively religious.

5 Prayers to Pray on the Way to Work

 5 Prayers to Pray on the Way to Work – How can we live with a redeemed view of work?

3 Ways You Can Serve Teenagers in Your Church

3 Ways You Can Serve Teenagers in Your Church – “I’ve seen three ways every church member can (and should) serve their teenagers: by getting to know us, by not underestimating us, and by teaching us.”

Thanking God for Our Friends

Thanking God for Our Friends – “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” Eccl. 4:9-10 (NLT)

American Christians, You Might Need to Start Living Like Missionaries

American Christians, You Might Need to Start Living Like Missionaries – The article is written by an American living in Tanzania and tells how Americans may need to begin living a little bit more like she does even in their own land.

National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer. The following resources are also available on our church website.

30 Ways to Pray for Authority

50 States Prayer Guide 

Election Prayer Guide 

Prayer Guide for a Nation in Crisis

The Fourfold Beauty of a Godly Woman

The Fourfold Beauty of a Godly Woman – This is a good meditation as we approach Mother’s Day and worth thought beyond one day.

Crisis in American Democracy

Crisis in American Democracy – Al Mohler paints the current picture and asks if Christians are ready for life in these times.

5 Ways the Ascension Benefits You

5 Ways the Ascension Benefits You – “If we simply collapse the ascension into the resurrection, we miss stunning benefits tied directly to Jesus being taken into heaven.”

Parenting Is First About My Sin

Parenting Is First About My Sin – “Parenting is first about my sin and need for growth, not first and foremost about my children’s.”

A Helpful Way To Think About Personal Discipleship

A Helpful Way To Think About Personal Discipleship – It is a helpful way to think about our impact on the spiritual lives of others.

The Bible Project: Proverbs

The Bible Project: Proverbs – The Bible Project has produced another in their series of video summaries. This time they take on the book of Proverbs.

Is America a Christian Nation?

Is America a Christian Nation? – Russell Moore addresses the question in this three-minute video.

Four Ways to Comfort a Grieving Friend

Four Ways to Comfort a Grieving Friend – “Today I hope to share a few practical things you can do for a loved one who is grieving.”

From Blueprint to Building in Your Bible

From Blueprint to Building in Your Bible – How does the Old Testament relate to the New? Here’s a good analogy to give in response: The Old Testament is the blueprint; the New Testament is the building.

Bringing Our Children to Jesus

Bringing Our Children to Jesus – We live in a society that assumes that when children grow up they will jettison the family's beliefs and values. But the Bible sees things differently. The book of Proverbs says that the childhood years have a formative influence that lasts throughout life: "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6).  

“I’m Winning With Evangelicals”

“I’m Winning With Evangelicals” – This is an interesting article. It doesn’t endorse or condemn. In it, David Murray just makes some clarifying observations.

Some Thoughts on Mass Evangelism

Some Thoughts on Mass Evangelism – How do we spread the gospel today?

Five Ways God Relates to You

Five Ways God Relates to You – “Therefore, it’s good to go to God’s word and remind ourselves of all that God is for us — a regular DTR with the Divine — so that we have our feet planted on solid ground as we go throughout our days in a world where everything else can seem shaky and uncertain.”

Christianity's Five Most Countercultural Virtues

Christianity's Five Most Countercultural Virtues - Why the teachings of the Bible are still so radical.

Four Steps to Kill Nagging Sins

Four Steps to Kill Nagging Sins – “Many Christians struggle with ‘nagging sins’ — those entrenched, persistent, difficult-to-dislodge sins that continually entangle us in our efforts to follow Christ.”

EVEN Death on a Cross

EVEN Death on a Cross – “The early Christians would not have understood our fascination with the symbol of the cross. The cross as a piece of decorative jewelry would have been unthinkable, since the cross meant only one thing to them—DEATH. And not mere death, but horror, violence, shame, utter humiliation.”

7 Troubling Questions About Transgender Theories

7 Troubling Questions About Transgender Theories – “These newfound controversies are complicated, at least in part because of transgender theory itself. The unmooring of ‘gender identity’ from ‘biological sex’ leads to a number of unresolved questions, as well as troubling inconsistencies among advocates of transgender rights.”

Stop Saying “I Feel Like”

Stop Saying “I Feel Like” – “Here is the paradox: ‘I feel like’ masquerades as a humble conversational offering, an invitation to share your feelings, too — but the phrase is an absolutist trump card. It halts argument in its tracks.” 

The Most Powerful Apologetic Tool in the World

The Most Powerful Apologetic Tool in the World – “Most people don’t come to Christ through the sophisticated arguments of top-tier philosophers or theologians, but through the faithful pointing by an ordinary person to the extraordinary brilliance of Jesus as he reveals himself in Scripture.”

The Power of a Mother’s Prayer

The Power of a Mother’s Prayer – This truth is illustrated by the story of John Newton’s mother and her faithfulness to pray for him. He went on to write Amazing Grace among other acts of devotion to the Lord.

If “No Eye Has Seen,” How Can We Know About Heaven?

If “No Eye Has Seen,” How Can We Know About Heaven? – Randy Alcorn explains the many misunderstandings attached to this phrase.

How the Federal Government Is Transforming Public Education

How the Federal Government Is Transforming Public Education – Two days after the Obergefell ruling, pastor John Piper tweeted the following: “There is now no legal way for your children to be taught any normal view of human sexuality.”

May Election to Expand Alcohol Impact in Allen

May Election to Expand Alcohol Impact in Allen

Few people vote in local elections. It’s important. We are voting for city and school district leaders. We are also voting on the allocation of millions of dollars of bond funding. Tucked into the May ballot is “Local Option Proposition Number 1.” It reads, “The legal sale of alcoholic beverages for off-premise consumption only.” This proposition would provide for “big box liquor stores to locate in Allen. I would encourage Allen voters to vote against the proposition. At each stage of the “alcohol expansion” in our community and city I’ve encouraged citizens to vote against making alcohol more available.

While the Bible doesn’t prohibit consumption of alcoholic drink, it has nothing but bad to say about the practice. There are some 75 references in the Bible warning against the danger of alcohol. That is more Scripture warning against the use of alcoholic beverages than will be found on the subjects of lying, adultery, swearing, cheating, hypocrisy, pride, or even blasphemy.

The Bible does not take a passive attitude toward the use of alcoholic beverages. Among those passages that warn against the use of alcohol, Proverbs 23:29-35 gives an extensive list of some of the negative side effects of alcohol use. The writer warns in verses 31 and 32 of the physical, psychological and spiritual consequences of the use of alcohol as a beverage.

Alcohol is a leading contributor to marital problems. It is a leading killer of teenagers. I have preached funerals for 12 teenagers in my ministry. Ten of those funerals were alcohol related deaths. It doesn’t make a person more effective in their worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism. While it exists in our community, anything that could possibly limit alcohol’s availability would be for the better. Vote “NO” to Proposition Number 1.

The Modern Man’s Fantasy World

The Modern Man’s Fantasy World – “Is there any wonder why there is such a decline in biblical masculinity in the church? It is a shame that many men are far too busy conquering fake lands, looking at fake women, and winning fake championships to follow Christ’s path of self-denying, cross-bearing, service.”