We’re Always in Gospel-Rediscovery Mode

We’re Always in Gospel-Rediscovery Mode – “Today we re-affirm our hope is built on nothing less, other, and more than you and your finished work.”

God Answers Better Than We Ask

God Answers Better Than We Ask – “Prayer is for desperate times and dire moments, when we’re backed in a corner — when humanly speaking, the desired outcome, and what seems to be our last chance, is painfully unlikely to unfold, and we need God. We need him to intervene.”

What Is Reformation Day?

What Is Reformation Day? – “Martin Luther, a scholar, took quill in hand, dipped it in his inkwell and penned his Ninety-Five Theses on October 31, 1517.”

On Autumn, Anxiety, and the World

On Autumn, Anxiety, and the World – “I know the world feels like it’s in upheaval right now. I know, in both private and public ways, how we all feel sideways, waiting for the waves to set us back upright again. I feel this as I walk toward the house, whispering to myself as the day begins.”

What You Need to Know about the Devil’s Tricks

What You Need to Know about the Devil’s Tricks – “The reality of life for Christians is that we have an enemy. From the beginning of human history, the Devil has been looking for ways to manipulate, tempt, hurt, and ultimately destroy God’s people. One of his oldest tricks is persecution.”

Three Practical Ways to Battle Depression

Three Practical Ways to Battle Depression – While there are many issues and tools to consider, these are three simple approaches that will likely help.

Murders That Won’t Go Viral: The Quiet Injustice Too Few Protest

Murders That Won’t Go Viral: The Quiet Injustice Too Few Protest – “Abortion is the greatest systemic injustice in the world today, but its victims are the most forgotten members in the world today.”

The Pastor Said, “No, we don’t believe the Bible.”

The Pastor Said, “No, we don’t believe the Bible.” – “Listen to my preaching and watch my life, then decide.  Or, if you want a shortcut, ask my wife or my children.  Whatever they say, you may take to the bank.”

Loving Difficult Neighbors Isn’t Optional

Loving Difficult Neighbors Isn’t Optional – “Much like family, we don’t choose our neighbors. Depending on the situation, this can be delightful or dreadful. But even when it’s dreadful, Jesus commands us to love our neighbors.”

Only His Heart Can Heal Yours

Only His Heart Can Heal Yours – “Our big God possesses an unimaginably big heart toward sinners. He is incomparable in grandeur and incomparable in love.”

Maria Fearing and the Mission to the Congo

Maria Fearing and the Mission to the Congo – This story about a pioneering missionary who ran the race well and finished well is a blessing.

Is God Unsafe?

Is God Unsafe? – “Our God is holy. And there is genuine danger in not taking seriously the holiness of God.”

Scripture’s Clarity: A New Testament Defense

Scripture’s Clarity: A New Testament Defense – This is again a testimony to the reliability and inspiration of the Bible.

What’s The Big Problem With Our Evangelism?

What’s The Big Problem With Our Evangelism? – “I am convinced this is the biggest barrier to our evangelism. It isn’t that we don’t believe evangelism is important; we know it is. It isn’t that we don’t have the time; we make the time for what we think is important. It’s that we are scared of how it will be received and how we will look in front of others.”

Why Evangelicals Are (Still) Divided over Trump

Why Evangelicals Are (Still) Divided over Trump – “Four years ago we witnessed the beginning of a new political divide, an intramural division within American social conservatism, which was felt most prominently within the evangelical wing of this movement.”

State of Our Union: Pledging Allegiance on Our Knees

State of Our Union: Pledging Allegiance on Our Knees – “We now seek to pledge allegiance on our knees, representing our dual citizenship in a way that honors God, no matter who wins the election.”

Eternal Discretion > Any Election

Eternal Discretion > Any Election – “King Jesus, your righteousness is our surety, your love is our freedom, and your sovereignty is our sanity. Only your government and will ever meet the needs of our sinful hearts and restless world.”

God’s Good Design in Our Suffering

God’s Good Design in Our Suffering – “No pain, no gain; no cross, no crown; no suffering, no inheritance — that’s the way God has set it up.”

There Is No Excuse

There Is No Excuse – “We cannot escape this subject in the Word of God. The Bible clearly and repeatedly warns us so that each of us is without excuse.”

Discernment Without and Within

Discernment Without and Within – “With the potential for the entire world to stream into our minds and hearts by means of the internet, it is safe to conclude that there has never been a time when Christians needed discernment so much as at present.”

Stop Being Shocked by What the Pope Says

Stop Being Shocked by What the Pope Says – “Every once in a while, the pope (especially this one) says things that are not only not very catholic but most importantly incredibly unbiblical. And while I understand the shock that comes whenever a believer hears God, or His word being blasphemed what I don’t understand is Christians that are shocked that the pope could say such unbiblical things.”

Jesus Won the War. Trust Him in the Battles

Jesus Won the War. Trust Him in the Battles – “Your cross was our Judgment Day, your return will be our Wedding Day, and your present enthronement is our Peace for Every Day. Surely we can trust you in every other battle we face, this side of life in the new heaven and new earth.”

Christians, Conscience, and the Looming 2020 Election

Christians, Conscience, and the Looming 2020 Election – “We are tempted to separate personal character and political policies as if they can be cleanly divided, but character is policy and policy is character.” Al Mohler weighs in on the complexities of the 2020 presidential election.

Why Christians Should Be Sabbatarians

Why Christians Should Be Sabbatarians – “Far from being legalistic or harsh, the Lord’s Day ought to be a source of joy and restoration for Christians. It offers a powerful, countercultural witness to a world ensnared by the frenetic pace of digital life.”

The Last Temptations of the Aged

The Last Temptations of the Aged – “Here is a list that will stand the test of time, methinks, and may apply to a great segment of geriatrics as we move into life’s red zone.  These are the last temptations of the aged….”

God’s Curtains

God’s Curtains – “God devoted a whole chapter to detailed instructions about various curtains he wanted in the Tabernacle.” Here’s the story of why.

Sabbath: An Enduring Principle For the Soul

Sabbath: An Enduring Principle For the Soul – “Just as Eve was created so that man wouldn’t have to live alone, the Sabbath was created so that man wouldn’t have to live exhausted. The only problem is, we’re not good at following rules—even when they’re good for us.”

How the Psalms Teach Us to Complain

How the Psalms Teach Us to Complain – “There is, of course, a right way to do this, and a wrong way. But whatever we do, we must not de-legitimatize the occasion for the complaint, especially if it is an injustice.”

Living Hope in a Stressful World

Living Hope in a Stressful World – “Heavenly Father, this week could easily devolve into a pool of fear and combativeness, given the issues before us—whether we call the USA or the UK, China or India home. By your grace and for your glory, we choose living hope and great mercy.”

Have Yourself a Hallowed Halloween

Have Yourself a Hallowed Halloween – “Consider four ways our family––and yours––can celebrate a more hallowed Halloween this year.”

Temptation Is No Simple Enemy

Temptation Is No Simple Enemy – “The first step in taking temptation more seriously is to remember that temptation has a mission: to ruin your soul and rob you of God. No temptation is innocent or trivial.”

God Wants You to Call Him “My Father”

God Wants You to Call Him “My Father” – “We will never understand why our creator and rescuer would want to serve us, forgive us, be with us, and be called ‘my father.’ But it is true. Your God is eager for you to. He loves it. It pleases him.”

The Time-Traveling Temptation of Jesus

The Time-Traveling Temptation of Jesus – “The temptation of Jesus works backward and forward. It works backward because we see in the ways that Satan tempts Jesus the exact same ways he tempted Adam and Eve.”

Assurance in the Age of Cancel Culture

Assurance in the Age of Cancel Culture – How do we survive in a “cancel culture”? Jesus shows the way.

3 Causes for Political Tension between Christians

3 Causes for Political Tension between Christians – “What are some disagreements that affect your heart’s posture or that hinder fellowship with another person in your church? Maybe you feel scorn. Maybe you are angry that they support a cause that you are convinced is unjust. You might even find yourself questioning their profession of faith.”

The Non-Stop Goodness of Our Father

The Non-Stop Goodness of Our Father – “Heavenly Father, this passage is simultaneously a peace-banquet, grace-lottery, and hope-haven. Jesus is the heartbeat, substance, and guarantee of the new and everlasting covenant you promised.”

Grace Is Not a Thing: Why Spiritual Renewal Begins with a Him

Grace Is Not a Thing: Why Spiritual Renewal Begins with a Him – “For all the differences between legalists and antinomians, the two often share one surprising similarity: they treat grace as a thing that God gives, rather than as God’s gift of himself.”

A Mighty and Glorious Revival of Religion

A Mighty and Glorious Revival of Religion – “It has been God’s custom throughout the centuries to come and visit his people when they least expect it. Who knows but that round the corner there may be waiting for us a mighty and glorious revival of religion!”

Eat, Pray, Love: How Families Grow Stronger During the Pandemic

Eat, Pray, Love: How Families Grow Stronger During the Pandemic – “Yet despite enduring extended periods of hardship, many families are drawing closer together and developing positive patterns of behavior. A prime example is the number of families sharing an evening meal together.”

Why You Can Trust the Bible

Why You Can Trust the Bible – “While I could give many reasons to support the essential trustworthiness of the Bible, perhaps the most important is reason is simply that Jesus trusted it.”

When Satan’s in the Church…

When Satan’s in the Church… - “I sometimes fear that there is a willful naïveté in the church with regard to the presence and power of Satan.”

Before You Vote

Before You Vote: An Interview with David Platt.

Three Benefits of Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh”

Three Benefits of Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh” – “What were God’s reasons for bringing a thorn of suffering into Paul’s life? The apostle reveals three benefits that he experienced.”

How Do We Raise Kids Who Are Not Naive or Cynical?

How Do We Raise Kids Who Are Not Naive or Cynical? – “You can be a sharp, careful, incisive critic of culture, and yet you might love it and care for it and pray for it.”

An Analogy for Sin that Hits Home

An Analogy for Sin that Hits Home – “Our Muslim friends do not feel the weight of the word sin when we use it. There’s a reason for this. Islam has a different definition for sin, one more akin to mistake, flaw, or excusable offense.”

How Progressive Christianity Preaches Another Gospel

How Progressive Christianity Preaches Another Gospel – “Though progressive Christians use much of the same language as historic Christianity, they redefine terms in unrecognizable ways. Childers focuses on three: the Bible, hell, and the atonement.”

Proverbs in Their Place

Proverbs in Their Place – “We won’t make sense of the collected proverbs starting in chapter 10 if we haven’t first heard and heeded the call of chapters 1–9.”

A Wild Harvest

A Wild Harvest – “I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” Here is a reflection on mission work in China.

The Bible Is a Big Book with Lots of Words

The Bible Is a Big Book with Lots of Words – “Be careful with how you use your Bible, then, to make sure it is actually using you. Consult its whole counsel. Don’t be an adherent of pick-n-choose-ianity. Reject sloganeering and cliche-peddling. Through the deep Word, become a deeper person. The Bible is bigger than your bumper sticker.”

How to Stop Being Afraid of People, So You Can Start Getting Stuff Done

How to Stop Being Afraid of People, So You Can Start Getting Stuff Done – “I sometimes wonder how the Lord might have used me if I hadn’t been too afraid to pick up the phone, start a conversation, or make an embarrassing mistake. How many evangelistic opportunities have I walked away from? How many occasions to love my neighbor have I avoided?”

Genesis 1 and the Storyline of Scripture

Genesis 1 and the Storyline of Scripture – “The opening chapter of the Old Testament establishes a framework for understanding all of Scripture.”

‘Finding Yourself’ Is Harder Than You Think

‘Finding Yourself’ Is Harder Than You Think – “Defining yourself by looking inside yourself for fulfillment comes with major challenges and ends up being insufficient in answering the questions of life. A better way exists.”

People Are Being Discipled by Their Cable News

People Are Being Discipled by Their Cable News – “How do we disciple in good as we disciple out the wrong?”

Policies, Persons, and Paths to Ruin: Pondering the Implications of the 2020 Election

Policies, Persons, and Paths to Ruin: Pondering the Implications of the 2020 Election – “I will invite him to become an exile — to have a kingdom that will never be shaken, not even when America is a footnote in the archives of the new creation.”

Pope Francis Calls For Same-sex Civil Unions

Pope Francis Calls For Same-sex Civil Unions – “Why this is so important and how to respond biblically.”

Most Churches Holding Services, Few With Pre-COVID Attendance

Most Churches Holding Services, Few With Pre-COVID Attendance – Here are national trends that align with what we see in our area as well.

A Lifestyle of Hope and Encouraging Each Other

A Lifestyle of Hope and Encouraging Each Other – “Help us be regular and robust in bringing encouragement to each other. Encouragement is always important, but never more so than today. For ours is a day of COVID-fatigue and unprecedented divisiveness, mounting stress and multi-cause duress.”

A Different Summer

A Different Summer – “Do you remember writing about summer vacation for the first assignment of the school year? What would you write this year? I am tallying up a number of gains and losses.”

My Toddler Taught Me This

My Toddler Taught Me This – “Still an infant, my son had already bought into the deepest and darkest of all human delusions—that we can ignore boundaries and not face the consequences.”

Would Someone Tell Me What 2 Thessalonians 2 Means?!

Would Someone Tell Me What 2 Thessalonians 2 Means?! – “Paul doesn’t want to frighten the Thessalonians; he wants to comfort them by reassuring them of their future hope that lies in the gospel.”

4 Questions about the Trinity

4 Questions about the Trinity – "According to the entire witness of Holy Scripture, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not three gods. Nor are they some confederation of the one God with lesser gods. These three are the one God.”

6 Practical Tips to Free Yourself From Your Phone

6 Practical Tips to Free Yourself From Your Phone – “If you’re feeling addicted to your phone, even just a little bit, you’ll have a lot better chance of breaking through that addiction if you actually do something about it.”

If We Are Faithless

If We Are Faithless – “Persevere. Endure. Keep on until the end. We will reign with Him!”

Humble Yourself — Like God: The Power of Christ’s Lowliness

Humble Yourself — Like God: The Power of Christ’s Lowliness – “No matter how deep your valley, no matter how long it feels like you’ve been left to rot in your humbling, no matter how alone you’ve felt, he will raise you. In Christ, you will be super-exalted, in time. God’s favor for the humble will shine out.”

Poll: White Evangelicals Are Religious Outliers on Every Major Voting Issue

Poll: White Evangelicals Are Religious Outliers on Every Major Voting Issue – This was an interesting survey showing the differences between racial groups of Christians on political issues.

Jesus According to the New Testament’s Most Quoted Psalm

Jesus According to the New Testament’s Most Quoted Psalm – “The apostles and prophets saw this messianic psalm as highly significant for their understanding of Jesus.”

The Ancient Book for Anxious Moderns

The Ancient Book for Anxious Moderns – “There is perhaps no Old Testament book more perfectly suited for preaching to the modern West than Ecclesiastes. Even before the disquieting unrest of 2020, it was clear that America had entered a new age of anxiety.”

The Wisdom in Restraining Our Lips

The Wisdom in Restraining Our Lips – “Patience is a virtue I am continually chipping away at. In a similar way to these ordinary tasks, I’m learning to be slow and patient with my words as well.”

Singing to the Risen Son: A History of Christian Hymns

Singing to the Risen Son: A History of Christian Hymns – This was an interesting story of the flow of Christian worship through music over centuries.

Loving Well When We Vote Differently

Loving Well When We Vote Differently – “Lord Jesus, as this Scripture demonstrates, there are times when your faithful servants don’t see eye to eye.”

Will We Die To Our Rights?

Will We Die To Our Rights? – “As Christians, our love for Christ calls us to constantly die to our perceived rights.”

Men, Be the Chief Repenters in Your Homes

Men, Be the Chief Repenters in Your Homes – Here are clear, biblical reminders and challenges.

For All My Fellow Phonies

For All My Fellow Phonies – “I think for most of my Christian life I have felt like an imposter. I know myself pretty well. I know how hard my heart can be. I know how difficult it often is for me to do things with the right motives, with a spirit of real love and compassion. I know how far short that I fall daily of loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength…”

How to Witness From the Furnace of (American) Babylon

How to Witness From the Furnace of (American) Babylon – “From these mid-level government officials, we can learn four significant lessons about being faithful witnesses in a pagan public square.”

God Uses the Weak

God Uses the Weak – “What does God use to accomplish His purposes? He’s used a worldwide flood, a national plague, giant hailstones, and a donkey. But, what does God say is His instrument of choice? What object is His primary tool to accomplish His plan here on earth?”

Don’t Quarrel Over Opinions But Welcome One Another

Don’t Quarrel Over Opinions But Welcome One Another – “These are critical days for our churches. The Devil is always prowling around like a hungry lion looking for opportunities to sow division between the people of God.”

Some Learn and Never Grow: A Lost Remedy for Spiritual Immaturity

Some Learn and Never Grow: A Lost Remedy for Spiritual Immaturity – “The book of Hebrews addresses the danger of not living up to what we know is true. The author writes to a group of Christians struggling to continue pursuing Christ.”

Six COVID Controversies in Churches Today

Six COVID Controversies in Churches Today – “Maybe our focus for this season should be more of a focus on grace. After all, we have been shown grace by a Savior who died for us. The least we can do is to demonstrate grace and an attitude of humility to those with whom we may have different opinions.”

Seven of the Most Amazing Things Jesus Ever Said–All in One Chapter

Seven of the Most Amazing Things Jesus Ever Said–All in One Chapter – In Matthew 11:21-30,  Jesus said seven things as amazing as anything He said.

Confess Your Mess to Jesus

Confess Your Mess to Jesus – “Here’s some life-changing news: You don’t have to stay the same! When you confess your mess to Jesus, he lovingly and graciously responds by giving you a fresh start.”

Not Home Yet: The Unfulfilled Longings of Nostalgia

Not Home Yet: The Unfulfilled Longings of Nostalgia – “God has made beautiful things for us to enjoy, but God has also placed eternity in our hearts meaning that we were made with eternity desires, we were made to marvel at eternal beauty, we were made to seek eternal joy and we were made ultimately to find fulfilment in an eternal love. We were made for God.”

He Died to Have Her: The Stubborn Love of Definite Atonement

He Died to Have Her: The Stubborn Love of Definite Atonement – “What does it mean that Christ died for me? When he was pinned to that wood in my place, his lungs collapsing and blood spilling, what did he achieve for me?”

Anchor for Our Soul

Anchor for Our Soul – “During these times of struggle, we have to place our hope and trust in our one and only Higher Power, Jesus Christ. He alone is our Hope and the Anchor for our souls.”

Russell Moore’s Call to Courage in a Culture of Fear

Russell Moore’s Call to Courage in a Culture of Fear – “The surest way to come under personal assault is to speak with conviction on virtually any subject of consequence.”

Are You Prepared For a New Batch of Conspiracy Theories?

Are You Prepared For a New Batch of Conspiracy Theories? – “Truth is that which conforms to reality and, hence if we are to honor God, we must ensure that what we believe and what we communicate is true—that it conforms with reality. We must resist speaking half-truths or full-out lies.”

Seize the Day’s Interruptions

Seize the Day’s Interruptions – “Jesus is our model. With so many demands and requests, and with such important work to do, how did he know when to embrace the unexpected and when to stay focused?”

Well Done > Well Said

Well Done > Well Said – “I’m not saying that we should stop saying the right things. I’m just saying we can’t stop with saying them.”

Can America Stay Free?

Can America Stay Free? – “In light of the presidential election, it’s important to ask ourselves what our national identity is beyond the partisan squabbling, the front-yard election signs and the campaign ads.”

Daring to Speak

Daring to Speak – “This year has been one of deep sorrow and suffering like no other. Not just for us, but for all peoples across the globe. This has been a year marked by suffering. That is the word that will always typify 2020 for me personally: suffering.” 

The Guarantee of Holiness

The Guarantee of Holiness – “It is a very simple principle to grasp. God knows whether you are his or not, but if you profess to know Christ and have no holiness of life, you have no right to assurance that you are a Christian.”

The Absurdity of Pride

The Absurdity of Pride – “Pride might help us feel strong and attractive in our own eyes, at least for a moment. But in reality, it is a gross violation of our created design. When seen accurately it is ugly, destructive, and utterly absurd.”

Then and Back Again: How 1968 Looks like 2020

Then and Back Again: How 1968 Looks like 2020 – “Connecting the dots between 1968 and 2020 is a fruitful line of thinking, because we have circled back to the same uncannily familiar moment of national intensity and upheaval.”

You Can’t Be a Saint by Yourself

You Can’t Be a Saint by Yourself – “This is the Bible’s consistent testimony about holiness. Whether the issue is worship or work, prayer or sexual purity, Scripture affirms that our holiness is never merely personal. It is the foundation of our corporate identity as the church.”

A Soft Answer Represents You

A Soft Answer Represents You – “In that moment when opponents are screaming, tribes are fighting, arguments are escalating, the masses are debating, and no one is listening, there is power in a soft answer, there is strength in a tender heart, there is grace to be found in a measured response, there is mercy to be seen in a loving reply.”

For the Heart That is Overwhelmed

For the Heart That is Overwhelmed – “We all are. Overwhelmed by losses, changes, and the unknowns. Overwhelmed by news reports and disheartening stories. Overwhelmed by what is happening in the world and in our culture. Overwhelmed by worries, fears, and stressors. Just when we think there couldn’t possibly be one more bad thing to happen this year, we learn of another event.”

The Guarantee of Holiness

The Guarantee of Holiness – “The fruit of holiness is found on the branches of every Christian life.”

Do Not Trust Your Anger

Do Not Trust Your Anger – “Our world, including our Christian circles, gives us opportunities galore for anger. It’s not as though provocations lie on only one side of the theological, political, or cultural divides.”

Psalm One And The Ideal Bible Reader

Psalm One And The Ideal Bible Reader – “Psalm One lays out what the ideal reader of the Bible is like through each of the six verses. This ideal Bible reader is one we can aspire to be like.”

Christians, Diversity is Not a Bad Word

Christians, Diversity is Not a Bad Word – “Building relationships with those who are ethnically diverse is unquestionably worth the work, the awkwardness, the inconvenience.”

What Does the Bible Say About Politics?

What Does the Bible Say About Politics? – “What does God’s word say to us in the midst of the 2020 election? What insights can help Christians relate more effectively to our culture as salt and light? How can we make a difference in this season and act in ways that empower our witness when the election is over? Let’s consider three biblical facts.”

Bigger Hearts, not Bigger Barns

Bigger Hearts, not Bigger Barns – “By our sufferings, you intend to gentle us, not harden us; increase our compassion, not intensify our confusion; free us to enter the pain of our friends, not drive us into a closet of self-pity.”

There’s More to the Person Behind The Profile Pic

There’s More to the Person Behind The Profile Pic – “The reality is, people say and do things on social media that don’t capture the fullness of who they are as people.”

How to Master the Art of Disagreement—in the Church and on Social Media

How to Master the Art of Disagreement—in the Church and on Social Media – “Here are eight questions to consider.”

I’m in Sales. How Can I Love Those I’m Selling to?

I’m in Sales. How Can I Love Those I’m Selling to? – “When we reframe our thinking about sales as a way of living out the second greatest commandment—to love our neighbor as we love ourselves—we can pave a path toward sales success that truly honors God.”

The Evaporation of Empathy

The Evaporation of Empathy – “A major consequence of the fact that the majority of us live on the internet is ever-increasing polarization. All kinds of ingredients have melded together to create the white-hot polarization so many of us feel, and one of the most prominent of those ingredients is the evaporation of empathy.”

Who Do You Say That She Was? The Legends of Mary Magdalene

Who Do You Say That She Was? The Legends of Mary Magdalene – “Mary Magdalene is, I believe, the most misunderstood and historically distorted of Jesus’s followers recorded in the New Testament.”

What Is Keeping You From Your Church?

What Is Keeping You From Your Church? – “If your rationale for staying away from your church family hasn’t been carefully defined, you run the risk of never returning to church. 

The Chronicles of Narnia Still Grips Our Imagination, 70 Years Later

The Chronicles of Narnia Still Grips Our Imagination, 70 Years Later – “Lewis recognized that a major obstacle to his generation receiving the gospel wasn’t that the gospel was too mysterious to them, but that it was too familiar.”

The Call—and Cost—of Beautiful Church Community

The Call—and Cost—of Beautiful Church Community – “Experiencing community means experiencing a sense of belonging, of welcome and embrace, a sense of being at home. It’s the exact opposite of feeling you’d rather be someplace else.”

The Command To Like Your Neighbor

The Command To Like Your Neighbor – “Contact evangelism is scary, but it does not carry the messiness of relational evangelism. Who wouldn’t often rather tell someone the gospel and not deal with them again? But that’s not what we are called to. We need to actually like the people we share the gospel with.”

What Do You Do When You Struggle to Pray?

What Do You Do When You Struggle to Pray? – “Every Christian knows the feeling. You know you need to pray, but the words don’t come to you.”

Three Leadership Lessons For All of Us

Three Leadership Lessons For All of Us – “While many truths can be gleaned from this incredible book, Deuteronomy communicates three main lessons of leadership that are not merely for pastors, business leaders, or politicians but for all of us.”

Your Will Be Done

Your Will Be Done – “When we come to God in prayer, expressly saying to him ‘your will be done’, then we are praying a dangerous prayer for at least three reasons.”

Do We Grieve Over False Teachers?

Do We Grieve Over False Teachers? – “Perhaps some of us, in our zeal for good doctrine, have forgotten the purpose of rebuking false teaching altogether: To proclaim the true gospel to the lost...This thought should break our hearts and propel us to preach the true gospel, rather than focusing on the evils of false teaching alone.”

The Future Belongs to God

The Future Belongs to God – “The future is not yet yours; it may never be. Live in the present moment. Tomorrow’s grace is not given to you today. The present moment is the only place where you can touch the eternal realm.”

Worse Than We Think

Worse Than We Think – “Fallen people cannot rescue themselves from their guilt and depravity.”

The Difficult, Precious Business of HOPE

The Difficult, Precious Business of HOPE - “Hope means a continual looking forward to the eternal world, not as a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do.  It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is.  If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.”

On Being “Hearty”

On Being “Hearty” – “Father, the rest of October is gonna be a war for our hearts. May you be the most hope-fueling, heart-capturing, soul-satisfying reality in our loves. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ beautiful and bodacious name.”

What Does It Mean to ‘Fill Up What’s Lacking in Christ’s Afflictions’?

What Does It Mean to ‘Fill Up What’s Lacking in Christ’s Afflictions’? – “What could possibly be lacking in Christ’s afflictions? And in any case, how on earth could Paul fill them up?”

A Lamb Is at the Center of the Throne, Not a Donkey or Elephant

A Lamb Is at the Center of the Throne, Not a Donkey or Elephant – “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'” Rev. 7:17 

If You Don’t See Beauty, Do You Really Know God As Well As You Thought?

If You Don’t See Beauty, Do You Really Know God As Well As You Thought? – “A duck is like God saying, ‘I’m going to make a water chicken with a kazoo for a mouth.’ That doesn’t seem too far from the mark when you think about it. The beauty and creativity of this world came straight from the heart of God.”

Nothing Is for Nothing: Accepting Loss and Finding Peace

Nothing Is for Nothing: Accepting Loss and Finding Peace – “Our powerful, loving, and wise God doesn’t make mistakes. So if he has allowed something into my life, it is the very best thing for me, all things considered. It will maximize my joy and deepen my faith. One day in heaven I will see how everything that God brought into my life was love.”

5 Pagan Myths to Counter 5 Secular Myths

5 Pagan Myths to Counter 5 Secular Myths – “Here I will challenge these five modern secular myths by setting them against five pagan ones.”

The DC Mayor Doesn’t Get to Define Church

The DC Mayor Doesn’t Get to Define Church – “Why Capitol Hill Baptist is standing by the physical gathering as a biblical requirement.”

Remember then Rejoice

Remember then Rejoice – “Do you remember the day when you first believed the gospel?”

Is My Suffering a Correction for Sin?

Is My Suffering a Correction for Sin? – “Let every trial have its sanctifying effect of killing sin, and furthering faith, patience, and love.”

Steady as the Seasons Change

Steady as the Seasons Change – “What we need more than ‘keeping up’ on the ever-changing news is to keep grounded in the unchanging attributes of God—which nature loudly and proudly declares.”

The Uniqueness of Christian Suffering

The Uniqueness of Christian Suffering – “We can easily see that there are additional sufferings afforded to the believer that are not part of the experience of the unbeliever. Three immediately present themselves in the Scriptures…”

Land Mismanagement

Land Mismanagement – “Catastrophic wildfires show we need to exercise better dominion.”

Rejection

Rejection – “No matter how it happens, rejection is hard to overcome. And the closer the relationship, the deeper the anguish.”

What is the Most Important Election in U.S. History?

What is the Most Important Election in U.S. History? – Here’s an interesting perspective on often quoted statement.

Should We Expect Our Jobs to Make Us Happy?

Should We Expect Our Jobs to Make Us Happy? – “Most of us quietly believe that work can support the weight of our happiness.”

How Pornography Is Preying On The Vulnerable In The Midst Of Covid-19

How Pornography Is Preying On The Vulnerable In The Midst Of Covid-19 – All things “pornography” have taken ground during the pandemic shutdowns.

Should We Fight for America’s Good Name?

Should We Fight for America’s Good Name? – “It strikes me that American Christians, who love the truth and who lay claim to another citizenship, are in the best position to remember America’s true story: its nobility as well as its flaws.”

The Ballot Booth Is Not Your Baptism

The Ballot Booth Is Not Your Baptism – “Even as we ought to be engaged and active as Christians, processing politics in light of the kingdom of God, we should be on guard against partisan heresy that replaces or reinterprets God’s agenda in light of contemporary politics.”

The ‘New You’ Isn’t the Answer

The ‘New You’ Isn’t the Answer – “Change the process completely and not start by looking inside yourself, but by looking outside yourself, looking up to the only One who can truly make a ‘new you’—a better you, the you he created you to be.”

Anger, Panic, And The Psalms

Anger, Panic, And The Psalms – “The world is a scary mess right now. There’s an overstock currently on reasons to feel panic and anger, and most of them are out of our control. If we let them, these feelings have the power to eat us from the inside out. But it doesn’t have to be that way.”

God and Government

God and Government – “What can we learn from Jesus—from one interaction in particular—about God and government? More than we might think.”

Parents, the Little Moments Matter Most

Parents, the Little Moments Matter Most – “I heard the message in his words loud and clear. I want to love my children well, and I want to give them Christ. That’s what they’ll remember, because that’s what matters.”

This Isn’t Going to Be as Easy as it Looks

This Isn’t Going to Be as Easy as it Looks – “Difficult situations arise on an almost daily basis. How we respond to these situations is the issue. Do we respond in fear or do we respond in faith?”

Parents, Waste Time With Your Kids

Parents, Waste Time With Your Kids – “Parents, waste some time with your kids, because time wasted with your kids is an investment you will never regret. Not every moment you spend with your children needs to be carefully planned or rehearsed.”

Autumn and the Beauty of Death for the Christian

Autumn and the Beauty of Death for the Christian – “I am not talking about Christian death being beautiful because it is somehow less physically painful or less final on this side of eternity than non-Christian death. I am talking about Christian death being beautiful because the gospel gives us God’s perspective on even our final enemy, death.”

Leading People to Long for the Day of the Lord

Leading People to Long for the Day of the Lord – “Live this day in light of his Day.”

Recovering an Overlooked Missions Verse

Recovering an Overlooked Missions Verse – “We often quote these words for their hope-filled message of personal assurance for all believers. But perhaps we’ve missed how they can spur us to greater support and sacrifice for the gospel’s spread.”

Put Not Your Trust In Princes

Put Not Your Trust In Princes – Paul Tripp shares  that our hopes are in a greater King.

How Do We Get Tricked into Sinning?

How Do We Get Tricked into Sinning? – “Nobody sins out of duty. You only sin because the master makes it look so appealing.”

How to Pray for the African Church

How to Pray for the African Church – “Here are a few items worth thanking God for and truly needing your prayer support for the church in Africa at the start of the 21st century.”

Me and Nebuchadnezzar

Me and Nebuchadnezzar – “Like Nebuchadnezzar, we’re in constant need of getting low and acknowledging your sovereign rule over all things. Since grace runs downhill, that’s always the best posture to take.”

Two Invisible Enemies: How Satan Might Use a Pandemic

Two Invisible Enemies: How Satan Might Use a Pandemic – “We need to be vigilant every day of our lives, not just during a pandemic. But Satan is also crafty to use any circumstance for our ill. How might Satan be particularly tempting Christians to sin during COVID-19?”

Watch Those Calories! A Digital Diet for Mental Health

Watch Those Calories! A Digital Diet for Mental Health – “I want to propose a digital diet for long-term mental health as one of the ways we respond to biblical injunctions to replace anxiety with peace (e.g., Matt. 6:25–34).”

How to Prepare for the Next Cultural Revolution

How to Prepare for the Next Cultural Revolution – “Had believers studied worldviews, they would have recognized that critical theory is embedded in naturalism, a false ideology that denies the foundations of the Christian faith. Now that we know the importance of worldview training, we can prepare for the next cultural revolution.”

Work That Pleases God

Work That Pleases God – “The purpose is God tests us in our daily work. The praise is God delights in our daily work. That will get you out of bed in the morning won’t it?”

How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament

How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament – Until you understand the “genre” of the text you are reading, you won’t know how to understand and apply it’s truth.

Beware the Hero Pastor

Beware the Hero Pastor – This spoke to me in two ways because I’ve lived on both sides of this equation.

Good News Hearts in a Bad News World

Good News Hearts in a Bad News World – “Surely the righteous will never be shaken… They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure; they will have no fear.” Psalm 112:6-8  

How President Trump’s Critics Have Responded To His Illness

How President Trump’s Critics Have Responded To His Illness – Three sources of incivility and three invitations for Christians.

Our Afflictions Are So Many

Our Afflictions Are So Many – “Being God’s people, ‘the righteous,’ is no promise of earthly ease.”

When God Doesn’t Choose You For A Miracle

When God Doesn’t Choose You For A Miracle – “How do we respond when it feels like God doesn’t choose us for a miracle?”

The Church Is You, So the Church Will Be Like You

The Church Is You, So the Church Will Be Like You – “If you criticize people, rant about them, cut them down, grumble about them, condemn them in your own heart, you’re not just doing that as an individual but as a part of a church.”

Thirsting for God

Thirsting for God – “Out of all the many ways Covid has stoked deep dissatisfactions within us, the deepest of them all should be our not being able to meet and worship as we used to. Not because of the act of worship in itself; but because of how God uses these means to impart himself to us.”

How Can I Handle School Anxiety This Fall?

How Can I Handle School Anxiety This Fall? – “Here are a few thoughts about God’s words to you.”

4 Keys to a Heart-Level Discipleship

4 Keys to a Heart-Level Discipleship – “Here are four ways to take your personal discipleship deeper, beyond the mind to the level of the heart.”

Why Did Demons Ask Jesus for Pigs?

Why Did Demons Ask Jesus for Pigs? – “When Jesus comes, he brings deliverance, freedom, grace, and power. But some people prefer what life is like without him.”

How Things Have Changed: Reflections of a Millennial Pastor in a Gen Z World

How Things Have Changed: Reflections of a Millennial Pastor in a Gen Z World – “The dominant chorus of ‘you are strong’ has been replaced with the subtle dirge ‘you are weak.’”

Protection Not Secrecy

Protection Not Secrecy – “We know that a marriage involving two sinners is going to have difficulty. In those moments of trials, how will we respond? As Christians, we are responsible for our actions and our reactions.”

Are You Cheating on Your Church?

Are You Cheating on Your Church? – “The tendency to merely sit back and receive rather than invest in real relationships was already prevalent in our pre-COVID world. But this pandemic seems to have elevated the desire for non-committal consumption.”

A Time for Humility, Prayer, and Trust

A Time for Humility, Prayer, and Trust – Regardless of political positions, we pray for our president just now as we pray for all those in authority. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

I Lift Up My Eyes to the Fields

I Lift Up My Eyes to the Fields – “I lift up my eyes to hills. I lift them up to the fields. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.”

When ‘You Are Enough’ Simply Isn’t Enough

When ‘You Are Enough’ Simply Isn’t Enough – “Convincing ourselves we are enough is not the answer to our emptiness. It is not more of ourselves we need.”

How to Hold Your Tongue About Politics And Thereby Not Split Your Church Over Things the Bible Doesn’t Talk About

How to Hold Your Tongue About Politics And Thereby Not Split Your Church Over Things the Bible Doesn’t Talk About – “I was talking with a friend the other day, and we both lamented that neither of us could remember the last time we had a conversation that wasn’t about pandemics, protests, or people pining to be president—all of which, of course, is patently political.”

10 Guidelines for Christian Voters

10 Guidelines for Christian Voters – This isn’t the beginning and the end but it’s a place to start.

The Real Cost of Using Social Media

The Real Cost of Using Social Media – “When the attention economy first started, the goal was to learn as much about user behavior as possible so that advertisements could be placed in front of the most interested eyes. Today, the goal of the attention economy is not just to learn about human behavior, but to influence or, often more maliciously, to manipulate human behavior.”