What’s On Your Bucket List?

What’s On Your Bucket List? – “The Bible is clear on how believers should live as we await the nearing end. Here are three action steps from 1 Peter 4.”

Advent: A Story of Love

Advent: A Story of Love – “Humanity needed to be rescued. Someone was required to do what we could not do for ourselves: defeat the love of self and restore the love of God in our hearts.”

How to Be a Nonanxious Presence in a Politically Anxious World

How to Be a Nonanxious Presence in a Politically Anxious World – “Political parties prove fickle. Jesus has promised to never leave us or forsake us—which frees us to be a non-anxious presence in an anxious culture.”

 

The Holy Spirit is a Political Liability

The Holy Spirit is a Political Liability – “Right now in evangelicalism there is a movement afoot that would like the church to become more like the world in how it tries to wage culture war.”

Amusing Ourselves from Death

Amusing Ourselves from Death – “Even people who don’t believe in God are subconsciously ruled by the fear of death, one way or the other.”

 

The Way Out of Our Stupid Age

The Way Out of Our Stupid Age – It all comes back to Jesus.

Dog-Fights and Discernment

Dog-Fights and Discernment – “While I can’t say that their means and methods were objectively wrong, they weren’t helpful and they didn’t build me up (1 Cor 10:23).”

Finding Hope When Things Aren’t As They Should Be

Finding Hope When Things Aren’t As They Should Be – “The year is winding down, we’re getting busy making plans and preparations for different events. As we enter the first week of advent, what are you hoping for this season?”

 

The Names in Jesus’ Genealogy and What They Mean

The Names in Jesus’ Genealogy and What They Mean – “As we enter the Advent season, it is a good time to be reminded that Jesus was a real person, who had a real family, and real ancestors. Here is a list of Jesus’ ancestors by name, along with the meaning of each name.”

 

The Glory of Church Graveyards

The Glory of Church Graveyards – “Here are five reasons I think there is glory in a church having a graveyard attached to it.”

 

The Ghost of Mario Cuomo Returns—on Marriage

The Ghost of Mario Cuomo Returns—on Marriage – “Personally opposed but publicly supportive of same-sex marriage is a formula for disaster.”

Don’t Flatter the Wolves!

Don’t Flatter the Wolves! – “Paul warned us that wolves would arise within the church to attack the flock (Acts 20:29-30). It's not good enough to flatter the wolves about their graciousness and seeking to be faithful to Christ. This is not protecting the flock but cosying up to the wolves.”

What Are Spiritual Gifts and How Do We Use Them?

What Are Spiritual Gifts and How Do We Use Them? – “That is ultimately what makes a gift a spiritual gift. It is from faith for the purposes of building up faith.”

 

Benefits of Giving Thanks

Benefits of Giving Thanks – “Though our US holiday of Thanksgiving is over, giving thanks should continue. This year I saw some benefits to thanksgiving, some of which I don’t remember noticing before.”

25 Tiny Ways to Welcome Kids in Church

25 Tiny Ways to Welcome Kids in Church – “In these small ways (and many more) we honor our Lord Jesus, who welcomed little children, affirmed their value in his kingdom, and commanded us to make it easy for them to come into his presence.”

Teach me to pray: The List

Teach me to pray: The List – Here’s a simple way to structure your prayer time.

Injustice: The Gratitude Snatcher

Injustice: The Gratitude Snatcher – “No one wants to walk in ingratitude, and yet gratitude can be so quickly snatched from us.”

How to Plan Your Giving as a Married Couple

How to Plan Your Giving as a Married Couple – “In our deliberations and decision making, we recommend the following process…”

Not-Really-Already-But-Definitely-Not Yet

Not-Really-Already-But-Definitely-Not Yet – “A God's-eye-view of the world will destroy those who aren't God.”

 

Who Will Walk These Streets?

Who Will Walk These Streets? – “Family of Christ, what kind of people will we be? Those that actively pursue the lost or those that passively stand by?”

 

Nothing is Impossible…

Nothing is Impossible… - “When you face things that are impossible it can bring up many questions. What will happen if we cannot make ends meet? Will my wayward child ever come back to the Lord? Will I always be alone? Will I get better? What if my friend or family member never comes to know Jesus?”

Advent Is Pregnant with Jesus’ Two Comings

Advent Is Pregnant with Jesus’ Two Comings – “Jesus, may we never forget. You came to save us from our sins—not to make our lives easy, or to usher in our idea of utopia.” 

The Purposes of God in the Pain of the World

The Purposes of God in the Pain of the World – “In turning to the Scriptures, I want to start by giving two answers that the Bible says are wrong and then four answers that I think the Bible says are right.”

 

Honor an Old Face: The Lost Art of Respecting Our Elders

Honor an Old Face: The Lost Art of Respecting Our Elders – “Why don’t we stand before the elderly man in our midst? Why so little honor paid to the weathered face of the old woman? Why so little fear of God?”

20 Quotes from Dane Ortlund on Hell

20 Quotes from Dane Ortlund on Hell – “The doctrine of hell is a vital part of living well amid the miseries of this world. It may be painful for a patient to be told he has a rapidly spreading cancer, but this news is crucial for him to hear if he is to receive treatment, get his affairs in order, and live his remaining days meaningfully.”

 

A Workaday Faith

A Workaday Faith – “If you don’t get to do everything you hoped, remember Isaac, the patron saint of raising your kids, paying your bills, and trusting God.”

10 Ways to Redefine Gratitude

10 Ways to Redefine Gratitude – “By redefining how we think about gratitude our journey of faith doesn’t have to be just seen through the lens of success—or failure.”

 

Is Islam Really the Fastest Growing Religion in the World?

Is Islam Really the Fastest Growing Religion in the World? – “How should Christians respond to these statistics? We should come in humility to Christ and pray fervently for him to use us as his laborers among Muslims, locally and globally.”

The Search for Authenticity

The Search for Authenticity – “I often wonder if it isn’t authenticity people are after, because when churches are what they are, many seem dissatisfied with them.”

David French and the Future of Orthodox Protestantism

David French and the Future of Orthodox Protestantism – “It is now clear that orthodox Protestants, specifically evangelicals, do not own the country. Whether they ever did is a matter for debate; that they thought they did is indisputable.”

The Spiritual Discipline of Thanksgiving

The Spiritual Discipline of Thanksgiving – “Nowhere does the Bible say thanking God is easy. But nowhere does the Bible say thanking God is optional. It’s not a practice reserved only for the good times. It’s a spiritual discipline necessary at all times.”

Four Tips for Having Good Conversations

Four Tips for Having Good Conversations – “What if I told you it’s possible to have great conversations with almost anyone without wasting your time, getting bored, or even offending anyone? Here are four tips to help you do just that this holiday season.”

Three Habits of Gratitude God Wants Us to Develop

Three Habits of Gratitude God Wants Us to Develop – “You can incorporate any—or all—of these expressions of gratitude into your worship service this weekend. They are everyday habits of a grateful heart.”

Should We Seek to Suffer?

Should We Seek to Suffer? – “Do good, and hope for a good reception for your good, but if suffering comes, you’re blessed.”

The Subversive Power of ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’

The Subversive Power of ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ – “There aren’t two kinds of people in the world: hallowers and non-hallowers. There is only one kind: the hallower, the worshiper.”

Fleeing the Love of Money

Fleeing the Love of Money – “Greed is so normal and acceptable that we don’t see the need to flee. We feel Jesus and Paul were overstating things by saying things like you cannot serve both God and money; we’re prepared to give it a go!”

How to Keep Praying: Four Lessons from the Master

How to Keep Praying: Four Lessons from the Master – “In the Gospels, Jesus comes to pray-ers like us — discouraged, distracted, willing in spirit but weak in flesh — and he gives us a heart to pray.”

What Is Thanksgiving Day?

What Is Thanksgiving Day? – “What does it benefit us to know that God creates and sustains all things? The answer is it gives patience in adversity and gratitude in prosperity.”

‘I Will Grieve but not Grumble, Mourn but not Murmur, Weep but not Whine’

‘I Will Grieve but not Grumble, Mourn but not Murmur, Weep but not Whine’ – “What Tim Challies resolved in the wake of his son’s sudden death.”

The Irony of Thanksgiving

The Irony of Thanksgiving – “When non-Christians give thanks for all God has made, it’s the essence of irony. They enjoy his gifts and express thanks but deny the Giver.”

15 Things You Might Forget to Be Thankful For

15 Things You Might Forget to Be Thankful For – “Maybe it would be a lot easier for you to make a list of disappointments and difficulties than a list of things you’re thankful for this year. Wherever you find yourself this Thanksgiving, God is worthy of your thanksgiving, even if your circumstances are not.”

The Discipline of Thanksgiving

The Discipline of Thanksgiving – “Here are five reasons we may find it hard to practice giving thanks, and how the discipline of thanksgiving keeps us focused.”

Missed Your Quiet Time? Do This.

Missed Your Quiet Time? Do This. – “I’ve allotted an hour to spend time with the Lord before work in the morning but woke up late. Now what?”

Your Spouse Is God’s Creation: Celebrating Differences in Marriage

Your Spouse Is God’s Creation: Celebrating Differences in Marriage – “Scripture repeatedly calls us to worship God as we stand in awe of his created world, but how often do we remember to celebrate his creative decisions in our spouse?”

 

Pray Your Way into Thanksgiving

Pray Your Way into Thanksgiving – “Negatively, aim by prayer to be done with anxiety. And positively, aim by prayer to enjoy constant peace.”

How to Tell If You Are Blessed

How to Tell If You Are Blessed – “Throughout the first psalm, the author gives a sweeping view of the blessed life through contrast.”

Thanksgiving Makes Me Hungry

Thanksgiving Makes Me Hungry – “His banquet is the one soul-satisfying feast that will never ever end.”

Trusting God Through Terminal Illness

Trusting God Through Terminal Illness – “Here are four things that God is teaching me. I need to remind myself of them constantly and though I sometimes forget, I know that he never forgets me.”

On Thankfulness

On Thankfulness – “This is a truth we all need to learn. “God, by definition, does not do things that are not good. He is goodness. He cannot act otherwise.”

Three Ways God Uses Friendship

Three Ways God Uses Friendship – “God never intended for us to grow on our own. We are made to thrive in community—which means we were made to grow in the context of friendships.”

 

How Political Is the Gospel?

How Political Is the Gospel? – “Religion and politics not only shouldn’t be seen as separate spheres—they actually overlap completely. Believers don’t need to be less political. Rather, they need to be discipled so they’re appropriately political.”

What does “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” mean?

What does “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” mean? – “But what exactly does this phrase from James mean? Does it mean that we will receive everything we pray for, or that holiness strengthens our prayers? Before answering these questions and pointing out the characteristics of effective prayer, let’s look at the verse in its context.”

God is Always Working, Even When We Don’t See

God is Always Working, Even When We Don’t See – “I encouraged myself by reminding myself of times in Scripture or in my own life where I saw His answer after an extended period of seeming inactivity.”

Finding Gratitude When You’re Feeling Stuck

Finding Gratitude When You’re Feeling Stuck – “You may feel like the path before you is littered with one boulder after another. Nonetheless, Scripture assures you that you can rejoice even here.”

To the Impetuous and Impulsive

To the Impetuous and Impulsive – “It is God’s pleasure to use us in his service just as he used Peter. And while he does shape and sanctify us, he does not destroy us along the way. The one who gives boldness to the timid gives patience to the impulsive.”

How Does Baptism Save Us?

How Does Baptism Save Us? – “Baptism is described as an act signifying the new birth, of burying the old self and rising from the water with the new self.”

Can Christians Date Nonbelievers?

Can Christians Date Nonbelievers? – “Would anyone who genuinely loves Jesus sincerely prefer to marry someone who doesn’t? No, but when the question comes, it’s not theoretical anymore.” 

Gray Hair Is a Crown of Glory

Gray Hair Is a Crown of Glory – “A pastor in our area once told me that the median age of his church was somewhere in the mid-20’s, and that he had no one over the age of 50. Many would have been impressed by such a fact. However, I was a bit sad to hear it…”

 

New Husbands: Farm for Joy

New Husbands: Farm for Joy – “If you’re a husband, you’re a farmer. You’re a farmer of joy. Consider these four ways to cultivate joy in your new home.”

What If I Differ with My Pastor on Politics?

What If I Differ with My Pastor on Politics? – ...Or your friends, family, small group...Here are some good, biblical suggestions.

Passionate Love, Grateful Awe, and Wholehearted Trust

Passionate Love, Grateful Awe, and Wholehearted Trust – “Fill us with passionate love, grateful awe, and wholehearted trust in you. So Very Amen.”

Lead Me, O Lord: Ten Prayers for Christian Leaders

Lead Me, O Lord: Ten Prayers for Christian Leaders – These are prayers that would serve well for any follower of Jesus.

Pursue a Talent-Without-End Discipleship Strategy

Pursue a Talent-Without-End Discipleship Strategy – “If a side isn’t constantly developing talent, they can rely too much on aging and burned-out stars. I fear we often do the same in the church.”

World Cup: Invitation to Pray for Qatar

World Cup: Invitation to Pray for Qatar – “Qatar is a place where the gospel has yet to penetrate the indigenous population. Perhaps the World Cup will awaken the church to prayer and action for this nation.”

Christian Maturity and Secular Infancy

Christian Maturity and Secular Infancy – “Christianity entails many divine ironies—the dead man lives; the humble woman is exalted; the servant is the King; finding life is losing it. Another irony less noticed by many Christians is this—increased Christian maturity always brings more child-like dependence.”

A Spiritual MRI of the Heart

A Spiritual MRI of the Heart – “How then do we do this vital work of guarding our hearts? The first step is to do a ‘spiritual MRI scan’ of our hearts. We need to know the current state of our hearts so that we can address the problems and weaknesses we find.”

3 Steps Christian Institutions Take from Orthodoxy to Sexual Immorality

3 Steps Christian Institutions Take from Orthodoxy to Sexual Immorality – “It might be presumptuous to imply the path from orthodoxy to heterodoxy is the same for all institutions. Yet there does seem to be a recurring pattern that includes three steps.”

The Refuge of Repentance

The Refuge of Repentance – “If you’re hiding sin and wasting away in the darkness. Listen to the invitation of the shepherd king, who knew all about hiding.”

Truths Which Satan Uses to Stop Us from Praying

Truths Which Satan Uses to Stop Us from Praying – “Here are eight true statements Satan uses to put a stop to the most powerful force in the world, the prayers of God’s people.”

Peace That Passes All Understanding

Peace That Passes All Understanding – “The emphasis is not on how we pray. It is on the God who has come close, who hears, and who is with us.”

Four Practical Ways to Cultivate Personal Evangelism

Four Practical Ways to Cultivate Personal Evangelism – “What are some practical ways we can all cultivate personal evangelism in our lives?”

Do Unbelievers Get a Second Chance After Death?

Do Unbelievers Get a Second Chance After Death? – “There’s no preaching to the dead between Good Friday and Easter. Whether that happened or not, I’m saying that’s not what this text is about.”

3 Ways Gospel Centrality Shapes Our Everyday Lives

3 Ways Gospel Centrality Shapes Our Everyday Lives – “Here are three examples of how gospel centrality affects the life of a Christian.”

Canada Euthanized 10,000 People in 2021. Has Death Lost Its Sting?

Canada Euthanized 10,000 People in 2021. Has Death Lost Its Sting? – “Here’s what I’ve learned as a Christian doctor receiving requests for physician-assisted dying.”

How Being Grateful Improves Your Life

How Being Grateful Improves Your Life – “This Thanksgiving, honor God by making gratitude the center of everything you and your family does, and watch how God rewards you with blessings and benefits.”  

 

Prayer Moves the Plot Forward: A Meditation on Ruth

Prayer Moves the Plot Forward: A Meditation on Ruth – “Ruth as a reminder that God is using our prayer to bring about His intervention, protection, and redemption. May the prayers God answered in Ruth lead us to offer our own in faith.”

God Made the World for Worship

God Made the World for Worship – “When you gather in worship next Sunday, remember: you are a rehearsal of the end for which God made the world.”

Screen Sabbaths: A Modest Proposal for a Digital World

Screen Sabbaths: A Modest Proposal for a Digital World – “What might happen if, for one day a week, you silenced the hum and darkened the glow of every device? If you knew you would hear no ding and feel no vibration? If every impulse to text, check, or divert were thwarted by an empty pocket? What might happen on such a day?”

9 More Things You Should Know About Hinduism

9 More Things You Should Know About Hinduism – “Hinduism is an ancient polytheistic, pantheistic, henotheistic, and animistic religion, which is mystically syncretized with peculiar beliefs and practices. That sentence alone is confusing!”

Christian Parents: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Christian Parents: Something Wicked This Way Comes – “Will Christian parents face criminal charges for resisting the LGBTQ revolution when it comes for their own children? Should the state “protect” LGBTQ children and teenagers from their own parents? Has our society lost its mind?”

The Greatness of Gentleness

The Greatness of Gentleness – “At a time when many are thinned-skinned, fear-intoxicated, and hair-trigger sensitive… grant us the revolutionary power of a non-anxious, non-judgmental, caring presence.”

10 Things You Should Know about Islam

10 Things You Should Know about Islam – These are helpful things to know as you interact with Muslim neighbors.

Evangelism Isn’t Disrespectful

Evangelism Isn’t Disrespectful – “I was recently told that Christians are disrespectful because they evangelize. The reason is that evangelism requires the Christian to assume he is right and the other person is wrong.”

How Do I Pray from the Misery of My Sin?

How Do I Pray from the Misery of My Sin? – “You have no right to tell God he can’t give you good news.”

Protecting Your Teenagers Online

Protecting Your Teenagers Online – “As a dad, I would jump to defend my children from a ‘bad guy’ trying to hurt them physically. I’m sure you would do the same. Does that same intensity translate into protecting the minds and hearts of our children online?”

 

The Purpose of Rain

The Purpose of Rain – “A perfectly holy God gifts us his holy word so we would be rescued from the sin we could not escape on our own and be progressively transformed into his likeness.”

 

The Shadowy Nature of the Theocracy

The Shadowy Nature of the Theocracy – “With a burgeoning interest in the idea of Christian Nationalism, the Christian Church in America has seen a renewed interest in modified versions of theonomy.”

What Does God Want of Me?

What Does God Want of Me? – Here are “three questions to ask the next time you’re faced with a difficult situation in life.”

How to Recognize God’s Voice

How to Recognize God’s Voice – It’s as simple as MNOPQRST.

The Message of Hurricane Ian

The Message of Hurricane Ian – “For with all of the advancements of man, for all our technology and knowledge, weather reminds us that we are small, frail, and weak.”

3 Questions to Ask When Anxiety Strikes

3 Questions to Ask When Anxiety Strikes – “How, then, can we reorient ourselves when anxiety threatens to overwhelm us?”

Your Tears Have Good Company

Your Tears Have Good Company – “The son of God, the darling of heaven, the eternal word, the shaper of worlds, the sustainer of life, the author of faith, the coming judge, the lamb of God—wept. Take comfort—your tears have good company.”

How to Fail a Wife: Learning Marriage from a Bad Husband

How to Fail a Wife: Learning Marriage from a Bad Husband  - “What might we learn from that first bad husband? We’ll study their marital collapse in three stages.”

5 Things You Should Know about Justification

5 Things You Should Know about Justification – “While this doctrine is of tremendous theological importance and can be a subject of deep scholarly study, here are five truths all God’s people should know about the doctrine of justification.”

8 Reasons to Rethink the Song of Songs

8 Reasons to Rethink the Song of Songs – “While the arguments and interpretations of Revelation run red-hot, Song of Songs tends to be entrenched in assumptions. I want you to rethink what you might think about the Song of Songs.” 

20 Quotes from Tim Keller on Forgiveness

20 Quotes from Tim Keller on Forgiveness – “In an age in which everything is permitted and nothing is forgiven, Tim Keller’s Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I? (Viking, 2022) is a powerfully timely book. Here are 20 quotes on the freedom that real forgiveness provides a bitter and broken world.”

When You Feel Overwhelmed

When You Feel Overwhelmed – “I’m sure there are coping mechanisms and skills to learn which would help in times such as these. But I am not a counselor, or a therapist. And while it is on my to-do list to find a good one for my own well-being, I needed to do something about the stress in my life.”

The Tyranny of Sin

The Tyranny of Sin – “Quite often, we play with sin as if it were a favored pet that could never turn on us, but in reality, the only reason we think little of it is because it has already sunk its teeth into us and has us under its sway.”

Spiritual Gloom and Psalm 42

Spiritual Gloom and Psalm 42 – “It’s a Psalm littered with remedies reliable enough to cure the sickness of spiritual gloom.”

 

In The World, You Will Have Trouble

In The World, You Will Have Trouble – “The world is in a state of fear and chaos after the trauma of a global pandemic, political uprisings, and worldwide failing economies. We struggle to find peace and stability when we fear the future.”

Your Marriage Needs Work

Your Marriage Needs Work – “Two sinners living one life for God’s glory won’t happen unintentionally. It takes work.”

 

Four Ways to Follow Satan

Four Ways to Follow Satan – “No one sets out to ditch God and follow Satan, but these shortcuts have exactly that effect.”

Christianity Isn’t Your Usual Mountain Hike

Christianity Isn’t Your Usual Mountain Hike – “The Christian story is not about humanity ascending but about God descending.”

Why Do Chinese People See Christianity as a Cultural Invasion?

Why Do Chinese People See Christianity as a Cultural Invasion? – “Since the 19th century, Christianity has been associated with Western imperialism in the minds of Chinese people.”

Embrace a Countercultural Vision of Sex

Embrace a Countercultural Vision of Sex – “More than ever, husbands and wives need the Bible’s countercultural perspective on sexuality.”

I...Declare...Sovereignty!

I...Declare...Sovereignty! – “The sovereignty of God not only assures your eternal destiny, but also guarantees life in him and with him until that day comes.”

Receive Children, Welcome Jesus

Receive Children, Welcome Jesus – “Parents are the primary disciple-makers in their children’s lives, and we get to come alongside and support their efforts by declaring the gospel’s truth.”

Satan Hates Him

Satan Hates Him – “Yes, we know that Satan hates Jesus, marriage, and evangelism. But perhaps we should also consider his hatred for the Holy Spirit.”

 

Christ’s Death Was No Accident

Christ’s Death Was No Accident – “Christ did not die by accident. This had been planned since before the foundation of the world.”

Harvesting Idols

Harvesting Idols – “Where prosperity increases, so does the opportunity for the idols of our heart to flourish. Our own resources capture our imagination and become the objects of our trust.”

The Worshipper

The Worshipper – “He is a worshipper. His life revolves around his worship. Nothing stops him. There is no doubt about his worship. Everyone knows the object of his worship, because he cannot stop talking about it.” Be sure to read to the end. It’s worth it.

She Needs Truth: How Hard Words Serve Women

She Needs Truth: How Hard Words Serve Women – “The longer I live, the more I realize how rare it is to have a mother, or anyone at all, who earnestly warns those around them of the deadliness of sin.”

“Christian Nationalism” Misrepresents Jesus, So We Should Reject It

“Christian Nationalism” Misrepresents Jesus, So We Should Reject It – “Folks these days use the phrase ‘Christian nationalism’ and ‘Christian nation’ in one of two ways. Some mean that Christianity should influence the nation and its laws. Others mean that the nation and its government should actually identify as Christian. The problem is, many people, Christian and non-Christians, advocates and critics, don’t recognize the difference.”