Four Accounts, One Savior

Four Accounts, One Savior - The significance of Jesus' birth is best understood in the totality of his life, teachings, death, and resurrection.

The Freedom to Be Slaves

The Freedom to Be Slaves - Phil Colgan writes about spiritual maturity.

Four Little Words

Four Little Words - What is the likelihood you’ll be at church on Sunday? 50%? 25%?

Entitlement and Thanksgiving

Entitlement and Thanksgiving - The article gives simple examples of times we are either one or the other.

A Prayer for Overflowing with Thankfulness

A Prayer for Overflowing with Thankfulness - Be generously thankful.

The Spiritual Discipline That Impacts Everything

The Spiritual Discipline That Impacts Everything - As you look toward God's work in your life in 2014, you can't leave this one out.

Ten Times It's Wise to Hold Your Tongue

Ten Times It's Wise to Hold Your Tongue - The Bible tells us to be "slow to speak". Here are examples of such times.

Know Your Christianese: Prayer Edition

Know Your Christianese: Prayer Edition - Interesting article on common prayer lingo.

Happy Thanksgiving from ‘America’s Funniest Videos’

Happy Thanksgiving from ‘America’s Funniest Videos’

Putting Thankfulness Into Practice

PuttingThankfulness Into Practice – There's more to thankfulness than being thankful.

Five Truths About Thanksgiving

Five Truths About Thanksgiving – Thanksgiving is a pervasive and essential concept in Scripture. And although it is good to set aside a Thursday each November to cultivate a heart of thanksgiving, the Scriptures have more to say about giving thanks than one day a year can handle. Here are five biblical truths about thanksgiving.

True Woman | Five Ways to Make the Holidays More Peaceful

Five Ways to Make the Holidays More Peaceful - Practical advice for Thanksgiving gatherings with family and friends.

How to Deal with Holiday Family Tensions

How to Deal with Holiday Family Tensions – Russell Moore writes on a timely topic for Thanksgiving.

10 Days of Simple and Strategic Prayer for Your Church

10 Days of Simple and Strategic Prayer for Your Church - God would do amazing things in such a praying church.

How to Share the Gospel With an Atheist

How to Share the Gospel With an Atheist – This article is simple and covers sharing the Gospel with most people.

9 Things You Should Know About C.S. Lewis

9 Things You Should Know About C.S. Lewis - Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of Clive Staples Lewis, one of the most well known, widely read, and often quoted Christian author of modern times. Here are nine things you should know about the author and apologist who has been called "The Apostle to the Skeptics."

How Can We Give Thanks in All Circumstances?

How Can We Give Thanks in All Circumstances? – Jon Bloom addresses the “all circumstances” part of 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

A Plea to Prospective University Students

A Plea to Prospective University Students - This is a good word on students choosing the place they will attend college. There is much focus on academics and amenities while the spiritual environment and opportunities or deficits are not considered.

Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done - This article gives good summary points of David Allen's book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

5 Things God Teaches Us in the Tragic Deaths of Ananias & Sapphira

5 Things God Teaches Us in the Tragic Deaths of Ananias & Sapphira – J.D. Greear writes, “The story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 lets us know that despite the explosion of growth in the early church, they had moments of weakness, even gross sin. I believe that their deaths serve as a warning to the Church today, and that God has a lot to teach us—if we are willing to hear.”

Should Christians Drink Alcohol?

Should Christians Drink Alcohol? - Jim Denison takes on a hot topic and handles it well. He give three reasons why he abstains personally – all reasons I share and have shared with others as well.

12 Reasons Why a Pastor Quit Attending Sporting Events

12 Reasons Why a Pastor Quit Attending Sporting Events – I’ve seen these before but having encountered most of them this week, I thought I’d share.  

1. The coach never came to visit me.
2. Every time I went, they asked for money.
3. The people sitting in my row didn’t seem very friendly.
4. The seats were very hard.
5. The referees made a decision I didn’t agree with.
6. I was sitting with hypocrites—they only came to see what others were wearing!
7. Some games went into overtime and I was late getting home.
8. The band played some songs I had never heard before.
9. The games are scheduled on my only day to sleep in and run errands.
10. My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up.
11. Since I read a book on sports, I feel that I know more than the coaches, anyway.
12. I don’t want to take my children because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.

Good News of Great Joy: Daily Readings for Advent

Good News of Great Joy: Daily Readings for Advent - Advent is just around the corner. It starts the fourth Sunday before Christmas — this year, that’s December 1 — and is a season of preparation for Christmas Day. Follow this link to multiple options for downloading these daily devotionals for free.

A Prayer for Those Battling Sin

A Prayer for Those Battling Sin - Puritan theologian John Owen wrote the classic work The Mortification of Sin in 1656 to analyze and apply what Paul meant in Romans 8:13 when he said, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you “put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” This prayer is based on that work.

Why You Can’t Push Your Kids into the Kingdom

Why You Can’t Push Your Kids into the Kingdom – This is a good article for Christian families.

Why You Need to Get Real About Your Weaknesses

Why You Need to Get Real About Your Weaknesses – A good word from Rick Warren’s own testimony. It’s true for pastors and true for us all.

5 Things Mistaken for Evangelism

5 Things Mistaken for Evangelism - Mark Dever notes some things that cause confusion when we are thinking about sharing the Gospel message.

Living a Life with Margins

Living a Life with Margins – This article provides helpful suggestions for creating margin in your life. We need it for our own well-being and for our availability to God purposes.

Do You Have a Bias Toward Action?

Do You Have a Bias Toward Action? - Author and consultant Tom Peters popularized the phrase a “bias toward action” to describe organizations that are led with a posture to execute rather than a posture to evaluate constantly. The opposite of a bias toward action is the dreaded state of “paralysis by analysis.”

4 Questions To Ask Your Money

4 Questions To Ask Your Money – These are worthwhile questions in considering the use of our money.

Forgotten Christmas

Forgotten Christmas - This article from James Denison incorporates a video we will share on Sunday, December 1. It may change how you think and practice Christmas this year.

Six Leadership Lessons from a Coach Whose Team Never Punts

Six Leadership Lessons from a Coach Whose Team Never Punts - The applications are meant for pastors but any person in leadership would be challenged by the video.

How To Live in a Secular Culture

How To Live in a Secular Culture - How should Christians relate to a secular society that does not know Jesus? Paul’s letter to Titus sheds light on this scenario, showing us how God’s grace should motivate Christians to be good citizens and neighbors.

Why You Need to Be in a Bible Fellowship Group

We Are Far Too Easily Displeased

We Are Far Too Easily Displeased – Jon Bloom writes about our inclination toward grumbling and how to overcome it.

Effective Personal Evangelism: Summary

Effective Personal Evangelism: Summary - This is the summary of a series on personal evangelism with links to the previous lessons by Jeremy Walker.

Why The Gay Rights Issue Is Not Like Prohibition

Why The Gay Rights Issue Is Not Like Prohibition - The American Conservative:

The tide change on homosexuality is no roll-back of a temporary experiment, as was the case for making alcohol a controlled substance. Instead, it has been absorbed into a powerful progressive narrative about the way that “history bends” (in [President] Obama’s formulation), and thus has been joined strongly in Democratic rhetoric to causes (like slavery and civil rights) that don’t (and logically can’t) stop at simple mockery. Racial supremacists today aren’t just silly and ignorable; they’re evil, and need to be aggressively denied any chance to participate in public life, ever.

They Loved Your G.P.A. Then They Saw Your Tweets

They Loved Your G.P.A. Then They Saw Your Tweets – This New York Times article is an important reminder for college applicants and a lot of other people.

What Good Is God?

What Good Is God? - This is a good note regarding the bestseller, Good Without God.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving for “Thornbushes”

A Prayer of Thanksgiving for “Thornbushes” - This prayer really resonated with me today.

If Jesus Had Not Come

If Jesus Had Not Come - Jesus was, is, and always will be in a league of his own. Many are happy to honor him as a good teacher and social reformer, and some religions even admit that he was a great prophet of God. But none of them go far enough.

Did the Devil Make Me Do It?

Did the Devil Make Me Do It? - This article helps to "right-size" our view of Satan's influence.

What Is Unique About Christianity Among The World Religions?

What Is Unique About Christianity Among The World Religions? - This article clearly addresses religious pluralism (all religions are the same and lead to the same end results).

The FAQs: ENDA

The FAQs: ENDA - What is Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and how does it affect me?

20 Verses for God-Centered Administrators

20 Verses for God-Centered Administrators – “God doesn’t need us. We need him. Don’t get the roles reversed. We are not indispensable. He is. This is an essential reminder for all of us — and especially those of us in heavily administrative and “executive” roles.” 

The Primary Activity of the Early Church

The Primary Activity of the Early Church - The church of today needs to remember this and practice it.

Osteen Keeps Using God’s Band-Width

Osteen Keeps Using God’s Band-Width – I mentioned Osteen last Sunday. Here's a good explanation of my concerns. 

Erik Raymond writes, “Our church building is right next to a high school. Several months ago we noticed our wi-fi was ridiculously slow. After some investigation we found out that many of the students were cutting class and sitting on our stoop watching movies and other network demanding activities. The ministry of the church was being slowed by the student’s entertainment. I feel like this is what Joel Osteen does. He just kind of hangs out on the stoop of Christianity with his God-talk giving hat-tips to Jesus and a Bible story every now and then. But you know what? He is dragging down our bandwith. He is convoluting the message. He is hindering communication.”

 See the full article…

How to Soak The Next Generation in God's Word

How to Soak The Next Generation in God's Word – Jani Ortlund writes on the topic and why and how the next generation need a good soaking in God’s word. (Spoiler Alert: It has a lot to do with how this generation lives God’s word).

3 Ways to Help with Disaster Relief in the Philippines

3 Ways to Help with Disaster Relief in the Philippines – Ed Stetzer shares a variety of ways to be involved in ministry in the Philippines.

Going Out of Business for Jesus

Going Out of Business for Jesus – Several high-profile discrimination cases around the world raise the question: Will twenty-first-century society honor the Christian’s conscience, or destroy the Christian’s livelihood?

Several cases like this one have arisen in our own country. The video is an interview with a couple in Great Britain who lost their business because of their commitment to a biblical worldview. The interview is interesting as the hosts of the program seem to be completely confused by anyone actually living by the Bible. The husband and wife who “went out of business for Jesus” give a strong and well-stated Christian testimony.

Comfort Food

Comfort Food – This article is an important reminder regarding our ministry to one another. The author shares her testimony, “No one brings dinner when your daughter is an addict.”

Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Date Night

Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Date Night - As the author notes, "Sorry for the cheesy title" but the list is a helpful encouragement to couples.

Modesty Matters

Modesty Matters – This is a good article on a complicated topic. It is also a topic we need to discuss in these times

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The Robertsons to Tell Their Story on 'I Am Second'

The Robertsons to Tell Their Story on 'I Am Second' - Duck Dynasty’s Phil, Jep and Reed Robertson will appear on a special edition of the video testimony series I Am Second, that will be released on Nov. 21. If this brief trailer is any indication, no matter what you think about the reality show that has made them famous, the family’s first-person story of redemption and faith, will be pretty compelling …

God Desires You Far More Than You Desire Him

God Desires You Far More Than You Desire Him - Christianity is not so much about you desiring God as it is about God desiring you. I wonder if you believe that.

Watch Parents and See God

Watch Parents and See God - If you want a picture of God's unconditional, sacrificial love, watch parents care for an infant in the first weeks of life. 

A Prayer for Repenting of Self-Preoccupation

A Prayer for Repenting of Self-Preoccupation - ...and we need to pray such.

10 Reasons Why We Must Love Unlovable Church Members

10 Reasons Why We Must Love Unlovable Church Members - One good reason is that there will be plenty of times when we are unlovable.

A Mommy’s To-Do List

A Mommy’s To-Do List – Courtney Reissig shares insights from her first year as a mother.

Jesus Spoke English

Jesus Spoke English – It’s good to have Jon Acuff back.

Five Ways to Refresh the Saints in Your Life

Five Ways to Refresh the Saints in Your Life – Paul’s letter to Philemon has some warm applications to refreshing the saints around you.

The Cross - Billy Graham's Message To America

When Trust is Broken

When Trust is Broken – Can trust be rebuilt? Absolutely. Here are some key steps.

9 Things You Should Know About Orphans

9 Things You Should Know About Orphans - You may be surprised by what you don't know.

Five Truths About Christian Suffering

Five Truths About Christian Suffering - Here are five important biblical truths about suffering every Christian should have ready.

Are Smartphones Turning Us Into Bad Samaritans?

Are Smartphones Turning Us Into Bad Samaritans? – This article from the Wall Street Journal is worth a look.

Is All Sin Equal in God's Eyes?

Is All Sin Equal in God's Eyes? – Tim Challies gives a good answer to a common question.

The Idols of a Mother’s Heart

The Idols of a Mother’s Heart – Christina Fox writes, “When you are upset because you can’t do something you’ve wanted to do, it might be because that thing has become an idol in your heart.”

The Myth of Magic Neutral Time

The Myth of Magic Neutral Time - The article is about college students but the application reaches all age groups. There are seasons throughout life when Christians decide to "take time off from God." There will be consequences...

The Active Work of Waiting on God

The Active Work of Waiting on God – Waiting on God doesn't mean we don't do anything.

A Prayer for Grace to Love Difficult People

A Prayer for Grace to Love Difficult People - As a reminder, if you don't feel the need for this prayer, you may be the difficult person. 

Satan’s Permission to Sift You like Wheat

Satan’s Permission to Sift You like Wheat – Some helpful observations on what Jesus told Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:31).

10 Love Challenges

10 Love Challenges - All Christians want to bless the church, witness to the world, and grow in assurance of faith. But did you know that there’s one thing you can do that accomplishes all three of these aims at once? Love other Christians.” Here are ten ways…

Three Signs Worship Wars May Be Ending

Three Signs Worship Wars May Be Ending - Interesting observations from Thom Rainer on worship.

Why I Am a Single Issue Voter

Why I Am a Single Issue Voter - “In America political campaigning is a never-ending process. But Tuesday is Election Day, a time when the political horse race pauses long enough for us to cast ballots for the candidates. I won't say who I plan to vote for, though I will confess that I'm a single-issue voter. The single issue that determines my vote -- and I believe should determine how all Christians vote -- is justice.”

World Watch List Countries

World Watch List Countries – Yesterday we took time in our worship hours to pray for the persecuted church. Our prayers yesterday should continue regularly. This map shows the levels of concern for persecution around our world.

3 Things Muslims Can Teach Christians About Prayer

3 Things Muslims Can Teach Christians About Prayer – This a challenging, encouraging article on prayer.

Lay Aside the Weight of Discontentment

Lay Aside the Weight of Discontentment - We often want to blame circumstances for our discontent, but that’s barking up the wrong tree.

Prayer for the Persecuted

Prayer for the Persecuted - Anticipating the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church this Sunday.

Did Christmas Really Happen?

Did Christmas Really Happen? - Attacks on Christmas will begin soon. This resource series will help you be ready to stand strong in your faith.

Advent Devotional

Advent Devotional - The Denison Forum is offering this devotional as a free download to grow and bless your Christmas season.

The Complex Problem of the Persecuted Church

The Complex Problem of the Persecuted Church - During the month of November we are encouraged to pray for the persecuted church around the world. Sometimes we need to focus on things we would rather ignore.

A Prayer for the Power of the Gospel to Change Me

A Prayer for the Power of the Gospel to Change Me - Pray for the power of the Gospel.

How High is Your Cultural Intelligence?

How High is Your Cultural Intelligence? – Valuing the incredible diversity that God has created across humankind requires that we step out of our comfort zones.