News we can do nothing about. There is always one thing we can do: We can pray. Recently, prayer has been maligned as an insignificant, wasteful, or even cruel practice as a response to another person’s pain or trial or difficulty. Some of those who pray have been “prayer shamed” into silence, having been told “I’ll pray... Continue Reading

These churches still carry Bibles and declare the authority of the Scriptures. They still have sermons based on Bible verses and still have Bible study classes. But not much of the Bible is actually read in their services. Their sermons and studies usually do not examine the Bible to see what it thinks is important... Continue Reading

If Herbert’s vision is to live on and capture the hearts of some in a new generation, it will likely be, in part, through the work of gifted writers. Brad Roth’s recent God’s Country(2017) provides a biblically informed, culturally aware, and deeply compelling understanding of rural ministry. There are also biographical stories that capture the beauty... Continue Reading

Billy Graham worked behind the scenes to help his two older friends pursue this unusual vision for Christ’s kingship over the world of colleges and universities. The academic world has its own subculture and customs, and Ockenga and Henry thought this world needed Jesus Christ just as much as the homeless men at a rescue... Continue Reading

“Because so much is involved in the pastoral office, with teaching, exhortation, warning and discipline, comfort and pardon..and since the Lord has also bestowed and distributed the gifts necessary for this office not to one or two, but in different ways to many, it was his will that his churches, if they were able to... Continue Reading

Whether we know it or not, every human being lives in search of a savior. We are all propelled by a quest for identity, inner peace, and some kind of meaning and purpose. And we all look for it somewhere. Here’s the bottom line: looking to creation to get what only the Creator can give... Continue Reading

The Bible tells us that it is up to God to cause people to come to their senses. Think about this for a second. They are blind. They are captured by the devil. They are incapable of escaping on their own. Why are you mad at them? Of course they deserve hell. Of course they... Continue Reading

For years, sexual abuse of a minor was the number one reason churches went to court. That changed in 2016, when property disputes took the top spot. Disagreements over church property can often lead to legal trouble, as in the following case.    It’s something we all do: we see the headlines, read the news,... Continue Reading

God offers a life of meaning and purpose to you. Christ lived, died, rose from the grave, and ascended to the right hand of the Father for the sins of the world to reconcile a broken relationship, to inaugurate his kingdom of peace, and to establish a good rule in the beginning of a new... Continue Reading

Dead branches are now being grafted in to a new, living vine. Being united to the first Adam who fell, we were dead in trespasses and sin. But now, we have been granted new life because of the work of Jesus, who is called the second Adam (Rom. 5). Knowing the following three aspects of... Continue Reading