Radically Ordinary Hospitality
Look for people in your church who are good at hospitality, and ask them to teach others how to be hospitable too.
Hospitality is strategic in our ministry to unbelievers, as well as our ministry to fellow believers. It’s a statement of belief in the value and dignity of every person that we welcome into our homes. It’s there, right in the middle of the character qualifications of eldership: Therefore an overseer must be above reproach,... Continue Reading
Sanctification: Our Speech
We serve a holy God and we live with people made in his image. Our words ought to reflect that dignity and honor.
Everything that exits our mouths by way of speech ought to have as its goal the good of those around us even when we must speak boldly or in rebuke. We can’t escape the fact that the super majority of uses of expletives is far less than wholesome or useful for building up anyone. ... Continue Reading
Women of the Reformation: Katie Luther
"God’s highest gift on earth is a pious, cheerful, God-fearing, home-keeping wife, with whom you may live peacefully, to whom you may entrust your goods and body and life (M. Luther).”
Coming out of a monastic life, both Luther and Katie saw their wedding on June 13, 1525, as an act of confession and obedience to God’s act of creation. While Katie saw Luther as a liberator, Luther too found a freedom he had never known in his marriage with Katie. For this reason, Luther called... Continue Reading
3 Traits of a Biblical Leader
You can command followers by strength. But you can only draw followers by love.
You will never lead anyone into genuine, God-honoring, long-lasting, community-building, self-fulfilling obedience unless they are directed by love for God and his glory. Of course, we can’t create that love; only the Holy Spirit can. Still, true leaders know the importance of nurturing love for God by means of wise words and kind actions. True... Continue Reading
I Will Fight For Your Young People. Will You?
A Pastor’s Plea to Christian Parents
Some of the biggest challenges in ministry come from inside the church, particularly parents between the ages of 45–60. There is one issue that has produced the struggle: their young people are leaving the church. Many parents have watched for years the same old story happen over and over. As soon as a young person returns... Continue Reading
5 Ways to Read More of the Bible
Our days can be unpredictable, and that’s why our Bible intake often is too.
While it’d be great to have thirty minutes alone in the morning with a fresh cup of single-origin coffee from Kenya—you can’t rely on the setting to read the Scriptures. If you get the 6 am dream setting, fantastic. Enjoy. But don’t hitch your reading of the Holy Bible to that sketchy schedule. Life... Continue Reading
Union in Ephesians 1:3-14
The Reformed Church is in danger of being too systematic for its own good.
The opening sentence of Ephesians has been analyzed systematically by many. This work is profitable, good, and necessary for the church and fulfills the duties of the office of the minister. But, Paul did not deliver the topic of union to us in Ephesians 1:3-14 is a systematic fashion. As is commonly noted in... Continue Reading
The Lord is My Shepherd: What Does this Mean?
He does not promise to spare you from trouble, but he does promise to be with you in your trouble.
The Israelites to whom this was written often feared not having water and food provided for them, but for you, that may not be your struggle. For some, you might be struggling with the Lord’s provision and care in other areas. This Psalm is a reminder that the Lord will lead and guide and protect... Continue Reading
Argue with Your Pride
We strut through the streets of the earth as if our strength were not fragile, our knowledge not narrow, our lungs not rising only because God gives us breath.
We find pride persuasive for a reason. For a moment at least, pride gives us what we’ve grasped for: the admiration of our peers, the eyes of passing admirers, the laughter of the crowd, the pleasure of being part of the in-group. But the purchase is costlier than it appears, for pride offers us something... Continue Reading
How do you see people?
When we look at people, we should see exactly JUST that—a person in the image of God who needs a relationship with the Son of God. Nothing more. Nothing less. As we look, we must not allow the distractions of the “things” to keep us from seeing what is truly real, really important, and really... Continue Reading