Paul covered a lot of ground in just one decade. Roland Allen notes, “Before AD 47 there were no churches in [Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia]; in AD 57 St Paul could speak as if his work there was done, and could plan extensive tours into the far west without...
Does music matter? Imagine the Lord of the Rings movies without the score. The epic journey the film captures so well, evaporates without the music. We want people to show up for the entire worship service and not just pop in when the sermon starts. We want them to...
Richard Sibbes and Malcolm Gladwell run in different circles. For one week, though, I shared a table with them (in book form) for a conversation about the pace of godliness. In The Tipping Point, Gladwell writes about the big difference made by small changes. A...
Years ago, I bought my first laptop. Being gifted at dropping things, I made sure to buy the protection plan as well. The protection plan, however, did not cover everything. “We won’t cover the repair,” the sales associate told me, “If you do something foolish and...
Silence is hard to find. Can you remember the last time you were around complete silence? My first experience of noise-canceling headphones a few years ago was a rare experience. I was in Best Buy and grabbed a pair of Beats by Dre noise-canceling headphones. Sounds...
As I taught through the book of Amos a couple of years ago, one passage—which I had paid little attention to before—became an anchor for my convictions about God’s Word. In Chapter 8, God gives Amos a vision of the judgement coming to Israel. “‘Behold, the days are...
If you have been a Christian long enough, you know about habits for growing in faith. Of all the habits, prayer may be the most critical. It gives life to all other habits because we seek the Holy Spirit primarily in prayer. One of my favorite Puritan writers, Richard...
Across the table from me, a young man, maybe fifteen years old, was pouring out his heart. While we ate our burgers and fries, he shared how he loved the Lord but struggled to apply the gospel daily. His friends were regularly doing things that he, as a Christian,...
Illustrations are living examples of abstract truths. They plant the truth in the soil of real life. Even the strongest argument needs a living example to be persuasive. Jesus constantly uses illustrations. He helps listeners see by clothing spiritual truth in their...
God’s word feeds and fuels us. Jesus says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4). As diet is critical for a healthy body, spiritual health is impossible without the nutrition of God’s Word. A regular diet of...
Many good, church-going Christians probably know someone who needs to hear Romans 1:29-31 but think it has no bearing on them. Who wants to find themselves in the greatest hits of a debased mind? (Romans 1:28) These verses are not the type of normal morning quiet time...
Getting young kids ready for school in the morning is memorable. One morning, I told my two-year-old to leave his book and put his boots on because it was time to leave. He shut his eyes, whined a little, and then walked right into a door. At that point, he turned to...
Risk-Taking and Trusting God I never anticipated having church members tell me that going to church is too risky. COVID-19 has melded together, going to church and risk-taking. I am asking questions now that I have never asked before in ministry. Is it worth the...
Suffering is a reality of this broken world. Harold Senkbeil says, “God’s pristine creation—with no suffering, no death, and no destruction—is now long gone. This earth is still a delightful place to live. But everywhere we look, our beautiful world is filled with...