Do you remember when you were baptized? It was likely a powerful moment in your life. It was the starting point of your Christian life, the moment where your faith went public. Yet, the reality of your baptism isn’t meant to be relegated to the memory vault of nostalgia. It’s a reality that should be […]
The following is an excerpt from Ray Ortlund’s The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ. How wonderful it is to come every Sunday into a liberating church! All week long we swim in an ocean of judgment and negative scrutiny. We constantly have to comply with the demands of a touchy world, […]
In our current time, where self-help books abound, a book about suffering can be a breath of fresh air. “Really?” you might ask. “How can a book about suffering be refreshing?” At some point in life, you will go through some sort of suffering. It is in these moments that self-help mantras will fall flat. […]
Reigning Lord Jesus, We declare that you sit upon your throne as our Ascended King. Yet, we lament that your power and authority is often hidden from our eyes. How long will you let death ravage your world? How long will you let Satan ravage people’s lives? How long will you let sin and sickness […]
Is this COVID-19 merely the equivalent of a blizzard? Or will it be a long winter? Or, worse, an ice age? Andy Crouch summarizes three perspectives and possible realities in his recent article on the need for our adaptation to what appears to be our new normal. When COVID-19 hit, most everyone was thinking in […]
In these strange times, when we’ve been scattered and upended, our solution is what it is always is – God’s Word. Whether we’re in a pandemic or not, we need God’s Word. We need to be reminded of our hope in Christ and our gospel identity. We need to be challenged to live faithfully and […]
Throughout the New Testament, the resurrection is viewed as the vindication of the message and mission of Jesus. If God raised Jesus from the dead, then his claims are true and the salvation he announced has been achieved. [Yet] if the resurrection did not take place, Christianity is a false religion and should be abandoned. […]
Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended, that we to judge thee have in hate pretended? By foes derided, by thine own rejected, O most afflicted! Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee? Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee! ‘Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee; I crucified thee. Lo, […]
The sociologist and historian Rodney Stark has written extensively on the early Christian church’s response to epidemics and plagues in the Roman Empire. In a culture where pity was viewed as a character defect, Christians spoke and acted differently. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, devastating plagues swept through the empire. Two responses were common: […]
What do we do when God interrupts our schedule as a church? Right now, it seems, like churches are scrambling to keep doing everything they were doing before. Technology is the savior who is rescuing us from our fear of deprivation. With the click of the button, you can listen in, sing along, comment in […]