Guest AuthorBy Terry Dalrymple While governments around the world are focused on poverty alleviation, the church is uniquely called to it. We hear Jesus saying, “Whatever you do to the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do to me” (Matthew 25:40)...
The basis of any church’s theology lies in its doctrine. Other churches have been quite clear about this. Most Protestant bodies have a confession of faith to which its ministers (at least) are expected to subscribe, and the Roman Catholic Church...
There’s a palpable pressure that comes with being a parent. The great responsibility to meet your children’s needs and train them up in the way they should go can be paralyzing. I feel this burden enough with my first four children; the pressure is...
By Douglas Heck I heard what I thought was God’s voice saying, “You have the wrong sermon for tomorrow.” It was late Saturday night and I had just completed the last touches for preparing my sermon to preach the next morning at our new church plant...
The other morning I woke up while my children were still sleeping and began to pray. I started thinking about my identity. Who am I? As I settled into my prayer time, I began to rejoice at the thought that I am a mother. It is part of who I am. To...
In today’s churches, pastors are often expected to be jacks of all trades but also master the art of the care of souls (what Harold Senkbeil identifies as the “enactment of the word of Christ upon the souls for whom our Lord shed his blood and...
Although “performance review” may seem like a corporate term, it’s simply a way of tracking growth or decay—matters that concern every organization. Here are some quick tips on church performance reviews, as well as the unfortunate task of employee...
The Dead Sea Scrolls were first found in 1947 in Qumran by a Bedouin shepherd boy. He had tossed a stone into a cave and heard a clinking noise—the rock had hit a clay pot containing some of the scrolls. Since then, scrolls have been discovered in...
“Is this something we do?” I remember asking when I first heard the word “Lent.” Even though my father is Catholic, I grew up in a Protestant house where Lent, Ash Wednesday, and fasting were as exotic as Rome, the pope, and crucifixes. It wasn’t...
Every church is full of sufferers. No matter the size of your congregation, someone is probably suffering from illness, relational dysfunction, financial distress, loss, addiction, or any number of hardships. Thankfully, there are worship songs that...
In this excerpt, Dru Johnson explores what Hebraic thought and is and why it matters for students of the Bible today.
In this post, David deSilva—author of Unholy Allegiances: Heeding Revelation’s Warning, you’ll explore three mistakes many people make when approaching the book of Revelation, and how being aware of them will ensure you are reading Revelation...
See first Part 1 and Part 2. by Jeremy Walker | Pastor, Maidenbower Baptist Church As the years passed and Spurgeon continued to mature as a preacher, membership at the Tabernacle reached over five thousand. As his health allowed, Spurgeon preached...
by Jeremy Walker | Pastor, Maidenbower Baptist Church Rapidly, rapidly, the gospel spread, and crowds flocked to hear this unorthodox and “unschooled” preacher. This country boy, who had learned vigorous and full-orbed evangelical...
by Jeremy Walker | Pastor, Maidenbower Baptist Church The Young Recruit The life of Charles Spurgeon was so full of grace, gifts and labour, and so much has been written by and about him, that we must leave out much that is of interest and...
by Dr. Jonathan Stricklin | Grace Bible Church of Cedar Ridge Introduction “The Prince of Preachers” is the title bestowed upon the great English expositor, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. As Spurgeon’s weekly sermons were being transcribed and published...
In this excerpt from the Mobile Ed course Introducing Spiritual Formation, award-winning author and internationally recognized speaker Dr. Gary Thomas explores why adopting the humility of Christ is evidence that we value true holiness. Transcript...
by Joshua Jensen Here’s something you probably never thought to count: The ESV uses the word ‘but’ 4,205 times. That’s nearly once for every 7 verses. That’s a lot. (The NASB has ‘but’ slightly more times, the NIV slightly fewer. But they’re all in...
I’m going to lay all of my cards on the table right here at the beginning: I wholeheartedly, unreservedly, and unashamedly believe that every church should have a plan in place to care for its guests.
A PhD in biblical and theological studies provides skills that could be used in a variety of nonprofit or parachurch organizations that engage in activities like political activism or pastoral support. Since one of the great challenges for many...
By James P. Chaisson, Ed.D. Introduction After his resurrection, as he was preparing to leave this earth and ascend to the right hand of the Father, Jesus told his followers, and by extension the church universal, to go into all...
The Christmas season provides a unique opportunity for your church to connect with people in the community. And social media is one of the greatest tools we have to promote what’s happening in the life of our church.
Given that only two angels are explicitly named in Scripture (Michael and Gabriel), it is unsurprising that they have garnered a lot of attention, speculation, and reverence throughout the centuries—in both religious tradition and popular media.
Jesus’ own townspeople in Nazareth mistook who he was, as did Herod, Mary Magdalene, and even Peter. But did John the Baptist misunderstand Jesus? In this excerpt adapted from the September/October 2021 issue of Bible Study Magazine, Joseph R...
Peter J. Leithart opens Reflecting on the Word: Video Devotionals (Year C) by exploring the Church calendar and why it’s valuable for believers. Video excerpt and transcript below. Human beings are temporal creatures, but this doesn’t simply mean...
"I am simultaneously free from the perils and pressures of the tenure committee and the publish-or-perish paradigm."
The apostle Paul is arguably one of Christian history’s most formative thinkers and writers. Recently, Faithlife’s Daniel Motley spent some time chatting with Dr. Douglas Moo, one of the world’s leading Pauline scholars, about his landmark study: A...
Anglican theologian J. I. Packer (1926–2020), one of the twentieth century’s most widely respected Christian writers, dedicated himself to a lifetime of Christian ministry. His impact was immense—he was known for profound theological writing...
Jeffrey Tripp received a doctorate in New Testament and Early Christianity from Loyola University Chicago, and now teaches Math at Rock Valley College. He often incorporates statistical methods into his biblical research, which focuses on the New...
Typically when seminary students begin their theological education journey, they anticipate writing lots of papers, listening to long lectures, and digging into new, deep topics they may not have explored before. They don’t often consider their time...