In 2019, my Christian counselor broke up with me. We were discussing my anxiety woes and the constant work I was doing to experience the promise of Philippians 4:7. For the past few years, I had taken Paul’s words in Philippians 4:6 and worked them...
Recently, I came across the life and work of Lemuel Haynes, the first Black man to be ordained as a minister in the United States. As a fellow New Englander, I was predisposed to like him. After reading some of his writings, my admiration was...
If church kids over the years learned that the answer to just about any Sunday School question was “Jesus,” scholar and pastor Jonathan T. Pennington says adult church goers often have similar ingrained responses. Like a call-and-response Rorschach...
First Thessalonians beckons us to pray without ceasing. As we think of those who’ve given their lives for our country and those they’ve left behind, we sense the need for prayer more deeply. These prayers for Memorial Day weren’t written for the...
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...
What is a devotional? That’s not easy to answer. A devotional can be many things. It can be a Bible reading plan. It can be a series of meditations. It can be a liturgical exercise. It can be a daily selection of verses, accompanied by a...
The new year always brings with it the anticipation of hope—whatever defined last year can change in this one. New Year’s resolutions usually involve aspirations of self-improvement, like exercising, losing weight, or saving money. But what if...
“What you say and how you say it aren’t disconnected ideas,” says Micah Ellis, the design director at Faithlife. “They aren’t separable.” Communication is more than the words you choose. Tone, body language...
Like lighting Advent candles, Advent readings (for church services or personal devotions) provoke a pause from the everyday. There’s nothing quite like navigating the special weeks of Advent: preparation, anticipation, joy, and incarnation. ...
Every year, Sunday school teachers spend time teaching the virgin birth. But pastors and small group leaders teach it too—and as a small group leader or pastor, you can dive deeper into Mary’s story and its applications. For one, faithfulness to God...
Happy Reformation Day! In this guest post from Dr. Jim West, professor of biblical studies at the Quartz Hill School of Theology, we are reminded of the great Reformers and how they changed the course of history. *** The temperature outside the...
Happy Thanksgiving! As the smells of turkey and stuffing waft through homes across the United States, it’s the perfect time to thank God for his kindness and faithfulness to us. “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful...
These days are hectic and divisive—and while it can feel as if the chasms between each of us are deepening, recent films about Mister Rogers’ life are helping us remember our shared humanity. I recently went to a screening of A Beautiful Day in the...
Even though believers may approach generosity from different theological viewpoints, we can all agree that generosity is close to the heart of God. The Bible contains thousands of verses about money, stewardship, and generosity. The beautiful (and...
By Leland Ryken, excerpted from J. I. Packer: An Evangelical Life. The idea of calling or vocation is important to [J. I.] Packer. It could hardly be otherwise for a latter-day Puritan, inasmuch as no subject occupied the Puritans more than the...
Do you have a hard time discerning God’s voice from your own? How do you know if a random thought is from the Spirit or your own mind? It’s something a lot of Christians wonder. In Sanctuary of the Soul, Richard J. Foster shares three factors from...
By Matthew Elliot “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” (Matt 22:36) An “expert in religious law,” backed up by the Pharisees, poses this seemingly innocent question to Jesus in an attempt to trap him. Will he agree...
In this excerpt from John for Everyone, esteemed New Testament scholar and professor N. T. Wright explains why John 7:52–8:12 is often included in the Gospel, though there are good reasons for its omission. Whether the story “should” be...
Today is the National Day of Prayer in the United States, a day when millions of Christians join together to pray for our country. This stirring reflection from A.W. Tozer challenges Christians to consider whether their desires in prayer are sincere...
May 2 is national Days of Remembrance, an annual day to remember the six million Jews murdered by the Nazi regime and its collaborators in the Holocaust. The Ten Boom family of Haarlem, Netherlands, hid, fed, and cared for Jews during World War 2 in...
We’re approaching wedding season—full of June brides, scenic destinations, and as many gift cards and blenders as one heart could desire. Yet as Matt Chandler points out in this excerpt from The Mingling of Souls , weddings aren’t about the setting...
By Timothy Keller What is this “gospel” for which Paul is willing to glory in being a slave? What gospel would make Paul happy to lose everything in order to share it? First, it is worth reflecting on the word itself. “Gospel”—euangeloi—is literally...
“What is Naomi worth? Count her sons. According to that cultural scorecard, Naomi is a zero. So is her barren daughter-in-law Ruth. But is that how God sees them?” In celebration of International Women’s Day, we bring you this excerpt...
By Jared Wilson John Calvin writes, “Christ is, as it were, a fountain, open to us, from which we may draw what otherwise would lie unprofitably hidden in that deep and secret spring.” This is the Jesus whose gospel we receive, and this is the Jesus...
Dr. John M. Perkins is one of the last living figures of the Civil Rights Movement. Born into poverty as the son of a sharecropper, Dr. Perkins grew up on a Mississippi plantation under extreme racism. He lost his teenage brother to murder, was...
With the end of the Civil War in 1865, the black church and its worship gained a more public face, even in the South. Black groups within white churches could separate and begin self-determining congregations. Accepting a call to become the pastor...
This post is the third in a series adapted from Anticipating His Arrival, a family Advent devotional by Rick Brannan. We will be posting one devotional a day through Christmas. Psalm 126 When Yahweh restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like...
This post is the second in a series adapted from Anticipating His Arrival, a family Advent devotional by Rick Brannan. We will be posting one devotional a day through Christmas. Isaiah 64:1–4, 8–11 Would that you would tear the heavens and come...
This post is the first in a series adapted from Anticipating His Arrival, a family Advent devotional by Rick Brannan. We will be posting one devotional a day through Christmas. As Christ’s arrival draws closer, a natural consequence is joy. When the...
It’s easy to imagine what Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, or the Magi were thinking and feeling when they encountered the baby Jesus for the first time. I can imagine the mix of excitement, nerves, and expectation as they wondered when God would...
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Yana Jenay Conner
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Ray Deck III
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