Sandra GlahnLife is messy. Really messy. And it presents humans with all sorts of complicated spiritual, social, and legal challenges about what’s right and wrong, or even good or best. Ethics relates to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions. When...
Mary DeMuthTake delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires (Ps 37:4). This oft-quoted verse has profound implications for the believer. Before we can explore the landscape of this powerful statement, it’s important we take note of its...
David P. BarshingerThe world with its flashing screens, its promises of pleasure, its offerings of wealth, its promotion of power and fame, screams for our attention. It is like Lady Folly in Proverbs, luring us to fix our gaze on things below. Much of what we see in...
Mark WardWhat is the most violated verse on the internet? Probably love the Lord your God with all your heart. Every online sin draws its nourishment from that root. But right behind that violated verse might be—our second-place winner—Paul’s words: Speaking...
Michael F. BirdAmong the divine attributes, none is so mysterious and sublime as that of divine holiness. In systematic theology, the divine attributes—aspects of God’s character and being—are normally divided into two categories: the incommunicable and the...
Mary JahnkeI was born with a Bible in my hand (not literally), in church before I was even born (literally). I can’t remember my first Bible, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of those soft, cute little fabric storybook Bibles with crunchy things on...
Kelley MathewsNearly a third of high school girls in the US confessed to contemplating suicide,a 60 percent rise in the last decade. Young women are experiencing tragic levels of emotional trauma, physical abuse, and sexual violence. One of the primary culprits...
Matthew HarmonWhen it comes to understanding the person and work of the Holy Spirit, theologians often use the term mystery. Reflecting on John 3:3–8, Graham Cole writes: Jesus said that the Spirit’s action is like that of the wind. The movements of the wind have...
Ryan LyttonFew issues in Christianity today are more controversial than speaking in tongues. The Lexham Cultural Ontology Glossary defines tongues speaking as: The act of speaking a language one did not acquire by natural means. This is often related to either...
Zach HollifieldThe spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.—Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38 Every year as a kid I looked forward to New Year’s Eve because it was the one time a year when all bets were off when it came to bedtime. The mysterious happenings of the...
Bryan BlazoskyWhile serving in a small church plant during my first year of college, I remember being given for the first time something called a spiritual gifts test. I don’t remember the specific questions on the test, but I do remember the result. For the...
Elyse FitzpatrickJesus’s words frequently shock me. They bring me up short. Honestly, sometimes when I read them, I think, I wonder if he knew to whom he was speaking. Of course he knew, I mean no disrespect. But still. Really? Telling Nicodemus he must be born...
Gregg AllisonCan we, or can we not, pray to the Holy Spirit? Augustine (354–430) composed this prayer to the Holy Spirit: Breathe in me O Holy Spirit that my thoughts may all be holy; Act in me O Holy Spirit that my works, too, may be holy; Draw my heart O Holy...
Harold L. SenkbeilMost everyone knows the Great Commission by heart: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19). But why make disciples, and why baptize using that...
Portia CollinsA few years ago, I tweeted something that made pretty big and unexpected waves on social media. The tweet read, “Sisters, if we are smart enough to cook, raise/teach children, take care of homes, work 9–5s, or do whatever it is that we do daily...
“Is this worship?” That’s not a thought I expected to have nearing the end of my first 15K race, but there it was. As I watched seagulls soaring overhead and one foot fell in front of the other, my reasoning went like this:...
Jessica Clark“Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.” As a child, it often seemed like this command was about attending church services and not doing certain things we did on other days of the week. But what does it mean to remember the Sabbath? Is...
Yana Jenay ConnerIn 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...
Christa ThrelfallRecently, 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...
Bronwyn LeaIf 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...
Logos StaffFirst 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...
Guest AuthorBy 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...
Ray Deck IIIWhat 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...
Ryan Nelson“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...
Jennifer GrishamThese 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...