Seana ScottSometimes we feel spiritually dry. When your own inner life feels more barren than bountiful, James 4:8 offers a two-step path toward spiritual renewal and refreshment: Confession Repentance. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your...
Benjamin FischerAs interest in traditional churches and liturgy has grown among evangelicals, there is also growing curiosity about liturgical terms and actions such as confession, absolution, and benediction. Because the word “absolution” has changed in meaning...
Blake AdamsI grew up in the church, just not an Anglican church. My journey into the Anglican fold is a story for another time, but I bring it up here because that experience strongly informs this selection of Anglican books you should know. These books were...
Mary JahnkeSometimes the easiest tricks are the best. You know, the ones that make you wonder it has been all your life. Proclaim has some juicy tricks, too. (Proclaim is presentation software designed for churches. With it, anyone on your team—even...
Robert ElmerHow many different ways can we apologize to God? Quite a few, actually. And in the ancient prayers of God’s people—in Scripture and outside it—their focus quite often turned to confession or its many related expressions: remorse, guilt...
Jennifer GrishamThe simplest definition of prayer is talking to God. While that’s certainly true, prayer is also a unique place where we experience the breadth and depth of the Christian life. Still, prayer isn’t easy—even though it’s one of the most vital parts of...
Richard LintsWhat is idolatry? Idolatry is seeking ultimate security and significance in that which is not ultimate. It is also an inversion of the original relationship between the Creator and the human creature. Man and woman were created as images of God...
Brad KellyGrace is generally understood as a gift: the favor or kindness one person gives to another. Grace is, therefore, generally understood to be something that is not earned or deserved. Your paycheck is not grace. Your boss is not expecting a thank-you...
Matthew EverhardSince the fall in the garden of Eden, death has held dominion over all living things, not least of all human beings. Though Scripture tells us of an occasional Enoch or Elijah, death claims all living entities eventually, no matter their age, title...
Christopher KouWe call ourselves Christians. This name was first given to us in the city of Antioch. It distinguished the disciples of Jesus—those who professed him to be the Messiah or the Christ—from other Jews of the day. Christians continue to be identified by...
I drove past the Christmas light display in the center of town and my preschooler gazed at the glistening colors and yelled, Jesus is the light of the world! She no doubt learned this in Sunday school, but is Jesus a string of red and green lights...
Daniel StevensJesus chose to make Nazareth the site of one of the most significant and enigmatic declarations of his early ministry. As the community was gathered in the synagogue for Sabbath, he said: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. What did Jesus mean? Why...
Kat ArmstrongI came to faith in Christ at the age of sixteen because two church ladies shared the gospel with me. The year I became a Christian, the Holy Spirit ignited curiosity within me, especially regarding the characters in the Bible. Thankfully, I now...
Kirk E. MillerWhat comes to mind when you hear the word Baptist? I asked this question online, and to no great surprise I received an array of answers. Some think of an energetic church choir with colorful robes. Others think of solemn, even stuffy Sunday...
Nick BatzigChristians who adhere to the doctrines of the Reformation commonly belong to congregations and denominations worldwide that are representative of the Reformed tradition. The purpose of this article is to explain the most basic central beliefs of...
Robby LockettIt’s a very catchy song. A mysterious minor key, a melody that sticks in your ear, cadences that just ache their way to resolution. It is also ubiquitous—and received uncritically by many who hear it. The song Mary, Did You Know? is as much a...
Michael F. BirdJoan Osborne’s 1995 pop hit What If God Was One of Us? asked an excellent question. Another song, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing—a famous hymn of Charles Wesley and George Whitefield—gives the correct answer. The ancient world had many deities, even...
Jason StoneI get the opportunity to work with Logos users regularly. I was recently asked whether or not there is a simple way to incorporate noteworthy blog posts within one’s Logos library. I'd like to suggest a method that connects saved notes to particular...
Stephen SteeleCharles Spurgeon criticized Robert Hawker's Bible commentary for seeing Jesus in unnecessary places, such as every Psalm, a view widely held in Christian interpretation until John Calvin rooted Psalm interpretation in historical context. There's now...
Jon PrattWhat do good works have to do with salvation? Absolutely nothing! I would like to contest the notion that Paul contradicts himself when he insists that salvation does not come from works and that we must work out our salvation. We will investigate...
Over the course of history, theologians, commentators, preachers, and readers of the Bible have pondered what it means to be justified by faith in Christ, as Paul says in Galatians 2:16 (LEB). There are several knots that we have to untie when it...
James HamiltonThe creeds confess it because the Bible teaches it: Jesus is coming to judge the living and the dead. What does the New Testament teach about the Parousia?
Philip BrownThis article explains the distinctive beliefs of the Methodist branches of Christianity, answers common questions, and shares the best resources for Methodist and Wesleyan Bible studies.
Tobin PerryWhen I was sixteen, a youth ministry challenged me to share my faith with my family and classmates. I had grown up in and out of church and didn’t know much of the Bible beyond the epic Sunday school stories most people with some church background...
Joshua JensenGenesis 3:8 is a familiar verse in a familiar story: Adam and Eve have sinned, and now, in the cool of the day, they hear the sound of the Lord God walking in the Garden. Afraid, they hide among the trees.
Mark BriansThe Anglican Church, originating in 16th-century reforms in England, is now a global faith group of over eighty million people. With the Holy Scriptures as its basis, Anglican belief supports a variety of doctrines informed by the three historic...
Robert KolbFor five hundred years, the term “Lutheran” has served variously as a badge of confession for a specific definition of Christian, for Martin Luther’s supporters, as a word of insult used by foes to condemn a variety of views opposed to their own, or...
Jesse NigroAnglicanism is a religious identity claimed by millions of faithful Christians across the globe. In fact, the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion of churches after Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. It is a tradition...
Sean McGeverI have a confession: I’ve been a full-time evangelist for over two decades and I rarely do the job you think I do. In a moment, I’ll tell you more about what I actually do. More importantly, I want you to know what evangelism really is, why it is...
Ryan LyttonWhat does Pentecostal mean? The word comes from the Greek pentekoste, which means fiftieth. This will explore how Pentecostalism began, the first hundred years of the movement, and how Pentecostalism differs from Evangelicalism.