The only thing taller than the Burj Khalifa is the stack of books I’m currently intending to read. I like to read. I like to read fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, news stories, human interest pieces, jokes, and Twitter threads. I like to read the...
Learning to read and study Scripture is an important part of the Christian life. And while pastors and teachers are essential gifts of Christ to his church, individual Christians should also be able to pick up any passage and read it with basic...
There are many good reasons to start a Bible study for men. They include growth in understanding and applying the Bible, mutually encouraging relationships, and ultimately lives pleasing to God that have an impact for his glory. In short, getting...
What does it mean to repent? If you’re not sure, how will you know if you have done it? The cost of not repenting is one you do not want to pay. What is not repentance? To help us arrive at a definition, let’s first take a look at examples of...
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...
What 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...
Christians 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...
This 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.
The 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...
The only way to get think rightly about spiritual warfare is to tie ourselves to what God says in Scripture. So what does the Bible say about spiritual warfare and the demonic realm?
What does the Bible say about sexual immorality? How does God, through Scripture, comfort the sexually struggling, engage the skeptic, and provide a template for those exasperated by their attempts to live a holy sexual life? Common ethical systems...
“Take now your son, your only son whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering” (Gen 22:2). Chilling words. Abraham, however, does not ask questions. He doesn’t need a clarification; he makes no...
Bible events have shaped more than just the history of Judaism and Christianity. They’ve impacted nearly every facet of Western civilization—from art to literature to politics to ethics. Understanding the most important Bible stories will help...
No doubt we’ve all heard somewhere that money is the root of all evil. The saying is deeply embedded in popular wisdom. But is it really true?
A Bible concordance is simply a reference tool in which words from a particular translation of Scripture are arranged alphabetically in a kind of index—often accompanied by words from the immediate context of each use. Scripture references are...
Take 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...
Pentecostals and charismatics represent more than one out of every four Christians worldwide. Philip Jenkins suggests that this movement is perhaps the most successful social movement of the past century, one which should surpass one billion members...
One of the greatest threats to our study of the Bible is our familiarity with God’s Word. When we believe we already know something, we tend to stop laboring to understand it. Familiarity thereby breeds presumption. And when presumption reaches full...
Bible trivia is fun and useful. Need some questions for your own Bible trivia exercise—perhaps in a church group? Below are a hundred Bible trivia questions—divided into eleven categories—to test your knowledge of God’s Word and hopefully provide...
I was that kid whose nose was always stuck in a book. I was also that kid who occasionally read a dictionary for fun. I just loved words—including and especially God’s Word. When I was eleven years old, I asked for my own Bible, having already worn...
So you want to apply the Bible to your life, do you? That’s wonderful news, since the Lord Jesus (Matt 7:21–27) and his apostles (Jas 1:22–25) want you and me not only to hear the word but also to do it. But what should that “doing” look like?
The tree of life represents the fullness of eternal life that God wishes to lavish on humanity. It’s one of the most powerful images in God’s Word, extending from the first chapters of Genesis to the final ones of Revelation. Of the three most...
Bible study tools come in all different shapes and sizes, and the best ones can really make a difference in your comprehension of the book. Read about different kinds of Bible study tools and what you can do with them—along with some suggested...
When I first became a Christian as a teen, I didn’t know any of the lingo erupting around me. When I first heard the word backslider, I pictured a person on their backside careening down a Slip ‘N’ Slide. Since people mentioned...
Have you ever wondered, “What does the Bible really say about not going to church?” You’re not alone, especially in recent years, as the COVID-19 pandemic affected the church-attending habits of Christians worldwide. A few years...
There is one question I receive more than any other when Christians discover I’m involved in a collegiate discipleship ministry: What materials or resources do you use? I appreciate the eagerness behind the question, as folks generally aim to...
This article will provide a brief introduction to pneumatology by answering a few key questions: What do the biblical terms ruach and pneuma have to do with the Holy Spirit? How did early Christians go about the task of reflecting on the person and...
The Bible isn’t just one of the most popular books in human history—it’s also God’s revelation of himself to the people he created in his image. In its 66 books (73 if you include the Apocrypha) we see the overarching story of God’s world—how it...
Are Christians in a war? If so, how do we fight in this war? These are important questions for every follower of Jesus to consider, because the Bible tells us that we are indeed engaged in a spiritual battle against the kingdom of darkness. This is...
Few 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...
