By Michael C. Mack Why is it difficult for some people to move from an old way to a new way of doing things? Read Acts 15:1-12. Divide your group into two camps: the circumcision group (Galatians 2:12) or “party of the Pharisees” (Acts 15:5), a.k.a. the Judaizers, and the salvation through grace group, represented […]
Weary, Wounded Messengers—Ezekiel 1–5
By David Faust Churches need leaders for the same reason cars need shock absorbers: often the road isn’t smooth, and congregational bumps and potholes take many forms. A leader’s phone may ring with jarring news of a fatal traffic accident, a sudden illness, a marriage in crisis, a suicide, or a community-wide emergency. Churches need […]
In The World—November 1, 2015
By Melissa Wuske Chinese Forbidden to Display Crosses Over the past few years, the Chinese government has been removing crosses from church buildings. Now believers in the eastern province of Zhejiang have begun an online campaign calling on people to make small wooden crosses, paint them red, and display them in their homes and vehicles. […]
Helping a Depressed Friend
By Bev and Phil Haas My friend seems to be having a difficult time. She’s confided she’d just like to get in the car and drive away; other times I’ve checked on her because she’s stayed home from work. She’s started refusing to get out of bed, losing weight, and not really taking care of […]
Morning by Morning—Lamentations 3:22, 23
By David Faust Morning sounds like birds chirping, alarm clocks buzzing, radio weather reports blaring, and school buses squeaking their brakes. Morning smells like coffee and toast, shaving cream and hairspray. It looks like a husband and wife kissing goodbye and lines of cars crowding onto roadways under dark but brightening skies. Are you one […]
