We have a saying in our family: “That makes opposite sense.” It means something is so absurd it goes beyond nonsense and causes sense to be reversed. This happens in church families, too. For example, followers of Jesus have battled—with words and fists—on the very ground where they believe Jesus died and rose again. In […]
The Call to Hope Hope is a biblical concept that should characterize the life of the Christian. I’ve heard people being criticized for depending on some whimsical hope and I’ve listened to sermons that discourage Christians from thinking about their reward. Yet hope is a topic mentioned throughout the Bible. Hope is good. Hope, correctly […]
America is becoming increasingly post-Christian. Christianity has been in decline and is losing ground as the majority religion. According to the Pew Research Center, only 56 percent of Americans saying they believe in God “as described in the Bible.” A recent Barna report showed that just 38 percent of Americans attend church services weekly. This […]
As a young mother, I often struggled to pray for my sons in ways that differed from the default, go-to kinds of prayers: “Lord, please guide, guard, and protect my sons. Bless them and help them to be a blessing to you and to others.” There was and is nothing inherently wrong with such praying; […]
The first missionary journey (Acts 13, 14) was so successful that a church conference had to be called to handle the growth (15:1-35). Thanks to Peter’s testimony, Paul’s report, and James’ use of Amos 9:10, 11, the second missionary journey accelerated the success of the gospel (Acts 16-18). The new missionary team of Paul and […]
