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 […]
MONDAY Reading for Today: John 11:45-57 1 John 4:1-6 Job 15:17-35 Ezekiel 42–44 Ezekiel 42–44 There’s a verse tucked away in Ezekiel 44 that may not be familiar. Verse 15 mentions the Levitical priests who were descendants of Zadok and remained faithful to God even though the rest of the Israelites went astray. They are […]
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 […]
Biblical faith is dynamic and life-changing. More than mere intellectual assent, it requires trusting God, placing our confidence in him, and following him obediently. A friend of mine, Ned Campbell, organized a four-week Bible study called “I Believe” to challenge our church to think more deeply about what we believe and why we believe it. […]
Use one or both of these questions to introduce the lesson: 1. What is your favorite ethnic food? How did you first discover it? What are some other products of a foreign culture (literature, clothing, entertainment, etc.) that have crossed borders into our culture? 2. What does it mean when someone says, “The world is […]
