10 Biblical Truths About God, Life, and You
In times of chaos and confusion, it’s wise to look for biblical truths to hang onto. Maybe, for you, life is just really, really busy and you feel like you’re speeding through the calendar at speeds that should get you pulled over. Or maybe life is really stressful. Or maybe painful: maybe you or your […]
Preaching That Engages the Skeptic: How (Part 3)
This is my third and final article on engaging the skeptic in our preaching. Let’s take a second to review: First, why do we need to engage the skeptic in our preaching? It’s because skepticism about Christianity is rising both inside and outside the church. That was Part 1. Second, what works and doesn’t work […]
Celebrating Conviction: Learning to Find Joy in Repentance
Conviction has a terrible reputation. At times, we say it’s a prick of conscience when you consider doing something wrong (think Jiminy Cricket). Or it’s discussed as a heavy emotion we feel wrestling with our brokenness. Setting definitions aside, is conviction something you welcome in your spiritual life? Ultimately, conviction is the awareness that we’ve […]
The Scariest Nice Person in Your Church
What comes to mind when you think of “one-hand clapping”? Perhaps you think of the Zen “koan” in which the Zen master asks the student, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” For months, the student searches for it in vain until meditating and arriving at the “soundless sound” that transcends all sound.[1] “One […]
The Watchmaker Parable Revisited
Imagine you are enjoying an afternoon picnic in a high mountain meadow. Lush grasses stretch out from under your feet. Wildflowers add brilliant splashes of color to the scene. The distant mountain peaks still hold some snow. Most of last winter’s snowfall is still working its way out of the mountain springs and lakes into […]
When Standing for Truth Makes People Angry
Jesus totally alienated the religious leaders of His day during the final week of His life. He knew in advance that His bold actions and assertions would inflame hostility against Him, but He proceeded anyway. When He rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, He was clearly claiming to be the Messiah. When […]
Where Was Jesus Born? Exploring 10 Historical Truths
Where was Jesus born? Let’s journey back over 2,000 years to explore the place where Jesus the Messiah was born. Jesus’ birth is literally the basis of the modern calendar that is used all over the world.[1] Currently, we are about to enter the year 2024. In many places the date is still abbreviated as […]
What Does the Bible Say About Work? 10 Truths
What does the Bible say about work? That depends on where you flip to. The entrepreneurial and successful “Proverbs 31 woman” has a very different relationship to work than the demon-possessed, fortune-telling slave girl of Acts 16. The sluggard will need one set of verses, while the workaholic will need another. Because the question takes […]
