Category: Jesus

What Was Martha So Upset About?

Martha must have been really excited for Jesus to arrive. Luke 10:38 says she welcomed Jesus into her home. This has led some scholars to believe that Martha was the […]

Choosing Small Acts of Courage

Sometimes in life it only takes 20 seconds of insane courage to do something extraordinary. At least that is the way the movie We Bought a Zoo summarizes it. In […]

Beginning with the Beginning in Mind

When I was a kid, my dad was a certified instructor for Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, primarily in corporate settings. As a result, nearly every car […]

How does the Trinity make sense?

How would you answer the question, “So, the Holy Spirit is God, but so is the Father and so is Jesus—and yet there’s one God? How does the Trinity make […]

Who Were the Twelve Apostles?

During Jesus’ ministry, great crowds of people gathered around him to listen to his teaching. Some of those in the crowds committed themselves to him and became his disciples. Then, […]

How the Trinity Helps Us in Discipleship

“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (John 14:20, NIV) In reading for biblical literacy, […]

A Healthy Church is a Messy Church, As it Should Be

Spend more than a few weeks in the heart of a church and you discover that church is messy. I can see it in the face of first-timers, that look […]

Where Christian Leadership Begins: Q&A with Jaron Scott

*Editor’s Note: Jaron Scott pastors Christ’s Church of Joplin and works on the faculty of Ozark Christian College as a professor of organizational leadership. Here, Jaron explains how Christian leadership […]

Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is Near…and It’s Here

Have you ever looked for something all over your desk, kitchen counter, or workbench with no success only to see it magically appear right where you were looking one minute […]

Transfigured by Beholding Jesus

When you think of God, what do you see? I know God is Spirit, but Jesus is God—and so when you think of Him, what does His face look like? […]

Five Clues That the Christian Story Is True

For the Bible’s grand story to be true, some important facts also need to be true. There needs to be a God in the first place. This needs to be […]

Sermon on the Mount: Building Your House

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the […]

The Last Will Be First, and the First Will Be Last

The week of Jesus’ crucifixion, beginning with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his parables and teaching grew increasingly sharp in his condemnation of the religious leaders. He also continued to […]

Politics Is Downstream from Culture? Exploring the Other Side of the Coin

December 30, 2025 Amen to the Warning About Political Idolatry First, a hearty amen to Daniel and Bobby’s recent and excellent article, “The Birth of Our King and Our Country’s […]

A Merry Christmas in a Divided World

Kids start learning long division in 4th-5th grade. This is also around the same time many of them will learn about even longer divisions that apply to our world. Maybe […]

King Herod and King Jesus

Herod and Jesus: They were both kings. They both died excruciatingly painful deaths. They both built kingdoms. They both had powerful, formidable enemies. Both significantly affected history. They both lived […]

Stolen Jesus

Stop me if you have heard this one before…. “Belgian authorities are mystified over a brazen theft over the weekend from a Christmas Nativity scene of an icon of infant […]

What Was Mary’s Song?

When faced with an unbelievable situation, we often fall back on our upbringing, education, or experience to deal with it. Mary’s reaction to the announcement from the angel in Luke […]

The Birth of Our King and Our Country’s Political Focus

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.” —Isaiah 9:6a (NIV) Jesus was born into a politically […]

Christmas & Faith for the Long Game

It’s not a regular feature in your average Christmas play narrative, but it should be. His name was Simeon, and we can only find him in Luke’s gospel, chapter 2. History […]

VIDEO: Review of ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told: An Eyewitness Account,’ by Bear Grylls

Using the Gospel of John as the backbone, The Greatest Story Ever Told by Bear Grylls is a harmony of the Gospels retold from the perspective of various characters who […]

What Did Jesus Look Like?

Legend says that when Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper he used a young man’s face as a model for Jesus’s that radiated the Christ’s nobility, wisdom, and gentleness. […]

Is Smoking a Sin?

It’s a question I’ve been asked more than once—especially since God moved our congregation into the heart of our city and we began walking closely with people experiencing homelessness, addiction, […]

Meekness: Strength Under Control?

December 6, 2025 Once upon a time, so the legend goes, there was a man named Xenophon who loved horses. He loved horses so much that he wrote an entire […]

Review of ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told: An Eyewitness Account,’ by Bear Grylls

There’s a good chance when you hear the name Bear Grylls, the first thing that comes to mind is outdoor adventurist and survival expert, not “author of a book about […]

Fear and Faith: Understanding Islam with Courage and Compassion

As someone who teaches, speaks, and trains the church to share Christ with Muslims, I often encounter two vital questions: “Can we be concerned about Islamic ideology without fearing Muslims?” […]

Pastors and Workplace Leaders: A Two-Way Street to Kingdom Impact

In today’s cultural seismic shifts, the boundary between sacred and secular continues to blur—and that’s a positive development. As pastors, we have a unique opportunity to extend our influence beyond […]

What to Appreciate About N. T. Wright

The following is an excerpt from John Whittaker’s N. T. Wright: A Theological Appraisal. For the full eBook, click HERE.  Personally, I am grateful for the teaching of N. T. […]

Do We Really Need to Be Saved?

In his work The Republic, Plato relates a discussion between his brother Glaucon and his teacher Socrates. The discussion was about the question of human nature. Glaucon argues that, were […]

The Deceitfulness of Wealth?

Wealth, like sex, drugs, and fame, has an unusually strong effect on people. Everyone knows sex, drugs, and fame will seriously influence us, but for some reason, we resist the […]

Why This Moment Calls for a Better Vision Than Christian Nationalism

In the days since we began working on this article, the public conversation about Christian nationalism has taken center-stage once again. The recent civil war between Tucker Carlson and Ben […]

Jesus and the Buddha: What Happened After They Died?

What happened to Gautama (the Buddha) and to Jesus after their deaths? While Christians have historically held that Jesus rose from the dead and then, forty days later, ascended to […]

Young Jesus in the Temple: The Return Home (Part 3)

For Part 1 of this three-part imaginative recounting of young Jesus in the Temple (“An Insuperable Assignment”), click HERE, and for Part 2 (“The Search”), click HERE. How little Joseph and […]

Young Jesus in the Temple: the Search (Part 2)

For Part 1 of this imaginative recounting of young Jesus in the Temple (“An Insuperable Assignment”), click HERE. The parents spent the Feast visiting friends and family and touring the […]

Bigger Than You Thought: How Colossians 1 Expands Our View of Jesus

Your view of Jesus is probably too small. Throughout Jesus’ life, we see people divided over Jesus. Some hated him, some loved him for the miracles he did, almost everybody […]

The Character of God: Compassionate

If you ask someone, “What is God like?” you’ll get a variety of answers. I posed this question on Facebook last year. From dense theological explanations to quick two-word descriptions […]

Devoted Thomas

Thomas gets a bad rap. History has labeled him “Doubting Thomas” for one moment when he had the bad fortune of not being present when the resurrected Jesus appeared. When […]

Os Guinness: Our Nation’s Survival and the Necessity of Revival?

Author’s Note: Os Guinness knows the history of revivals. He is an internationally respected author, social critic, and cultural analyst who has written or edited more than thirty books, including […]

Young Jesus in the Temple: an Insuperable Assignment (Part 1)

From the first words Jesus bar Joseph spoke, he forecast the genius the villagers had heard only prodigies possessed. As he matured, an unbroken spiritual intuition distinguished his speech. Each […]

Hollow and Deceptive Philosophies: A Meditation on the Difficulty of Colossians 2:8

What I am going to try to articulate here is something that has been on my mind for some time. The seeds of these thoughts were not planted by the […]

Failing VS Falling Away

“But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:32, NIV) Today, when we’re on the […]

Normalize Conformity to the Image of Jesus as the Goal of Disciple Making

It’s common to hear that, as Christians, it’s important to be and make disciples of Jesus. But why is it so important? Sometime after discovering that we were supposed to […]

Jesus and the Buddha: How Did They Die?

Both Jesus and the Buddha anticipated their deaths and then died. What can we learn from these two deaths about the respective religions they founded? And, since everybody values the […]

What Does a Maturing Disciple of Jesus Look Like?

“That I be so transformed in your beauty that we may be alike in beauty, and both behold ourselves in your beauty, possessing then your very beauty; this, in such […]

What is the Gospel: And How Do We Respond?

It may be the most important word in Scripture. At its core, gospel means good news. In the ancient world, it marked a turning point—“Something has happened…and because it happened, […]

Do Dogs Go to Heaven? Reflections on the New Creation

Do dogs go to heaven? It’s not an idle question, because at the heart of the question of whether dogs go to heaven is the question of what we mean […]

Progressivism and Substitutionary Atonement

In the last hundred years or so, discussions among theological progressives about the Trinity, the nature of Christ, and substitutionary atonement are often not really about these doctrines at all. […]

Summary of Revelation: Understanding the Basics of Revelation in the Bible

Here is a short summary of Revelation: Revelation is a letter written to the seven churches of Asia as a prophecy in the form of apocalyptic literature. It uses drama […]

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two: 7 Reflections on How Disciples Go

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Luke 10:2, NIV) […]

Is It a Sin to Be a Billionaire?

August 5, 2025 In this post, I’m going to do something very unpopular. I’m going to defend billionaires. Kind of. First, a little context. Recently, I’ve seen people—some who are […]

Jesus and the Buddha: How Did They Help People?

When people spent time with Jesus, how was he able to help them? When people interacted with the Buddha, in what ways did the interaction benefit them? In this article, […]

What DID Jesus Do?

I was in middle school when I got my first WWJD bracelet. It was a black silicone band with white letters, and I can still remember how it felt on […]

Jesus Told Us to Go Bird Watching?

If I’m honest, I sometimes feel a little embarrassed going on walks with my parents. Why? Well…my mom and dad…are bird watchers. Mom, Dad, I know that you’re probably reading […]

The Life and Work of Gregory Palamas, Eastern Orthodox Theologian

Gregory Palamas is a name that frequently appears in the study and reading of the history and doctrine of the Eastern Orthodox Church.* Multiple authors quote his writings, and others […]

A Case for Bible Words

Each culture develops its own language. This is true not only within ethnic cultures but within subcultures. Within the basketball culture there are words such as “cut,” “flare screen,” “zone,” […]

Calvinism: Limited Atonement?

The most well-known feature of Calvinism is its famous five points, often referred to by Calvinists as “the doctrines of grace” and represented by the acronym TULIP.[1] There is much […]

Should We Care About the Shroud of Turin?

“And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in […]

When I Find Myself Running Ahead of Jesus

“You’re not struggling to hear me, So I’m not striving to be heard I am sure the One who made me, Is catching every word When You’re this close, I […]

Is the Shroud of Turin Real?

I’ll just go ahead and say it. I believe that the Shroud of Turin is the authentic burial shroud of Jesus. Further, I believe that the resurrection is the best […]

Code-Switching Judas

Something strange is going on in Matthew 26. It is the last supper. Jesus has the disciples gathered and is telling them someone will betray him. “They were very sad […]

How Should Christians Think About the Law of Attraction?

Imagine this scenario: You’ve hit a tough season in your life. Maybe you feel spiritually dry because of it, and you’re tired of going through the motions each day only […]

Disciple Making, Matthew Bates, and 5-Point Calvinism: Q&A with Bill Hull

*Editor’s Note: Our mission at RENEW.org is to “renew the teachings of Jesus to Fuel Disciple Making,” so we want to take note of an important debate that is currently […]

Citizen of Heaven?

Where you from? A big city lawyer is duck hunting in rural Arizona. He shoots a bird which falls over the fence into a field. As he’s climbing the fence, […]

Igniting Disciple Making Movements in North America: Four Crucial Steps

There’s a question I get asked. A lot. The question church leaders ask me is, “Josh, why do you think disciple making movements are happening in places like China and India […]

Looking for a Discipleship Pathway? Check Out John 1.

Have you ever pondered the thought, “If Jesus started a discipleship plan, what would it look like?” Now, if you have been in ministry long enough, I am sure that […]

Refusing to Believe: A Retelling of Jesus’ Appearance to Thomas

Young John escaped the ravenous agnosticism tormenting the other disciples by insightfully seeing meaning in the evidence Jesus left in the tomb: the nearly undisturbed shroud meant Jesus had levitated […]

What is Good Friday? Its Events, Context, and Significance

What is Good Friday, and why do Christians celebrate it? Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday. It is commemorated as the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified. […]

5 Offerings in the Old Testament Law

“These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering and the fellowship offering, which the Lord gave Moses […]

Leading from the Subway: The Importance of Knowing Whom You Lead

Faced with one of the most daunting decisions to make, Winston Churchill found himself in a dilemma. One decision would plunge the United Kingdom into world war. The other choice […]

What Does the Bible Say About Grief?

Let’s start with a little bit of Bible trivia. Do you know what the shortest verse is in the Bible? It’s John 11:35: “Jesus wept.” I’m willing to bet you […]

The Purpose of Lent? An Invitation of Decrease and Increase

I never quite understood Ash Wednesday when I was younger. My home church never emphasized anything about Lent, or even Good Friday for that matter. In my experience growing up […]

Who’s on the Throne?

I’m going to be honest. I am hit—way more than I care to admit—with the realization that my agenda is my agenda and not God’s. I might have just preached a sermon […]

Bringing Our Expectations in Line with God’s Truth

“But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.” (Luke 7:30, NIV) What expectations have we placed […]

Renew Review: Dallas Willard’s ‘Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables Revolutionize Life with God’

In Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God, the late Dallas Willard’s teachings on the parables of Jesus have been gathered together to serve […]

Sermon on the Mount: What Is Love in Christianity?

What is love in Christianity? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us about the love God has for us and we are called to have for each other. […]

Powerless Authority: A Retelling of the Jesus-Pilate Dialogues

Drugged with sleep, Pontius didn’t stir at his servant’s words: “Sir, Caiaphas and his priests are here to see you.” “I don’t care,” he snarled from the corner of his […]

Discipling Lost People into Salvation

“Metanoesein kai pistos emoi genesesthai!” These were the words of Flavius Josephus to a group of Jewish rebels in 66 A.D., commanding them to abandon their current course of action and […]

Review of Dallas Willard’s ‘The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God’

The Scandal of the Kingdom is the latest collection of Dallas Willard’s teaching on living as a disciple of Jesus. Dallas served as a professor of philosophy at the University […]

How Can We Treat the Bible like Jesus Did?

In times of increasing skepticism about the Bible’s authority, we need to return to who Jesus is and how He viewed the Bible. (See articles 1 and 2 here.) How […]

Preach and Normalize Being a Disciple of Jesus

In a previous article on preaching and normalizing “King Jesus,” I argued that we want to avoid the false dichotomy of “King Jesus” vs. “Savior Jesus” by integrating and synthesizing […]

Jesus’ Genealogy and You

“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1, NIV) Prior to telling us about Jesus’ birth, Matthew gives us an […]

Who Was Mary in the Bible?

Imagine! The promised Savior would be born to an insignificant young Jewish woman, Mary, from an insignificant little town, Nazareth. Very little is revealed about Mary’s upbringing and circumstances other […]

Why Was Jesus Born? A Christmas Poem

One of my favorite phrases in the Bible was spoken by an angel to a group of shepherds on the first Christmas. The angel came to announce “great joy for […]

How to Experience Joy

Bono once said, “Joy is an act of defiance.” I like the way he put it. A joy-filled disposition by a disciple of Jesus is an act of defiance against […]

Christmas & the Enemy

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, NIV) Through all the wonder and […]

The Christmas Shepherds: Why God Picked Them and What They Teach Us

You ever feel like you’ve missed Christmas? Where it came, went, you did a bunch of activities—but you kind of missed it? Most people did. Most everybody in Israel and […]

Summary of Hebrews: Understanding the Basics of Hebrews in the Bible

The book of Hebrews is a message written to a group of Jewish Christians who were on the brink of giving up their faith in Jesus and reverting to Judaism. […]

Jesus and the Buddha: How Did They Interact with Society?

It’s impossible to overstate the influence of Siddhartha Gautama over the Eastern world and Jesus Christ over the Western world. But how did they minister in society? In this article, […]

The Pitfalls of Winning

I am a sports fan. I admit it. I also admit that my mood can rise and fall with the success, or lack thereof, of my favorite teams. Some of […]

Jesus and the Buddha: How Did They React to Suffering?

If we were to name the most important religious figures of the Western and Eastern world, they would be Jesus Christ for the West and Siddhartha Gautama, also known as […]

Jesus’ Transfiguration: A Visible Reminder That Jesus Fulfills the Law & Prophets

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. […]

Is Jesus the Only Way?

A few years ago, a really big question on the minds of a lot of people, especially around 9/11 (September 11, 2001), was about Islam: Is Islam a religion of […]

Sermon on the Mount: Salt and Light

“You are the salt of the earth. . . You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:13-14, NIV) When Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth/light of […]

The Prophecy of Simeon: How Jesus Causes the Falling & Rising of Many

Aged Simeon nestled the eight-day-old Jesus in his arms and murmured wonderingly to Joseph and Mary, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, […]

What Did Jesus Believe about the Bible?

In light of increasing skepticism about the Bible’s authority in our lives (see “Are We Turning into Skeptics of the Bible”), we should take a fresh look at why we […]

God’s Will…Period.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the Lord’s Prayer. I wonder if we get too familiar with the Lord’s Prayer. We know the words. We know them so well that if someone started […]

The Bible & My Vote?

A man in our congregation recently asked, “Would you preach a sermon about Christians and voting?” My inner voice said, “No!” Is there a topic more guaranteed to send people […]

Preach and Normalize “King Jesus”

Christ is one of those words in the New Testament that I believe it is unfortunate that we transliterated instead of translated. Jesus Christ would have been understood in the […]

What Was Jesus’ Core Mission?

I’ve met many sincere Christians who spend considerable time wondering and praying, “What is God’s will for my life?” Maybe you have thought about that question in your quiet moments, […]

The Decisions That Transform Eternity

I never met the man, but I wish I could have. He was my great-grandfather on my mother’s and grandmother’s side of the family. I am told that he died […]

Legion in the Bible: An Army of Demons VS Jesus’ Authority

Author’s note: Jesus claimed that all authority in heaven and on earth was given to him (Matthew 28:18-20). Although his authority blazes from every text of the Gospels, perhaps his […]

What Is the Gospel?

Let me start by stating the simplified answer to the question, “What is the gospel?” The “gospel” is an expression in Scripture that simply means “good news.” It is best […]

What Is Unity in the Bible? (It’s Far More Important Than I Thought.)

And the first prize for most unifying religion goes to… Easy answer, right? Obviously, the answer is supposed to be Christianity, isn’t it? And yet the church isn’t always very […]

Because You Say So, I Will

God’s ways are higher than our ways, so it’s no wonder that some of His commands don’t always make sense to us. Throughout the Bible, we see examples of people […]

Why Do We Confess Jesus as Messiah and Lord?

We call the “good confession” what Christians confess out loud when they convert to Christ. Early Christian formulations of the good confession point to two important ideas. First, confessing that […]

Did the Gospels Borrow from Pagan Mythology?

Mythology in the Greco-Roman world had dying and rising god-men—Apollo, Asclepius, Hercules, Tammuz. Serapis was called Lord. Half the Greek gods were said to be born of virgins. Hercules ascended […]

Encountering God’s Amazing Grace

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, ESV) Literary editors claim that the phrase […]

Resisting the Lure of Legalism

“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them?” (Mark 7:18, NIV) Let’s talk about legalism. I know […]

Beatitudes: The Path of the Kingdom

Jesus’ original audience often misunderstood him because they filtered his teachings through their preconceived worldview and the skewed questions that flowed from it. We have a different worldview with different […]

Jesus Is God the Son? Exploring the Logic of Jesus’ Deity

Christians believe that Jesus was a human and God. He was somehow a God-man, God “incarnate.” But does this belief make logical sense? If you’d like to delve into some […]

Jesus Clears the Temple (and What He’ll Do to You Too)

Have you ever seen somebody get really angry who normally doesn’t get angry? It’s a little like, “Oh! Never seen that side of you.” You realize it must be really […]

Was Jesus Jewish? A Summary of the Jewishness of Jesus’ Life and Ministry

Was Jesus Jewish? There are four ways in which Jesus’ life and ministry were thoroughly influenced by his Jewishness. He grew up and lived in a thoroughly Jewish world. His […]

What Was Jesus’ Teaching? Rediscovering Jesus’ Primary Message

It would be a glaring understatement to say that the Church today is in deep crisis. And not just local churches and their leaders—but the whole enterprise of global Christianity. […]

What Is the Kingdom of Heaven?

We see throughout the Gospel of Matthew that the kingdom of God is a major theme in Jesus’ message. Kingdom can be thought of as a word made up of […]

What Prevents Us from Life Transformation?

At a ministry conference recently, I commented that, when measured against the heart of God in the Sermon on the Mount, large segments of American Christianity seem to be going […]

Does Jesus Lower the Bar for Righteousness?

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17, NIV) We tend […]

Take My Yoke Upon You

Living in the world is tiring. From work, to school, to familial duties, to just living life, it can all be so much. The good news is that our God […]

‘Why the Gospel’ by Matthew Bates Book Review

As disciples of Jesus, we believe, obey, and share the gospel. But what is the point of the gospel? Author, theologian, and educator Matthew Bates’s newest book is Why the […]

Progressivism and the Resurrection of Jesus

Orthodox, biblical, historic Christianity does not stop at the death of Jesus. It goes straight from Jesus’ death to his resurrection—which is the flip side of the same redemptive coin. […]

Timeline of Holy Week

What’s the timeline of “Holy Week”? Sometimes, it’s also called Passion Week or the Final Week. Whatever you call it, the week of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion (Sunday to Saturday) […]

Which Is Our G.O.A.T? Reflection on the Greatest Commands and Great Commission

As an avid sports fan, I’m not one to object when pulled into a friendly debate discussing the merits of this or that player of this or that professional sport. […]

Church History Debates: Was Jesus One or Two Persons?

In its early centuries, the church wrestled with how exactly to describe Jesus. When Arius taught that Jesus wasn’t fully God, the church consensus clarified that Jesus was, in fact, […]

Peace on Earth: Being Peacemakers in Volatile Times

“If God be our God, He will give us peace in trouble. When there is a storm without, He will make peace within. The world can create trouble in peace, […]

Church History Debates: Is Jesus Fully Human?

At the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, the vast majority of the church’s leaders affirmed that Jesus was fully God (contrary to the teaching of Arius). Yet, if Jesus […]

Church History Debates: Is Jesus Fully God?

After the Roman emperor Constantine used Christianity to unify his empire, his son Constantius went one step further: He attempted to unify the Roman empire under an even more unifying […]

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 […]

Christmas: The Invisible Made Visible

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his […]

Christmas: Does the Wrapping Really Matter?

As Christmas nears, is all your gift wrapping done? And does the wrapping really matter? By the way, Americans use 4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper every year (most of […]

Glory in a Feed Trough

“May God give you peace with yourselves; may He give you good will towards all your friends, your enemies, and your neighbors; and may He give you grace to give […]

Church Hurt: 4 Reasons from Jesus Why Churches Can Disappoint

Church hurt. Do you know what it’s like to be disappointed by church? In 1994, in the African country of Rwanda, one African people group named the Hutus tried to […]

Jesus: Our Guide for Affirming Both Testaments

The Bible, comprising the Old and New Testaments, holds a central place in the lives of Christians. It serves as a guide and a source of spiritual nourishment. However, one […]

From Yom Kippur to Jesus

“Because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.” (Leviticus 16:30) “In fact, the […]

The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock: 3 Questions to Ask About the Way We Build

“The wise man built his house upon the rock.” By “rock,” Jesus meant his teachings. Unfortunately, it is very possible to hear the teachings of Jesus but not to put […]

What Is a Parable in the Bible? The What, Why, and How of Jesus’ Parables

Let’s consider the what, why, and how of Jesus’ parables in the Bible. What are parables? Why does Jesus speak in parables? How should they be interpreted? These are important […]

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness?

Meals Ready to Eat or MRE are pre-packaged meals given to service members when cooking or preparing food is not an option. You should know a few things about them […]

How to Love Your Neighbor

Jesus tells us to love our neighbors, but what does that look like? How do we practice it regularly? Paul Huyghebaert shares intentional steps to make this a regular part […]

What Makes You Cry?

Why is it that some people rarely cry while others weep at the opening of a new supermarket? Sometimes it is a matter of maturity. While we expect babies to […]

The Relationship Between Surrender & Self-Control

One of the beautiful and frustrating things about biblical Christianity—about following Jesus—is the tension that we face between seemingly incompatible things. I say incompatible in the sense that we try […]

Jesus Washing Feet: Why Humble Service Makes a Lot of Sense

What are we to make of the story of Jesus washing feet? This act was meant to give Jesus’ disciples a dramatic example of love to follow so that they […]

Who was John the Baptist in the Bible? Meet the Prophetic Preacher who Prepared People for the Messiah

Who was John the Baptist in the Bible? John the Baptist, who lived in the wilderness of Judea, was a prophet and a preacher who prepared people for Jesus, the […]

“Jesus is Lord”: A Revolutionary Echo from the Greco-Roman World

In the modern church, “Jesus is Lord” rolls easily off the tongue in sermon and song. It has invaded our vocabulary and become standard in our liturgy. As an ancient […]

Did Satan Waste His Last Temptation?

When you’ve been fasting longer than a day, food becomes a temptation. When you’re trying to get nationally known, popularity becomes a temptation. Likewise, when Jesus was fasting in the […]

What Are You Worth?

Have you ever been to the grocery store and your jaw dropped at the skyrocketing food prices? That was me a few months ago as a broke college student wanting […]

Freedom in Christ: Discerning True Freedom from Its Counterfeits

Amid counterfeit freedom, we need freedom in Christ. Although we naturally want freedom to do whatever our impulses tell us we want, such unrestrained “freedom” often leads us to a […]

How Does Jesus Teach Disciple Makers to Conquer Fear?

I am constantly trying to learn skills and tactics to help me be a better dad, husband, writer, teacher, and how to be a better disciple maker. In my reading […]

The Light Shines in the Darkness: 4 Effects of Seeing Jesus’ Light

The apostle John explains at the beginning of his Gospel, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (John 1:5). By “the light,” John is […]

The Offensive Words of Jesus

Several years ago, I was confronted by a disgruntled woman about something I taught in a Bible study video. “What you said in that lesson offended me!” Looking for an […]

What Was Jesus’ Disciple Making Method?

It was a tough few weeks for me. I was juggling my responsibilities with the church I serve as lead pastor. I was working with a small group of senior […]

Is Jesus God? A Narrative Journey into the Evidence

Is Jesus God? Based on what Jesus claimed about himself, what Jesus did to back up his claims, and what both his Old Testament predecessors and New Testament contemporaries said […]

What Is the Meaning of Easter?

What is the meaning of Easter? Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, which happened the Sunday after he was crucified on Friday. Jesus’ resurrection is worth celebrating […]

What Happened on Good Friday?

What happened on Good Friday? It was the day Jesus was crucified by Roman soldiers on charges of blasphemy from the religious leaders. According to the biblical record, his death […]

Sermon on the Mount: “Lord, Lord”

For most of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has been happy to dance in the fuzzy intersection between the “now” and the “not yet”—between the old age that is […]

Keep Speaking These Unspeakable Words

We’re discovering some words which used to be fine to talk about, but which now have become increasingly unspeakable. These aren’t cuss words; rather, they’re Bible words. One of these increasingly unutterable […]

Jesus Is Lord: On Finding Our Identity by Discovering the Identity of Jesus

What does it mean to declare that Jesus is Lord? The Greek word kurios is a word that can mean lord, master, or sir. It is also the Greek word […]

Sermon on the Mount: False Prophets

One thing that makes walking the narrow path difficult (Matt. 7:13-14) is that the wide path has a lot of hype men. They’re not hard to find. Thomas Keating recounts […]

5 Learnings from Participating in Deliverance Ministry

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. […]

Sermon on the Mount: Narrow Gate

In Luke, someone straight-up asks Jesus, “Are only a few people going to be saved?” (Luke 13:23). In his answer, echoed in Matthew, Jesus clearly says, “Yes”: “Enter through the […]

Jesus Turns Water into Wine…And Turns Worry to Faith

The Gospel of John narrates how, to save a wedding feast which has run out of wine, Jesus turns water into wine. As Jesus’ first public miracle, the Gospel of […]

Jesus’ Baptism: What It Did and Why It Matters

What was the point of Jesus’ baptism? Of all the baptisms John the Baptist did, the one that most confused him was when the Messiah himself came to be baptized. […]

The Greatest Thing You Can Do In 2023

Paul knew Jesus. He experienced him personally on the road to Damascus. Paul was inspired. Paul had the Spirit. Paul had visions. Paul knew Jesus but there was still much […]

Why Jesus? My Testimony of Being Found

Jesus will leave a herd of ninety-nine sheep to find the one that is lost (Matt. 18:12-14). Jesus will stay when the whole world walks away (John 14:18). Right before […]

Sermon on the Mount: Do Unto Others

Do unto others what you would have them do unto you… So that’s the Sermon on the Mount. At least the meat of it, anyway. Matthew 7:12 is the second […]

Give and It Will Be Given to You?

Jesus once told his disciples, “Give and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:38, NIV). Really? I struggle to see how that works at times. Logically, if I give […]

The Christmas Gift the World Didn’t Want

During yesterday’s sermon, the preacher focused on the nativity scene and the sweetness surrounding the birth of the baby Jesus, which is the norm this time of the year. But unlike […]

4 Ways to Live the Christmas God Intended

One of my favorite Christmas movies is Elf. In the movie, the female lead character, Jovie, is less than excited about Christmas. One time, while decorating a Christmas tree, she […]

The Christmas Bride & Bridegroom

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Ps. 107:1) Tis the season . . . for romance. Or so it seems—gauged […]

Jesus Was the Messiah. So, What’s a “Messiah”? Q&A with Jon Kehrer

Around Christmas, we often hear how Jesus was the Messiah, a long-awaited figure who would arrive and rescue people from their sins. But what does the word “messiah” mean? The […]

Op-Ed by Herod the Great

Herod the Great, the villain of the Christmas story, was a master of political survival. His long reign under the Caesars came at the cost of constant paranoia, even having […]

What I Learned from Walking in Jesus’ Footsteps

“Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:6, ESV) Last May, I carved out nine days for an […]

Sermon on the Mount: Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged?

Judge not lest ye be judged. In the larger flow of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ command to “Judge not” (Matt. 7:1-6) seems to come out of nowhere. Here […]

Sermon on the Mount: Don’t Worry

Storing up treasures in heaven makes sense. Serving God and not Mammon is obviously the right choice. But if you follow this train of thought all the way, it brings […]

Messianic Secret: Why Did Jesus Quiet People Down About Him?

In what has been called the “Messianic Secret,” Jesus told both demons and people not to tell what they knew about him. Sometimes it was during an exorcism, after a […]

Did Jesus really exist? Don’t we have just untrustworthy copies of copies of copies of the Gospels?

Did Jesus really exist? Although some scholars have questioned Jesus’ existence, we actually have remarkable evidence for the historicity of Jesus. In addition, there is remarkable evidence that what we […]

Sermon on the Mount: Mammon

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot […]

6 Discipleship Insights We Learn from Watching Jesus with Disciples

Watching Jesus with disciples is one of the best ways we learn to disciple others. There are a lot of healthy conversations in churches and Christian leadership about discipleship methods. […]

Christ the Victor: How Did Jesus Beat Our Worst Enemies?

One of Jesus’ titles throughout history is “Christ the Victor.” This title describes how Jesus is victorious over his enemies. But if Jesus is the victor over his enemies, why […]

Sermon on the Mount: The Eye Is the Lamp of the Body

Where is your focus? I think that’s the question Jesus poses in Matt. 6:22-23: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body […]

Jesus Heals a Leper (and Trades Places with Him)

In Mark 1:40-45, Jesus heals a leper. Although Jesus was notorious for defying social boundaries, the way he healed the leper was unthinkable: he reached out and touched him. In […]

Better to Be a Good Samaritan Than a Good Priest

“Good Samaritan” has entered our English vocabulary to mean someone who helps a person in a tough spot. The phrase comes from a story Jesus told of an unlikely hero […]

What Does the Bible Say about Divorce? 10 Truths About Marriage and Divorce.

What does the Bible say about divorce? Through Scripture Jesus teaches us that marriage is good and its purpose is for companionship, sexual enjoyment, and raising godly children. It is […]

Meaning of “Christ”: Rediscovering What’s Been Lost in Transliteration

The meaning of Christ goes beyond being a part of Jesus’ name. It’s a transliteration of the Greek word christos, which described the anointed Jewish king who was to come. […]

Bible Verses About Money & 10 Questions That Follow

There are surprisingly numerous Bible verses about money. What does the Bible teach about money? Biblical teachings on money emphasize our need to steward it wisely and never let it […]

Sermon on the Mount: Treasure in Heaven

In English, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21), almost sounds redundant. We use the word “treasure” to mean something we care about (e.g., “Those […]

Lord’s Prayer: Deliver Us From Evil

Seriously? The last word in the Lord’s Prayer is “evil”? That’s a terrible ending (Matt. 6:13). An early Christian community couldn’t handle it, so they decided to come up with […]

Lord’s Prayer: As We Forgive Our Debtors

We live in between the old and the new. The Kingdom is “now,” but it is also “not yet.” So if forgiveness is the bridge between the two, and we […]

Loving Your Actual Neighbor: Starting Where You Live (Part 1)

In 2017 on a return flight from Orlando back to Ohio, I sat quietly contemplating one main question posed at the Exponential conference I had just attended. And that question […]

Lord’s Prayer: Forgive Us Our Debts

The Lord’s Prayer is short. That’s kind of the point (Matt. 6:7-8). If you’re going to whittle things down and say no more than what absolutely needs to be said, […]

Amid Unspeakable Tragedies, This Is What I Most Appreciate about Jesus.

Nineteen children and two teachers were gunned down yesterday in a 2nd–4th grade elementary school in Uvalde, TX. Their parents will be sobbing and rocking themselves in grief tonight at […]

Fearing the Waves, Trusting in Jesus

I like to blame my fear of water on the 2006 film Poseidon. In the movie, a cruise ship is hit by a massive wave, and nearly everyone drowns. It’s […]

Who Were Jesus’ Brothers? A Q&A with Brian Cunningham, PhD

Who were Jesus’ brothers? The sons of Joseph and Mary were James, Joseph, Jude, and Simon. While they were skeptical of Jesus during his ministry, this changed after Jesus’ resurrection. […]

The Devil Comes to Steal, Kill, and Destroy—and What This Says about False Teaching

One of the clues that something is evil is that it’s not very creative. Instead, it takes what’s been created and seeks to destroy it. The Bible teaches that the […]

Revisiting Jesus’ Unabridged Invitation

Picture a typical worship service, youth group lesson, or revival meeting somewhere in America. There’s been worship in song, prayer, preaching, and now the invitation to “accept Jesus into your […]

Jesus Loves the Little Children—and the Church Must Too.

Jesus loves the little children, and he taught his followers to do the same. This is why churches have historically helped care for children in vulnerable situations, whether facing poverty, […]

5 Reasons Jesus Teaches Us to Choose Life

There are lots of opinions, philosophies, and beliefs surrounding the topic of abortion. As Christian ministers, we believe it is best to trust Jesus over human wisdom. By his teaching […]

Lord’s Prayer: How Can We Pray for Our Daily Bread?

If you’re looking for general advice on prayer, the first thing the Lord’s Prayer says is to center yourself on eternity. Paradoxically, the second thing it says is that the […]

The Resurrection: a Creative Lie or the Key to Life?

On a number of occasions, well-known Christian author and speaker Chuck Colson remarked that he knew the Resurrection was true based on the Watergate scandal. Before he came to Christ, […]

How Did Jesus Die for Our Sins?

How did Jesus die for our sins? He did it by first entering our human story and being everything we had been created to be but failed to be. Then […]

Good Friday Quiz: Score Yourself on a Scale from Jehovah’s Witness to Joel Osteen.

“Good Friday” is a fascinating name for a commemoration of history’s worst injustice. Just how should we feel on such a day? “Good” suggests happy, but that Friday was anything but. […]

Why Do We Celebrate Easter? J.E.S.U.S. gives us 5 Easy-to-Remember Reasons.

Why do we celebrate Easter? Easter is the most important event that has occurred so far in human history. It is the day Christians celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. […]

What Are the Gospels in the Bible? A Summary of Each Gospel

Have you ever wondered what is unique about each of the Gospels in the New Testament? The four Gospels in the Bible are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Gospels […]

Lord’s Prayer: Your Kingdom Come

What did Jesus mean we told us to pray, “Your kingdom come”? It’s worthwhile to pause and ask how this core concern ought to shape our prayers.  Jesus’ discussion of […]

Sermon on the Mount: Why Philanthropy & Prayer in Secret?

Why would Jesus tell us to practice our righteous acts such as giving and prayer in secret? It’s a crucial test of the heart.  “Beware of practicing your righteousness before […]

Who Jesus Is: A 15-Scripture Tour Through Who He Is and What He Does

Jesus gets talked about and quoted a lot, but have you ever wondered who Jesus is? This 15-Scripture tour walks us through who Jesus is and what he does. The […]

Zacchaeus of the Bible & the Cure for Little Man Syndrome

Who was the Zacchaeus of the Bible? Zacchaeus was a little guy with a massive salary. Although a Jew, he collected taxes from the Jews for the Romans and climbed […]

Good News, Good Fear, and Good Change

The good news of Jesus brings good change, and that’s not always something that leaves us feeling warm and secure.  For the last decade, I have been blessed to teach […]

Where Christmas Originated

Have you ever wondered where Christmas originated? It goes back to the birth of Jesus Christ in ancient Israel, but how we celebrate Christmas today comes from traditions from all […]

10 Ways the Holy Family Experienced the Stress of Christmas

Although most paintings don’t give any hints, Mary and Joseph experienced the stress of Christmas in ten major ways.  Traditional Christmas cards often feature a painting of the Holy Family: […]

A Thrill of Hope: Rediscovering Joy by Returning to the Original Christmas

Although the romanticism of Christmas can fade, we rediscover lasting joy by returning to the original Christmas.  I love the Christmas season. I always have. I took my family to […]

Did Jesus Have Siblings?

Did Jesus have siblings? How many kids did Mary and Joseph have? At first glance, this seems like a rather easy question with a straightforward answer. The Gospels mention four […]

The Spiritual Meaning of Christmas: It’s Bigger Than “God Loves You”

What is the spiritual meaning of Christmas? The central message which defined the original Christmas and continues to shape spirituality today is that Jesus has come to earth as our […]

5 Insights from the Wise Men in the Bible

What can we learn from the wise men in the Christmas story of the Bible? By digging into the historical narrative, we come away with five surprisingly robust insights from […]

Who is King Herod in the Bible?

Who is King Herod in the Bible? He was a great builder, dynasty namesake, skilled politician, and paranoid king who killed any perceived threat. Although an Idumean, he married into […]

What’s Stronger Than the World’s Most Powerful Nation?

What’s even stronger than the world’s most powerful nation? It’s something God has placed deep within the human soul.  “You know what? How about I get you a one-way way […]

Sermon on the Mount: An Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth

What are we to make of Jesus’ take on “An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth”? Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount explains that there’s a better […]

Letting Jesus Define Our Terms

Letting Jesus Define Our Terms for Powerful Discipleship and Kingdom Living Definitions matter because even small tweaks can drain words like disciple and kingdom of their biblical power. Jesus defines […]

Peter on Water: The Lesson Is Bigger Than We Think

Peter on Water and the Powerful Point We Keep Missing Peter on Water is less about Peter’s bravery and more about Jesus revealing himself as God, the one who treads […]

Faith Didn’t Heal My Daughter: A Deconstruction Story (Part 1: Jesus, My Best Friend)

I don’t remember a time when I was not a believer. My earliest memories involve singing to Jesus as a very small child–maybe 3 years old. Mom or Dad would […]

What Is a Disciple?

What Is a Disciple: A Biblical Framework for Following Jesus What Is a Disciple? A disciple is someone who follows Jesus, trusts Him in faith, and begins their journey through […]

Sermon on the Mount: How to Cut Off Your Hand

Cut Off Your Hand: Practical Steps to Fight Lust Jesus’ “whatever it takes” warning targets the earliest moment of temptation, calling you to cut off lust at the level of […]

Truth About God in Special Revelation

Special Revelation: How God Reveals Himself in History Knopp highlights that God’s miracles in real moments—like the Exodus, Mount Carmel, and Jesus’ works—aim to reveal the Lord’s unique identity. Scripture’s […]

Why Is the Second Coming of Jesus So Important?

Second Coming: Why Jesus’ Return Is So Important Johnson explains that Jesus promised to come again, and when He appears for all to see, it will be too late to […]

Why Storytelling is Important to the Life of a Christian

Christian Storytelling: Why It Matters for Faith Chime argues that storytelling is a constant part of human life, building connection, unlocking memory, and helping people make meaning. Scripture models God’s […]

Answering Questions with Stories

Answering Questions with Stories: Powerful Truth Jesus often taught through stories, answering questions in ways that shape what we believe and how we live. Family narratives form identity, and Scripture […]

Learning to Pray: Ask (Part 3 of P.R.A.Y.)

Prayer Request: Ask Boldly and Expectantly Even when prayer feels awkward, the article reminds us that asking is central to prayer and invites discouraged believers to start asking again. Through […]

5 Types of Miracles

Types of Miracles and How God Works in the World Types of Miracles include creational acts where God brings reality into existence, making the universe and its laws a profound […]

Sermon on the Mount: Lust and Objectification

Lust and Objectification: What Jesus Teaches in Matthew 5 Jesus extends the command against adultery to “looking with intent,” exposing objectification as a heart-level form of unfaithfulness. Biblical sexual ethics […]

How to Tell the Story of the Bible in 7 Kingdoms

7 Kingdoms in the Bible That Reveal the Kingdom We’ve Longed For Biblical history moves through Egypt, Israel, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, showing how human kingdoms repeatedly bring tragedy […]

What Does the Kingdom of God Look Like Through the Church?

Church and Kingdom Through the Authority of the Ekklesia Jesus builds his church as an assembly of kingdom people who display what God’s reign looks like under King Jesus. *Through […]

What Is the Kingdom of God?

Kingdom of God and the Reign of King Jesus The Kingdom of God is the realm where God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven through the […]

Introduction to Kingdom Life: Experience God’s Reign Through Love and Holiness

Kingdom Life and the Questions That Guide God’s Reign Kelvin Teamer introduces Kingdom Life as living under the majestic rule of King Jesus. This series walks through five key questions […]

How Does Faith Respond to the Enthronement of King Jesus?

King Jesus and Faithful Responses to His Enthronement Faith responds to the enthroned King Jesus by living faithfully and pursuing the Great Commission with compassion, hope, and worship despite hardship. […]

How Does Jesus Call Us to Both Salvation and Discipleship?

Salvation and Discipleship: The Lifelong Invitation of Jesus Jesus defines salvation as a lifelong relationship, not merely a one-time event like baptism or forgiveness. Through healing and restoration, Christ reunites […]

Learning to Pray: Rejoice (Part 2 of P.R.A.Y.)

Rejoice Always: Learning to Pray with Praise and Thanks Thanksgiving and praise belong at the heart of prayer, because rejoicing honors God for what He has done and who He […]

Introduction to Faithful Faith: Reclaiming Faith from Culture and Tradition

Reclaiming Faith: A Roadmap for Faithful Faith Mark E. Moore introduces Faithful Faith as biblical teaching meant to empower the church to live authentically and make disciples. Five questions guide […]

Sermon on the Mount: Contempt

Contempt: Jesus’ Heart-Level Call to Reconciliation Jesus links contempt to the whole spectrum, from anger and “Raca/Fool” name-calling all the way to murder as its ultimate expression. Rather than policing […]

How Is Jesus’ Kingship Beneficial?

Jesus’ Kingship and the Benefits Scripture Describes Clarify what kind of King Jesus is—crowned with thorns, born in a manger, and riding on a donkey—so his kingship isn’t left ambiguous. […]

Why Do We Need Royal Good News?

What is the Gospel and Royal Good News Royal good news is necessary because God’s gospel restores His original purpose for humanity to reflect His image and rule on His […]

Book Review: The Man Called Messiah, by Corey Stumne

The Man Called Messiah and a Slow Motion Look at the Cross The Man Called Messiah draws readers into Jesus’ betrayal, flogging, death, burial, and resurrection with gritty detail and […]

What is the Gospel?

The Gospel: What It Is and Why It Truly Matters The Gospel announces Jesus as the saving King—promised, incarnate, crucified for sins, buried, resurrected, enthroned, and returning to rule. Counterfeit […]

Introduction to The Gospel Precisely: Surprisingly Good News about Jesus Christ the King

The Gospel Precisely: Why the Gospel Must Be Clear The Gospel Precisely equips believers to participate more fully in God’s saving mission by learning the gospel with greater nuance and […]

The Gospel Precisely Author Q&A – Matthew Bates with Bobby Harrington

Definition of the Gospel: Clear & Urgent Q&A Definition of the Gospel is clarified as the story of Jesus the saving King—sent by the Father, incarnate in David’s line, crucified, […]

What Does It Mean to Be Baptized for the Forgiveness of Our Sins?

What Does It Mean to Be Baptized? Clear Forgiveness What does it mean to be baptized? Bapism is described as the normative point where faith connects with God’s grace and […]

Your Reconstruction Story as Told by Jesus

Faith Reconstruction and Jesus Repairing the Foundation Faith Reconstruction highlights how Jesus deconstructs what cannot remain, leaving only what God intends to be truly foundational. John’s “I am” statements show […]

What Does It Mean to Confess Jesus as Lord?

Confess Jesus: What It Means to Boldly Declare Him as Lord Declaring Jesus as Lord means pledging loyalty to Him as King and rejecting every rival claim to rule your […]

Habitual Sin: Do We Want to Get Well?

Habitual Sin: Do We Truly Want to Get Well? Jesus’ question in John 5 exposes whether we truly want healing or keep waiting in patterns that never change. Habitual sin […]

What Does It Mean to Place One’s Faith in Jesus?

Faith in Jesus: What It Means to Truly Believe and Follow In John’s Gospel, belief is an action word, showing that real faith includes an outward response. Trusting Jesus means […]

Which Is a Better Way to Grow Disciples: Vine-Ripened or Mass-Produced?

Better Way to Grow Disciples and the Vine-Ripened Path to Fruit Better Way to Grow Disciples is illustrated through vine-ripened tomatoes—slow, nurtured growth that produces lasting, flavorful fruit. Modern efficiency […]

Learning to Pray: Pause (Part 1 of P.R.A.Y.)

Pause in Prayer: The First Step Toward Deeper Connection Discover how slowing down before you speak helps you center your heart on God and approach prayer with reverence. Learn why […]

Sermon on the Mount: Fulfilling the Law

Fulfilling the Law Through Jesus’ Completion and Covenant Shift Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount that He did not abolish the Law and the Prophets but brought them […]

How Does the Holy Spirit Move Us toward Jesus?

Holy Spirit Move: Word, Power, and Conviction Holy Spirit Move through the Word as He inspires Scripture to reveal God clearly and invite us into a relationship with Jesus. Signs, […]

Why Did Jesus Pick Fishermen? Answer: The Gospel.

Gospel for Fishermen: Why Jesus Started with Ordinary People Mark 1 shows the gospel for fishermen calls anyone to repent and believe as God’s kingdom draws near. Instead of choosing […]

What Is the Result of Disciple Making?

What Is the Result of Disciple Making: Fruitful Growth and Generous Love What Is the Result of Disciple Making is a church that grows fruitfully as God brings the increase […]

A Spiritual Slaughter We Aren’t Talking About

Spiritual Slaughter and the Hidden War for Souls Spiritual Slaughter reveals how Satan’s most devastating persecution is often subtle, targeting souls through deception rather than physical suffering. Churches in the […]

What Is a Disciple of Jesus?

Disciple of Jesus Foundations for True Discipleship This teaching unpacks Mark 1:17 to show that a Disciple of Jesus is someone who follows him, is transformed by him, and learns […]

Why Are the Teachings and Life of Jesus Important for Disciple Making?

Teachings and Life of Jesus in Disciple Making Teachings and Life of Jesus anchor the Great Commission, where making disciples means teaching people to obey everything he commanded, not just […]

On What Basis Will God Evaluate Our Lives?

God Evaluate Our Lives and the Teachings of Jesus Jesus’ words in John 8, John 12, and Matthew 7 reveal that God Evaluate Our Lives based on whether we build […]

Sermon on the Mount: 7 Questions to Ask of Each Beatitude

Beatitudes Part 13 Pathway into Kingdom Living Beatitudes Part 13 unpacks seven probing questions that help you draw out the virtues, paradoxes, and promises woven into each Beatitude. Seeing Beatitudes […]

The Secret to Telling the World a Better Story

Telling the World with Better Stories Telling the world a better story begins by recognizing that God has already given the church the richest stories in Scripture. By using a […]

The People of God Refuel in the Desert

People of God Strength in Desolate Places Desert encounters with God show that the People of God can become strongest against temptation when they withdraw like Jesus to lonely places […]

When Life Doesn’t Go How You Expect

When Life Doesn’t Go How You Expect and Learning to Trust God’s Will Remembering a childhood dream of overseas missions, Naomi Jones describes how returning home left her grieving unmet […]

Sermon on the Mount: The Persecuted

Persecuted in the Sermon on the Mount Beatitudes Drawing from Matthew 5, this article shows that being persecuted for righteousness marks believers as visibly different Kingdom people whose lives confront […]

The Deconstruction Story That Makes the Most Sense

Deconstruction as the Work of Jesus in Our Lives Christ-centered deconstruction exposes false views of God and self, as Jesus analyzes human beliefs, judges them by God’s standard, and replaces […]

Christian Parenting Is the Passing On of an Inheritance

Christian Parenting as Generational Faith Inheritance Christian Parenting treats faith like treasure, showing kids that trusting Jesus is a rich inheritance built through years of God’s provision, sacrifice, and grace. […]

There Are Two Crosses in the Life of a Christian

Life of a Christian – Walking the Path of Two Crosses Carrying the two crosses reveals true discipleship. Christ’s cross brings salvation, while our cross calls us to die to […]

Resurrection: From Fuzzy Hope to Living Reality

Fuzzy Hope to Living Reality – Meeting Jesus as Resurrection Fuzzy Hope to Living Reality begins with Martha’s fragile belief. Her vague hope in a distant resurrection is transformed when […]

What Sets Jesus Apart?

What Sets Jesus Apart – The Hope of His Resurrection Resurrection makes Jesus utterly unique. Unlike any other religious figure, He passes through death into a new kind of life, […]

Good Friday: Buffet or Cafeteria?

Good Friday Reflections on Christ’s Sacrifice Jesus’ suffering reveals how every individual sin carried real weight as he bore griefs, sorrows, and transgressions on the cross. Isaiah 53 and Luke […]

The Historical Evidence for the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus – Evidence for Easter (Part 3)

Historical Evidence for Easter—Death, Burial, Resurrection Scholars from skeptical to believing affirm Jesus’ crucifixion, with ancient sources and archaeology detailing the practice and its brutality. In Jerusalem, the empty-tomb claim […]

Mirage #4: I Want to Find Peace through Trusting What I Can’t Trust

Find Peace in Trust — Lasting Assurance Chasing stability in possessions, people, or success only ends in disappointment because all earthly things fade away. Jesus alone has proven trustworthy through […]

Sermon on the Mount – Peacemakers

Peacemakers in Community: Practices for Shalom Calming the emotional brain opens space for active listening and de-escalation, moving conflict toward real reconciliation. Scripture frames the calling—Jesus blesses peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) […]

A Microscopic Killer Gone Viral

Microscopic Killer in Isolation: Gospel Hope Linking the pandemic’s loneliness and loss to humanity’s deeper “infection” of sin reveals our universal need for Christ’s healing life. Through John 11 and […]

Sermon on the Mount: Pure in Heart

Pure in Heart — Cleanness that Sees God Jesus moves past externals to the inner life, insisting a clean heart matters more than ritual performance (Mt 5–7; 15). Leviticus’ pattern—confession, […]

Sharpening Our Focus on the Great Commission

Great Commission and the Church’s Discipling Mission As Jesus frames it, discipling is the main command of the Great Commission, with going, baptizing, and teaching describing how the church carries […]

Fruitfulness in God’s Kingdom Takes This Uncomfortable Step

Fruitfulness in God’s Kingdom and the Pain of Pruning Carefully cultivated blackberries illustrate how intentional, repeated pruning leads to a far greater harvest than wild, unmanaged growth. Through John 15, […]

A Resilient Church in a Cancel Culture

Cancel Culture — Practicing Church Resilience Grounded in disciple making, the church develops resilient believers who hold to biblical convictions with joy and courage. Facing cultural pressure, Christians reject timidity […]

On Gender and the Bible: What Does It Mean to Be a Man or Woman? (Part 10)

Man or Woman — Design, Signs, and Culture Drawing on nature and biology, the article shows how male and female bodies shape behavior and complement one another toward intimacy and […]

Sermon on the Mount: Mercy or the Mob?

Mercy in a Culture of Outrage—Forgiveness Lived In Matthew 5:7, Jesus blesses the merciful, showing that mercy moves from seeing suffering to compassionate action, often expressed as forgiveness. Rather than […]

When the Foundations Are Being Destroyed

Foundations That Endure Through Faith Discover how Foundations grounded in God’s Word give strength when society feels unstable and divided. Explore David’s Psalms to understand why trusting the Lord offers […]

Church, It’s Time to Bring Back Apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships that Shape Ministry Readiness Rooted in Scripture, Apprenticeships mirror Jesus with the Twelve, Moses and Joshua, and Paul with Timothy to form leaders through life-on-life mentoring. Beyond classrooms, they […]

Sermon on the Mount: Hunger and Thirst

Sermon on the Mount and Kingdom Life Jesus presents righteousness as visible obedience—the lived Kingdom way that surpasses mere status and calls for transformed conduct. Instead of legalistic perfectionism, the […]

5 Shifts to Return to Jesus-Style Disciple Making

Jesus-Style Disciple Making — Five Shifts in Practice Rooted in Matthew 28:18–20, this approach returns to Jesus as the Master Disciple Maker and His plan to go, baptize, and teach […]

Shepherd

Shepherd — Disgrace Reversed in Christ Rabbinic tradition branded shepherds as dishonest outcasts barred from legal testimony and public respect. Yet Jesus embraced them—announcing His birth to shepherds and declaring […]

Something to Behold

Behold — Restored Sight in Dark Times On the 2020 winter solstice, the “Christmas Star” pulled attention from fatigue and fear toward wonder and worship. In Mark 8:23–25, Jesus touches […]

Try to Avoid a Star Wars Christmas

Star Wars — Choosing “With” Over Holiday Overload Drawing from the infamous Holiday Special, overstuffed plans turn Christmas into chaos instead of peace. Instead, the word with reframes the season […]

The Stages of Disciple Making: “Come and Be with Me” (Part 3)

Disciple Making Part 3 — Prayer, Selection, Coaching Through an all-night prayer (Luke 6:12–13), Jesus seeks the Father and then chooses the Twelve, concentrating especially on Peter, James, and John. […]

The Stages of Disciple Making: “Come and Follow Me” (Part 2)

Stages of Disciple Making Part 2 — Come and Follow Me in Community After hearing “Follow me,” new disciples step into deeper teaching, witness Jesus’ works, and face real conflicts […]

The Stages of Disciple Making: “Come and See” (Part 1)

Stages of Disciple Making Part 1 — Come and See Foundations In the opening phase, seekers watch Jesus at Cana, the temple, with Nicodemus, and with the Samaritan woman before […]

Sermon on the Mount: What Is Meekness and Does It Work?

What Is Meekness — Lessons for Disciples Today Drawing from the powerless Israelite and the virtuous Greek ideal, meekness rejects domination while embodying gentle strength grounded in Jesus’ teaching. Practically, […]

What Does God Think about My Mental Disorder?

Mental Disorder and God’s Redemptive Purpose John 9:1–3 reveals suffering can display God’s works, reframing mental disorder from punishment to a place for His glory. Rather than hiding in stigma, […]

Sermon on the Mount: What Is God’s Answer to the Problem of Evil?

God’s Answer in Mourning and Hope Jesus enters human grief (Jn 11:35), walking with mourners so no one suffers alone. Through the cross and resurrection, evil’s curse is confronted and […]

Sermon on the Mount: Poor in Spirit

Beatitudes and the Poor in Spirit Desperation reveals our limits; the “poor in spirit” see that this world can’t save them and turn to Jesus for the Kingdom. Rather than […]

Peter, Paul, and Race

Peter, Paul, and Race — Gospel Unity Lived at the Table Grounded in Galatians 2:14, the piece insists racial unity is a core gospel conviction, not an optional add-on. From […]

Sermon on the Mount: the Pursuit of Happiness

Pursuit of Happiness — Kingdom Portrait Amid shallow buzzes and self-made idols, Jesus sketches a citizen of the Kingdom whose blessing comes first, not after rule-keeping. Drawing contrasts with Deuteronomy […]

The Inspiration of the New Testament

The Inspiration of the New Testament — Why It Matters Jesus claims the Father’s authority, commissions apostles to teach everything He commanded, and promises the Spirit to help them recall […]

Sermon on the Mount: The Sermon’s Most Important Word

Sermon’s Most Important Word — Heaven’s Nearness and Fulfillment Tracing “heaven” across Scripture, the article presents it as the spiritual realm where God rules—more solid and enduring than this passing […]

Can We Be a Unified Church in a Divided World?

Can We Be a Unified Church in a Divided World — Unity That Acts During polarizing seasons, leaders model humility and keep the pulpit non-partisan so honest dialogue can flourish. […]

Sermon on the Mount: Crowds or Disciples?

Crowds or Disciples: The Sermon on the Mount Call In Crowds or Disciples, the audience is split. Jesus addresses committed followers while seekers listen, pushing fence-sitters to step into genuine […]

Jesus, Suicide, and Our Lowest Points

Jesus – Care at Our Lowest Points From Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36–38) to Mark 2:17, He acknowledges deep anguish and invites the broken to His healing. Prayer, gratitude, and corporate intercession […]

In Defense of Christian Missions

Christian Missions – Humility Across Cultures Scripture condemns twisting the gospel and calls missionaries to serve without imposing culture (Romans 16:17–20; 2 Peter 3:16; Matthew 23). Across the New Testament, […]

A Simple Way to Share the Gospel

Simple Way to Share the Gospel – Acts 2 Roadmap Starting with Jesus as Lord, Peter’s sermon brings conviction and the urgent question, “What should we do?” Peter calls hearers […]

Sermon on the Mount: Who Does Jesus Think He Is?

Who Does Jesus Think He Is – Portrait in Matthew Matthew presents Jesus as Israel’s true representative, retracing Israel’s story and succeeding where it failed before teaching from the mountain. […]

Fishing & Faith

Fishing & Faith — Lessons from John 21 From the Sea of Galilee setting, the narrative shows that faith is enacted through obedient action, not merely held as belief. Peter’s […]

It Is Finished

Finished and the Meaning of Tetelestai Ancient uses of tetelestai—task completed, orders executed, promise fulfilled—illuminate Jesus’ declaration from the cross. Most powerfully, the term marked receipts “paid in full,” pointing […]

Break for…a God-Sized Question

God-Sized Question and the Transfer of Authority Scripture shows the Father giving “all authority” to Jesus (Matthew 28:18), a loving move that secures His family’s honor. Against the Accuser’s challenge, […]

Persistence: Easy to Neglect, Impossible to Ignore

Persistence in Prayer, Justice, and Discipleship From the persistent widow to modern civil rights stories, steady pursuit shows that justice isn’t untouchable and change can come. Anchored in Luke 18, […]

Rethinking What Bible Character You Are

Bible Character in Self-Examination Looking closely at Gospel details challenges default identification with the “good guy” and exposes Pharisee-like habits. Considering Malchus’s healing reframes the scene: we were among those […]

What’s the Alternative to Judgmentalism?

Judgmentalism — Paths to Empathy and Mercy Jesus’ “Judge not” warns of both human backlash and divine accountability, calling for humility instead of superiority. Proverbs-like wisdom shows criticism triggers defensiveness […]

Pigs and Dogs: What is Jesus Talking About?

Pigs and Dogs in Jesus’ Teaching on Judgment Pigs and Dogs illustrate unreceptive hearts. Jesus warns that offering correction to those unwilling to receive it often leads to frustration and […]

Q: Fearless or Fearful? Jesus’ Answer Is Confusing.

Fearless or Fearful and the Challenge of Trust Fearless or Fearful highlights how Jesus contrasts fear of people with fear of God, urging disciples to remain faithful under pressure. The […]

Did Jesus Really Mean “Judge Not”?!

Judge Not: Living Jesus’ Teaching Jesus frames “judging” as a condemning attitude that spots a brother’s speck while ignoring our own plank, not wise evaluation of fruit. Matthew 7 with […]

Communing with the Church, from My Kitchen

Communing with the Church in Everyday Life Communing with the Church transcends distance, as taking communion at home during Easter revealed unity with believers around the world. Personal reflection deepens […]

Reaching the Unreached with Stories

Unreached Communities and Transformative Storytelling Stories mirror the method of Jesus, who used parables to engage hearts and reveal truth, showing the power of storytelling for oral cultures. Oral learners […]

This Is the Weekend to Get Right with God

Get Right with God This Easter Weekend Transformation begins when you surrender your brokenness to Jesus, just as Eli did when he realized God’s love was bigger than his past. […]

This Easter Reminds Me of Another Easter

Easter and God’s Presence in Uncertainty The first Easter shows how sadness, fear, and frustration turned into assurance that God was at work. Waiting seasons reflect the disciples’ struggles, yet […]

How Confident Can We Be of Jesus’ Resurrection?

Jesus Resurrection and Historical Confidence Historical evidence shows Jesus was crucified, buried, and seen alive again, affirming the resurrection as the best explanation. Alternative theories like hallucinations, stolen body, or […]

Palms & Ashes: What a Time for a Holy Week

What a Time for a Holy Week and the Lessons It Brings Holy Week 2020 mirrored sacrifice and suffering, reminding us that Lent is not about small denials but about […]

Walking through a Psalm of Resurrection

Psalm of Resurrection and God’s Surprising Grace Psalm of Resurrection reveals dramatic reversals. David experienced God’s power turning near-death into life, sorrow into joy, and silence into singing. This psalm […]

The Stewardship of Suffering

Stewardship of Suffering and Its Redemptive Power Grief can feel isolating, yet the Stewardship of Suffering reveals God’s ability to redeem pain and bring beauty from ashes. Lessons from Scripture […]

Lent & the Value of Subtraction

Value of Subtraction – Practicing Lent’s rhythms Begin by removing what dulls devotion—fasting, repentance, and prayer create space for God to draw near. Remember that God subtracts our sin as […]

Hope in Bleak Midwinter

Hope in Bleak Midwinter – Practices for Weary Hearts A quick guide drawn from the article to help you orient your mind and habits toward Christ when the news feels […]

Reaching the Next Generation Using the Methods of Jesus

Reaching the Next Generation — Jesus’ Methods in Action Prioritize relationships that multiply by doing life together, mentoring, and forming disciple-making bonds beyond Sunday gatherings. Proclaim a message that actually […]

6 Lenses for Reading the Psalms (Part 2)

6 Lenses for Reading the Psalms Part 2 for Christ-Focused Reading Jesus’ prayers and quotes—from Psalm 22 on the cross to Luke 24:44—teach us to wear “Jesus glasses,” seeing his […]

Mansion

Mansion as God’s Eternal Abiding Place Mansion in John 14:2 reveals permanence, showing that Jesus’ promise points to a lasting dwelling with Him rather than earthly grandeur. Mansion also describes […]

Aaron Rodgers: Sacked by More than Doubt

Aaron Rodgers: Sacked by More than Doubt Raised in faith but moved to spirituality, Aaron Rodgers reflects on leaving Christianity, calling religion a crutch and embracing a broader worldview. College […]

How the Resurrection Fuels Disciple Making

Resurrection Awakens Mission-Fueled Devotion Resurrection proves life-changing truth. Mary’s encounter with the risen Christ transformed her sorrow into bold testimony. Faith was reignited by Resurrection hope. Jesus’ tender call to […]

The 7 Rhythms Played Out

7 Rhythms Played Out Redefines Discipleship Jesus modeled relational rhythms like prayer, eating, resting, and serving that deeply shaped His followers into disciple makers. Chinese believers live out these rhythms. […]

Kingdom VS Democracy

Kingdom VS Democracy—Following a Higher Rule Kingdom VS Democracy contrasts the sovereignty of Christ’s Kingdom with the self-governance ideals of democracy. Jesus’ Kingdom perspective demands submission to divine authority, not […]

An Inviting Alternative to Defensiveness

Defensiveness: Responding with Grace Over Reaction Rather than snapping back, Christians can follow Jesus’ model of disarming skepticism with gentle invitations to explore faith. By shifting the focus from rebuttals […]

Holiness is Beautiful?

How Holiness is Beautiful in Light of God’s Design Holiness is Beautiful because it embodies truth, goodness, and spiritual virtue rooted in God’s nature. Scripture affirms beauty not in external […]

Your Invitation to Holy Places

Holy Places: How Sacred Encounters Strengthen Our Faith Personal and biblical locations, like a hospital room or Jerusalem’s temple steps, become holy places when marked by life-changing encounters with God. […]

Immanuel

Immanuel: God with Us and Us with God Immanuel means “God with us.” Jesus came not just to visit but to dwell with us, fulfilling Isaiah’s ancient prophecy and bridging […]

The Virgin Birth: Q&A with Jared Johnson

Virgin Birth: Essential Truths to Know Virgin Birth belief shapes true Christian identity. Denying it undermines Scripture’s authority and Jesus’ divinity. Ancient prophecy and firsthand accounts align. Isaiah’s vision and […]

The Herod in Me

Herod and the Fight Against the True King Herod’s story in Matthew 2 reveals not only a king’s fear of losing power, but our own reluctance to surrender to Jesus. […]

Does Christmas Feel Different This Year?

Christmas Feel Different This Year? Embrace God’s Presence Christmas feel different when life brings grief, loss, or transitions—yet Christ’s peace can still reign in the broken places. Christmas feel different […]

Being Discipled in Discernment

Discipled in Discernment: Jesus Models Mercy Over Tradition Discipled hearts are shaped when we learn from Jesus how to apply God’s commands with compassion, even when others cling to rigid […]

The First Promise Keepers Event: Witnessing the Power of God

First Promise Keepers Event – How God Moved Among Men Massive response marked the First Promise Keepers Event, as over 600 men came forward seeking Christ during a powerful day […]

Deep Roots in Jesus

Deep Roots in Jesus: Why Surface-Level Faith Isn’t Enough Deep Roots in Jesus start with surrender. Dave Clayton shares how self-reliance, even in ministry, can lead to spiritual emptiness without […]

Refueling When You’ve Been Rejected

Rejected: How God Refuels the Wounded Facing dismissal isn’t unfamiliar to Jesus. From His hometown to His closest circles, He knew the sting of being turned away—and still pressed on […]

How Do I Discern God’s Voice from the Rest?

How Do I Discern God’s Voice from the Rest — Training Your Ear Begin by seeking Him in quiet prayer so His voice becomes familiar and distinct even in daily […]

How God Used My Miscalculation, an Awkward Prophecy, and a Crowded Capital

How God Used My Miscalculation — Lessons in Providence A school transfer that looked like a mistake positioned Stephen to meet Joy and begin a story only God could script. […]

What Is the “Person of Peace”?

What Is the Person of Peace? Biblical Insight for Disciple-Making What Is the Person of Peace introduces the biblical principle Jesus taught His disciples—to find spiritually open individuals who become […]

A Prophet for our Times

Prophet for Our Times: Why Jesus Still Speaks Today Prophet for Our Times explains how Jesus fulfills Moses’ promise of a prophet who would speak God’s words, offering clarity in […]

Planet

Planet: How the Bible Warns Against Wandering from the Truth Planet means “to go astray.” In Greek, planetes refers to wandering stars—mirroring how people drift from God’s truth. Spiritual wandering […]

What Were the Scariest Words of Jesus?

What Were the Scariest Words of Jesus? – Lessons from an Uncommon Invitation Jesus’ words “Follow Me” challenge comfort and call us into courageous faith. True discipleship demands more than […]

Bridge the Gap

Bridge the Gap: How Faithful Preaching Connects a Changing World Bridge the Gap calls Christian leaders to remain faithful to Scripture while building relational bridges in a culture drifting from […]

It May Not Be Your Gift, but It Is His Command

Command for Evangelism and Disciple Making Command distinguishes gifts from obedience, urging every believer to share the gospel, not only those especially gifted. Mission and purpose are clarified—enjoy God and […]

The World Needs Your Words

The World Needs Your Words: Why Your Story Matters Your story strengthens others. When disciples share their faith journey, it encourages fellow believers and helps build up the Body of […]

This Is How the Ancient World Received Grace, Part 1

How the Ancient World Received Grace Part 1 – Gift Expectations Grace required a response. In ancient times, a gift wasn’t truly received unless it was reciprocated. Grace came with […]

See if You Can Catch the End Result of the Gospel

Catch the End Result of the Gospel – Why Allegiance Matters Paul explains the Gospel’s true aim. In Romans 1 and 16, Paul teaches that the Gospel is meant “to […]

The Mission of God: the Long and Short of It

The Mission of God and His Relentless Heart The Mission of God reflects the Triune pursuit of the lost through the stories of the Good Shepherd, the searching woman, and […]

Just What IS the Gospel?

What IS the Gospel in Its Biblical Fullness? The Gospel is often viewed incompletely, like seeing a single rosebush through a dusty window instead of the full, vibrant garden it […]

Choosing Joy with OCD and Messy Children

OCD and Messy Children — Practicing Presence over Perfection Relationships before chores. From Luke 10’s Mary and Martha, Jesus redirects priorities so time with Him and with kids outranks spotless […]

Peace

Peace in the Bible and Why It Still Matters Today Peace means more than no conflict. In Scripture, “shalom” refers to wholeness, security, and well-being—not just silence or safety. God […]

Image

Image of God: What Scripture Teaches Us About Identity and Purpose We are God’s intended image, not manmade idols. Ancient cultures crafted idols to reflect their gods, but the Bible […]

Meek

What Does Meek Really Mean in the Bible? Meekness means power under control. Ancient Greeks used it to describe strong animals like trained horses and elephants—never weak ones. Moses and […]

3 Dilemmas, 2 Discoveries, and 1 Desire: My Thoughts on Matthew Bates’s Gospel Allegiance

3 Dilemmas, 2 Discoveries, and 1 Desire: A Gospel Wake-Up Call Evangelism often lacks depth, leading to conversions without lasting discipleship or allegiance to King Jesus. Misunderstandings about the gospel […]

The Loss of a Child and the Perpetual Comfort of Nain

The Perpetual Comfort of Nain: Jesus’ Compassion in Our Grief The Perpetual Comfort of Nain reveals Jesus’ tender response to loss, proving His power and love are present in life’s […]

Rabbis and Their Disciples between the 1st Century B.C. and the 2nd Century A.D.

Rabbis and Their Disciples: Ancient Practices That Still Shape Christian Discipleship Today Rabbis and their disciples shaped Jewish life through teaching, imitation, and service. These traditions were essential to preserving […]

The Power of Jesus

How the Power of Jesus Reveals God’s Kingdom and Transforms Lives The Power of Jesus challenges evil and restores lives. His miracles weren’t for show—they announced the kingdom and broke […]

God Can Even Use Fleas

God Can Even Use Fleas: Three Lessons of Faith in Suffering Fleas became a hidden blessing. In a Nazi concentration camp, Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsy were thankful […]

Do You Know What You’re Asking for Your Kids?

Do You Know What You’re Asking for Your Kids – Lessons for Parents The article Do You Know What You’re Asking for Your Kids explores how a mother’s bold request […]

Could the Disciples Have Been Hallucinating When They Saw the Risen Jesus?

Could the Disciples Have Been Hallucinating When They Saw the Risen Jesus? Examining the Flaws in the Hallucination Hypothesis Eyewitness accounts challenge the hallucination theory. Disciples described physical interactions with […]

Triumph.

Triumph Proclaims Christ’s Unmatched Victory Triumph explores Paul’s portrayal of Jesus publicly defeating and disarming the powers of darkness at Calvary. The narrative compares Rome’s majestic triumph parades to the […]

Contrasting Measures

Contrasting Measures – Key Takeaways from the Gospel True worship is measured by the heart. Judas objected to Mary’s lavish act, but Jesus revealed that pure motives—not money—define genuine devotion. […]

Thoughts about Hell from Jesus Himself

Thoughts About Hell: What Jesus Actually Taught Thoughts about Hell rooted in Scripture: Jesus speaks more about Hell than any other New Testament figure, using vivid metaphors to awaken spiritual […]

Meals of Jesus

Meals of Jesus Reveals God’s Kingdom Through Table Fellowship Meals of Jesus highlights how Christ used shared meals to connect with outcasts, offering grace and belonging. Transformations unfolded as people […]

Jesus Never Lost at Rock, Paper, Scissor

Jesus Never Lost: What Rock, Paper, Scissors Reveals About His Priorities Discover how Jesus ranked justice, mercy, and faithfulness over ritual. See why “Jesus Never Lost” applies to His moral […]

First Century Tombs

First Century Tombs: Archaeological Insights on Jesus’ Burial First Century tombs followed a two-stage burial process. Jesus’ burial aligned with the common practice of laying the body on a stone […]

It’s Not Looking Good, But It’s Not over Yet

It is Not over Yet: How Jesus’ Story of Victory Was Always Part of the Plan It’s Not over Yet—even when hope fades. Just like the final scenes of a […]

The Historicity of the Two Men Who Authorized Jesus’ Death – Evidence for Easter (Part 2)

The Historicity of the Two Men Who Authorized Jesus Death Caiaphas’ existence is archaeologically verified. Discoveries like his ossuary and ancient home align with Gospel accounts of his role in […]

Caiaphas’ House

Caiaphas House: Uncovering a First-Century Historical Landmark Caiaphas House Discovered: Archaeologists uncovered a first-century palatial home in Jerusalem that aligns with Gospel accounts, believed to be the actual Caiaphas House […]

Does History Demonstrate that Jesus Existed? – Evidence for Easter (Part 1)

Jesus Existed: Historical Evidence You Can Trust Non-Biblical Sources Confirm Jesus ExistedAncient historians like Josephus and Tacitus documented Jesus’ life, crucifixion, and influence—independent of the Bible. Scholarly Consensus Backs Jesus’ […]

Abba.

What Does Abba Really Mean? Understanding This Sacred Name for God Abba is an intimate word Jesus used for God. In Gethsemane, Jesus cried “Abba, Father,” introducing a deeply personal […]

Two Halves That Make a Perfect Whole

Why “Two Halves That Make a Perfect Whole” Captures the Heart of Discipleship? Discipleship flourishes when service and learning walk hand in hand. The article explores how “two halves that […]