A few years ago, the day after another awful and tragic mass shooting, the New York Daily News put several comments of high-ranking political figures on the front page of their paper, stating that they were praying for the victims, or that their thoughts and prayers were with the victims. Pretty standard responses as these […]
Read More »We need hope. We all have a sense deep down that things aren’t as they should be. Not everything is right and good. We typically learn this early on when we’re kids. Someone takes your toy, pushes you, calls you a name, or punishes you for something you didn’t do, and we cry out, “That’s […]
Read More »All of us know the difference between fake love and true love. In fake love, our aim is to use the person we say we love to fulfill our own happiness. Our love is conditional. We give it as long as the other person is affirming us and meeting our needs. Fake love is non-vulnerable. […]
Read More »We are constantly tempted to think of life with God in terms of a deal instead of in terms of relationship. “God, if I’m a good person, if I do good things and treat people well and show up to church most weeks, if I keep my end of the bargain, then you owe me. […]
Read More »From one perspective, believing in the gospel is one of the easiest things you could ever do. This is because the gospel is something that God does for us, not something we do for ourselves. God loves broken, sinful people like us so much that he sent his only Son to die for us so […]
Read More »As a church, we are supposed to be living proof that the gospel is true. We’re not supposed to just be a group of people who gather together whenever we feel like it to sing some songs and hear some preaching. We’re not supposed to just be people who dip our toes in one area […]
Read More »It’s easy for us to make the gospel too small, to think about the gospel only in terms of making sure I am right with Jesus, and nothing beyond that. Of course, the gospel certainly begins there. God created each one of us as individuals, personally and purposely, to know him and make him known. […]
Read More »Think about what it’s like to attend a home football game for your favorite team. You’re surrounded by 80,000 people who are dressed like you, who cheer with you when the team does well, and who get upset when it doesn’t. Everyone wants to see the same thing you want to see; they want the […]
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When a major disaster like Hurricane Michael hits, faith is a major part of how most people make sense of it. Research consistently demonstrates how the specific elements of a person’s faith, what they believe or don’t believe about God, make a big difference in how they react and move forward in times of suffering. […]
Read More »The word “gospel” literally means “good news.” It is the good news that the angels heralded at Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:10–11), the good news that Jesus consistently proclaimed throughout his ministry (Mark 1:14–15), and the good news promised beforehand in the entire Bible concerning Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Rom 1:1–4). This good news […]
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