An Intriguing Possibility The neighbor who goes to The Kind-of-Traditional Church also mentioned this one. “All the rest of the neighbors go there,” she said. “It’s more contemporary.” That’s where we’re headed today, all the while questioning how many of our future neighbors actually go there. Easy Access The facility is larger than I expect […]
Martin Luther Studied the Bible to See If It Supported Church Practices As Martin studied the Latin translation of the Bible, he grew worried about the lack of biblical support for the Church’s misuse of indulgences, of essentially allowing people to buy their salvation. Instead, he found the Bible overflowing with grace. This disconnect alarmed […]
Jesus shared a story (parable) about forgiving others. Jesus’ illustration was prompted by Peter, who asked if forgiving someone seven times was enough; Peter thought seven times was generous. Jesus upped the figure considerably, saying seventy-seven times. We don’t take this amount literally, instead understanding that Jesus really meant we need to forgive others “more […]
The apostle John (not to be confused with John the Baptist) is one of Jesus’s twelve disciples and part of Jesus’s inner circle, along with his older brother James and his friend Peter. But there’s more. In his biography of Jesus, John refers to himself as the disciple Jesus loved. Imagine that. Consider that Jesus […]
4 Ideals We Should Pursue to Stay True to Jesus As followers of Jesus, we must take care to not let the influences of our world negate our understanding of our Savior and what he stands for. This must be an ongoing effort, because worldly ideas bombard us all day long and not God-honoring principles. […]
A Failure to Connect It’s time to leave for church, but our son isn’t feeling well, and his wife will stay home with him. So, Candy, my wife, and I make another last-minute change. It’s 9:50 a.m., with not enough time to make it to any of the area’s many 10 a.m. services. I scan […]
Psalm 164 from Beyond Psalm 150 After a fatal first attempt to move the ark of God (1 Chronicles 13:3–14), David successfully brings the ark of God into Jerusalem and places it inside the tent he has prepared for it. David then gives offerings to God and appoints Levites—including Asaph— to lead worship. The Bible credits Asaph […]
Consider This Popular Bible Story in Today’s Context In the book of Mark, there is the story of Jesus sending out his disciples to borrow a donkey for him to ride into Jerusalem. When this request is considered in a modern context, what he asked them to do is even more astounding. It would be […]
Today’s passage: John 21:12–25 Focus verse: Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” (John 21:17) As Jesus wraps up his stint on earth, he spends time with the disciples he trained for three years. They must carry on without him, albeit under Holy Spirit direction. He wants to […]
Discover the Essentials for Effective Ministry When we follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit fills us and gives us spiritual gifts. These are special abilities to help grow God’s Kingdom. The Bible talks about many of them, and here is a list of the key spiritual gifts. Paul names five of these gifts in his letter […]