Throwback

Thoughts on life after children fly the nest.

Think about what you’d wish for if you had a genie. Think about what you pray for. How similar are they? As Christians, we often approach God in prayer as if He were a big blue genie. Contrast “prayer as wish-fulfillment” with the Apostle Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1.

Today we often seek preachers who tell us stories, make us laugh, and tickle our ears with poetry and platitudes. We would rather listen to Jon Stewart than Jonathan Edwards. We ought to think critically about how far we have slipped down the slope of valuing style over substance. Consider Paul’s warnings to the Corinthians.

Has your Bible study become routine? Do you find yourself glancing at the clock to see if you’re done yet? Did you make a resolution to read through the Bible in a year or study something new this year but find yourself never making the time? Here are 30 tips to get you back on track.

At a writing conference, one speaker claimed everyone needs 3 people to become a better writer. His list applies to Bible teachers — with one addition.

So you’d like to teach the Bible? How do you get started? How do you decide if Bible teaching is your calling? Here’s my advice for aspiring teachers.

For 2018, Lent begins on February 14. What is Lent? Is it an official Christian holiday? Was it instituted in the Bible? What — if anything — is required of believers during Lent?

For “throwback Thursday” here is one of my favorite passages for James. In James 1:9-18, James raises a new question as an example of how understanding the gospel changes your perspective: Who is really better off: the rich or the poor?

My birthday reminded me of this 2014 post on Romans 5:1-11 (one of my all time favorite passages). You won’t always be pretty, but once you are justified by faith, you will always have reason to exat in the hope of the glory of God.

With my birthday approaching, I’m again wondering “how someone so young can be this old?” That thought inspired this 2015 post on how in modern American culture growing older means becoming invisible. Unfortunately this trend is also infecting the church.