The Powerful Purpose of Marriage

Tish Hedger helps us view marriage "from God's vantage point." She explains "oneness" through a scriptural overview. 

Worry: A Barometer of Our Faith 

Worry shows us what we believe about God and who we are. Michael Kelley writes this helpful post on how to...

"Lift them up forever."-- Psalm 28:9

God's people need lifting up. They are very heavy by nature. They have no wings, or, if they have, they are like the dove of old which lay among the pots; and they need divine grace to make them mount on wings covered with silver, and with feathers of yellow...

Matthew 5:3–12 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be...

Ruth Lee.

I’ve heard that name since I can remember remembering. My sister was given her middle name because of Ruth Lee. Her name is echoed in our family stories and probably will be until the day I die.

She was the thin-framed woman who lived across the street from the wild Knefley family. My...

I grew up in a context where the preacher was expected to “step on toes.” If you didn’t step on toes, you weren’t really preaching. However, I started to understand that stepping on toes was nothing more than behavior modification. I found that it was easy, sometimes sinful,...

I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the...

Twenty-five years of counseling has led me to realize that many people spend ninety-five percent of their energy focusing on things they cannot control and five percent of their energy focused on the things they can control. A major key to living with joy, contentment,...

We live in an age where adults are trying to stop the unstoppable—the onward march of time. With only so many hours in a day and a limited amount of years in a lifetime, preserving and elongating one’s life has become high priority through trends like extreme fitness, nutritional...

According to Charles Spurgeon (here and here), Psalm 56:3—“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you”—holds a tension and, yet, a resolve that is uniquely characteristic of the Christian’s experience of fear. 

1. Spurgeon gives voice to inner complexities.

Notice,...

The book of Colossians has much to say regarding the speech of those who are now in Christ. As God's chosen people, there is a clear and biblical manner in which we ought to speak. Paul tells the church at Colossae to put away slander, obscene talk, and to abstain from lying...

When you walk into most grocery stores, the very first section you come to is the fruit and vegetable section. I don’t know why this is. I have heard that grocery stores will purposely place the “must have” items in the back so that people have to walk the whole store to get them....

I recently read an interesting comment by a seminary president about the ministry. He said that the hardest thing about being a pastor today is the confusion about what it means to be a pastor.

If this is true, and I wouldn’t rush to argue with him, think about how unsettling and unacceptable...

"And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand."-- Mark 3:25

It seems every week now brings with it a new revelation of a pastor's or other evangelical leader's moral implosion. Whether it's the next step in the seismic shifts of our culture's #MeToo moment or simply...

Do you feel it – that gnawing desire for more that often diverts you onto a quest for contentment in all the wrong places? Maybe you feel that insatiable lust for attention or approval that enslaves you to vanity and fear of man? Maybe you feel that sideways glance mixed of envy and greed as...

My Confession: Toward A More Balanced Gospel

Paul Tripp writes about the balance between grace and injustice. He shares his journey and what he has learned to bring him to this desire for a balanced gospel. 

Does Your Heart Run on Hype?

"That is why it is better to drop our expectations of...

"I will fear no evil: for thou art with me."-- Psalm 23:4

Behold, how independent of outward circumstances the Holy Ghost can make the Christian! What a bright light may shine within us when it is all dark without! How firm, how happy, how calm, how peaceful we may be, when the world shakes to and...

Two summers ago, a young boy nearly drowned at a waterpark in St. Holmen, Wisconsin. What made this incident particularly tragic was that there were several lifeguards on duty at the time. Two mothers, who witnessed what went wrong, said the lifeguards completely dropped the ball—not...

The writer of Ecclesiastes wastes no time to depict a depressing scenario. He writes, “Vanities of Vanities! All is Vanity” (1:2b). Wow, this just rips all the optimism out of your soul, doesn’t it? Sure, and it should. That’s the point of Ecclesiastes to an extent....

A small group of members from a faithful church gather on couches and chairs in a member’s home to discuss the previous Sunday’s sermon. They share insights, encourage each other, laugh, and gravely confess sin. So far, so good. Then, one member begins to revel in the grace of...

I'll admit it. Early on, when I came to the realization that my husband would also be my pastor, I had a myriad of emotions. I admire my husband and fully affirm the Lord's calling on his life, but I still couldn't help but ask myself, "Will I be able to acknowledge him as my pastor?"...

1,800. That’s the number of people in my life that Facebook neatly categorizes as friends.

This is fascinating. Those who I disciple and my high school friends both fall under the same category: “friend.” Think of how odd this is. I spend time worshipping Jesus, reading the...

When it comes to planting a church (or pastoring an established church for that matter), praying, preaching, singing, and a host of other things demand attention. Recently, Tony Merida wrote about the importance of hospitality in church planting. Pastors who are not hospitable simply should not...

It’s not often that churches find themselves in the national news. Yet in recent memory, a number of prominent congregations have found themselves in controversies covered by The Washington Post, Slate, and The New York Times. And in each, it was about a case of church...

The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once spoke of the discomfort of being seen. In his words, “Hell is to be looked at.” With our many flaws and secrets, we are unsettled when we find ourselves beneath the gaze of another. In the presence of others, eye contact is awkward...

Romans 8 is, at least in my opinion, one of the greatest chapters in all the Bible. In it, we find a beautiful and hope-giving description of the work of the Spirit, the power of the gospel, and the identity of the Christian. On this last point, as Paul is overcome with the love and grace of...