Brothers, I know you’re weary from the last few months of SBC headlines that are pointed at your gender.

I know you feel afraid that the world will consider you an ally of every man who has abused women. I know you feel anxiety that your efforts to care for women aren’t enough. You feel...

On March 13, 1859, the preeminent preacher of Victorian England, Charles Spurgeon, delivered one of his most memorable sermons, “Christ Precious to Believers,” to a congregation of over 10,000. The congregation, having long since proven too large for Spurgeon’s New Park Street...

Today, I want to consider the contrast between the Gospel and self-actualization or moral autonomy — the idea that being a law unto ourselves is the key to freedom and happiness.

The Gospel liberates us from moralism and the restlessness, insecurity, and distorted relationship patterns...

It was early morning, seventy-four years ago on June 6, 1944. The sun broke through hedgerows in German-occupied France. For British paratroopers of the 6th Airborne Division, the day had begun hours ago.

Major John Brown walked the the length of the bullet-ridden bridge his men had just...

Believer, if you truly relish a life of turmoil, public anger, boiling arguments, caustic debates and throwing out verbal darts like porcupine quills, you will genuinely help the cause of Christ by not identifying publicly as a Christian. I’m serious. We are in desperate need of Christian...

One of the last ministry conversations I had with my grandpa is one that will stick with me for the rest of my life. I was driving home from Prayer Meeting. I was tired. I was discouraged.

I had been pastoring for five months in Vermont, and Prayer Meeting had slowly shrunk as the excitement of...

One of my favorite moves growing up was Karate Kid. Of course, this was everyone’s favorite movie. It is the classic underdog story that we love. The bullied kid learns karate and wins the tournament defeating the bullies at the same time. It has all the right elements to make it a timeless...

I've been writing small group curriculum for my church for the last 18 months. The curriculum aligns with and supplements our current sermon series. Because our pastor commits (thankfully) to preach expositionally through various passages and books of the Bible, we don't pick and choose...

Among conservative evangelicals, there’s a longstanding, friendly debate over whether or not every sermon should include a concise summary of the gospel message. By this I’m not talking about the use of a gospel-centered hermeneutic which connects every passage of...

It’s a tough political moment for American evangelicals. There’s bickering inside and outside of our churches. Minorities feel increasingly estranged from white churches. Many worry about a loss of moral credibility in light of recent political alliances.

One religion reporter at The...

The well-known parable from Luke 10:29-37:

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now...

**Disclaimer: I wrote this article to encourage the Church to obey God even in the midst of fear and uncertainty. I used my own fears involved in our upcoming adoption as an example. Unfortunately, about a month after I wrote this, our daughter passed away before we could complete her adoption....

4 Ways to Integrate Singles in the Local Church

Anna Schaeffer writes that "sometimes singles can fall through the cracks in church ministry." She shares four ways that the church can integrate and uplift single people in their congregations.

Prayerful People in Perilous Times

We can give much verbal...

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said ... Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods."-- Daniel 3:16-18

The narrative of the manly courage and marvellous deliverance of the three holy children, or rather champions, is well calculated to excite in the minds of...

A young preacher friend texted me. He was asked to preach a funeral for a family. It would be his first. And he wanted to know if I had any advice to offer him. I responded by mentioning a podcast I did on preaching funeral sermons: “Preaching Funeral Sermons.”

I also offered...

This is a Football

One of the most well-known names in all of NFL history is Vince Lombardi. He is known for coaching the Packers in the 1960’s to win five NFL championships, including Super Bowls I and II. He was known for his strategy, winning seasons, and for the way he ran...

Spiritual leadership. Gulp. It’s a topic that can strike fear in the hearts of men. We read Ephesians 5:22-26 and there is no avoiding it: God has called men to be spiritual leaders in the home.

How in the world do we actually do that? 

I get it. Some days it seems as...

What are the most significant events that happened in your life? Graduating school? Getting your first job? Getting married? Having children? (If you are younger, what are the big events you are looking forward to?)

In Genesis 35 Jacob goes back to Bethel and God focuses on two of the most...

I can still hear Third Day’s soaring rendition of the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in God the Father/Almighty Maker of heaven and Maker of earth.” Mac Powell’s tempered baritone sent this millennia-old confession, the very first line of the creed, up to the rafters and...

In the culture of American sports one often hears of a team’s fan base described as a “nation.” Hence, there are websites and apparel designed for the “Yankees Nation” and the “Aggie Nation.” The use of the word nation in this respect communicates something...

In 2013,  I had a tie rod on my car go bad. By going bad, I mean it busted in a very ugly way. If you’re like me and clueless about tie rods – which, by the way, is the state of most folks until one breaks – the main thing to know is that when a tie rod dies you can sometimes...

When Christians are able to gather together openly for corporate worship, it is a happy thing. Personally, I love old church buildings and sanctuaries that were built with great attention to detail. While the building a church has doesn’t matter, there are great benefits to...

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if...

They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.—Nehemiah 8:8

“Muddy water is no sign the spring is deep.”—W.T. Conner

Education was not highly valued in rural Cooke County, Texas, in 1970. To make matters worse,...