Wanting for nothing Before the Lord Jesus, we were all lost in our trespasses and sins. Ephesians 2:1 refers to this as being dead. Our sin had separated us from God, and, in that state, we were unable to commune with Him. This spiritual darkness has defined every human being since Adam and still […]
A good meal has several courses. In his 1999 book How the News Makes us Dumb1, historian C. John Sommerville observes that the greatest problem with today’s news coverage is not so much that it is biased (which it is), as that it is daily. As a consequence, news is reduced to the lowest common […]
Read More… from Reader’s Guide to the Origins Debate (part 1)
Caring, protective leaders is one of the greatest needs today. As elders, we are simply under-shepherds of the Chief Shepherd. There is no greater example of shepherding than that which the Lord provides in His capacity as “the good shepherd [that] lays down His life for the sheep.” In John 10, the Lord describes His […]
Seeking the greatest blessing We all know the joy a gift can bring. Children sometimes make gift lists (one of our sons once helpfully divided his list into “reasonable” and “unreasonable”) in the hopes of things to come. As we grow, our idea of the perfect gift grows with us. At some point, however, we […]
How did they “preach the gospel to “every creature”? “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom…” (Mt. 9:35). All? How many were there? In His final instructions to His own, the Lord expressed His desire that the Good News be disseminated as […]
Offense or defense? Matthew 16:18 is an interesting verse because most Roman Catholics misunderstand the first half of the verse and many Protestants misunderstand the second half of the verse. This verse tells us, “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the […]
Four words and four principles. There are in the New Testament four words that describe the gifts God has given to the church. First of all, they are called “spiritual gifts,” reminding us that they are given by the Spirit of God and can only be used rightly in the spiritual realm. They are called […]
Whose gift is it anyway? “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Though Herodotus wrote these familiar words some 2500 years ago, it wasn’t until 1912—when they were inscribed above the entrance to the New York City General Post Office—that […]
Sense out of confusion The gift of tongues is one of the most controversial and misunderstood gifts found in the New Testament. We are first introduced to this gift in Acts 2, where it says, “And they [the disciples] were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the […]