The thief’s good works: Jackson Gravvitt considers two different perspectives on the thief on the cross: does the thief demonstrate that our faith is solely because of Christ’s work or through our good works that flow from Christ’s work?
Lessons from caring for a disabled child: Jamie MacGregor shares, “At first, we were told to terminate the pregnancy since it was likely that she would have disabilities. We responded that abortion was not an option. Then, we were told that we have no idea what it would be like to raise a child with special needs. The doctors were right. We had no idea how difficult it would be.”
Weeks before I received my first calling as a pastor, the elders decided that they were going to seek tWho wouldn’t want to experience God’s blessing? So, then, how can we step into the blessing of God? One of the straightforward ways the Bible teaches us that he blesses us is through children. Look, for instance, at the book of Genesis, where blessing is directly correlated to having children:
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” (Gen. 1:28)
And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” (Gen. 9:1)
The angel of the Lord also said to [Hagar], “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” (Gen. 16:10) acquire property and build a new facility for the church. They informed me that leading the relocation and capital campaign efforts would be part of my job. As a fresh seminary graduate, I had precisely zero requisite experience for the task. I had no experience in fundraising or contracting. And, of course, seminary did not include any preparation for the task.
Over the course of those years, I had to learn a lot, but perhaps the most important lesson I learned was that leading a congregation through a capital campaign could be a significant spiritual blessing.
Healthy Christians know that the Church is bigger than their church. We call this the universal church, the collective body of all followers of Jesus worldwide and across history. This spiritual entity is invisible, transcending denominations.
Unhealthy churches and denominations communicate directly and indirectly that they are the only true church. Unsound churches make the opposite error: not drawing any boundaries for who is outside of the orthodox church.
But what does this mean for the ordinary Christian? For many Christians, it doesn’t mean much at all. Their only meaningful connection to the church is with their church.
What ‘gentle parenting’ misunderstands about human nature: Michael Reneau and Megan Dent explain, “A core feature of Jesus’ gentleness to sinners was his understanding that they were trapped in a world in which the sinful parts of their nature were likely to be tempted and exploited, again and again. In this sense, sinners were indeed victims. But Jesus suggests that their problem was not that other human beings weren’t catering to their every emotional need (and in the process, eliding their own), but rather that they had become lost in a longing that Augustine called concupiscence: an immense desire, or ardent longing for fulfilment that often leads one astray, toward hubris, power, violence, lust, or material greed.”
Weeks before I received my first calling as a pastor, the elders decided that they were going to seek to acquire property and build a new facility for the church. They informed me that leading the relocation and capital campaign efforts would be part of my job. As a fresh seminary graduate, I had precisely zero requisite experience for the task. I had no experience in fundraising or contracting. And, of course, seminary did not include any preparation for the task.
Over the course of those years, I had to learn a lot, but perhaps the most important lesson I learned was that leading a congregation through a capital campaign could be a significant spiritual blessing.
Most Sundays, like most churches, New Life Bible Fellowship gathers to sing, pray, and hear the Word of God preached. This is a beautiful, biblical rhythm (Acts 2:42). But what if, on occasion, the most faithful way to worship is not inside the walls of the church but outside, serving our community? Once a year, we gather to Love Tucson. Before we worship, pray, and hear God’s Word together, we serve at a partner school.
Love Tucson is one of my favorite Sundays of the year.
Approximately 30 million people watched and listened to a recent Joe Rogan podcast with New Testament scholar and apologist Wes Huff (Wes Huff on the Joe Rogan Experience: warning: Rogan curses quite a bit). Huff was invited onto Rogan’s podcast after a debate with agnostic Billy Carson went viral (Wes Huff vs. Billy Carson debate).
Over the past few weeks, I’ve spent a fair chunk of time digesting these two appearances (the Rogan show alone is over three hours) and the reactions to them across the internet. I think Huff’s popularity is a cause for great encouragement and also a challenge to us as Christians.
My top ten theology stories of 2024: Collin Hansen reports. #2 is encouraging, “Gen Z has borne the consequences of pandemic closures and therapy influencers, so it makes sense they’d also benefit from the church’s efforts to foster resilience through catechesis and spiritual formation.”
Hunter Biden and a father’s pardon: Stephen Steele reflects on President Biden’s pardon to make a spiritual point.
Suicide—when hope runs out: Jonathan Noyes, “Suicide rates have climbed 36 percent in the last 20 years, according to the Center for Disease Control.[4] Recent studies show that 13.6 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds have seriously contemplated ending their lives.”
The real reason the unchurched do not attend (and what you can do about it):Sam Rainer with an article that ought to spur us to action, “The unchurched start attending regularly because of spiritual prompts: growing spiritually (32%) and God told me to go (20%). The spiritual prompt is coupled with the personal prompt. The unchurched also start attending regularly because someone invited them (22%) and a spouse wants them to go (17%).”
Today, I have the opportunity to introduce you to my friend Tom Terry. Tom has a rare vantage point for some of the work God is doing around the globe. Tom is head of Global Broadcast Strategy for JESUS Film Project and manages English language radio stations for TWR. He also blogs on Bible study and theology at www.guywithabible.com. If this sparks a desire to partner in Tom's ministry, I encourage you to contact him at tom.terry@cru.org.
-John
If you were asked, "What is God doing in the world today?" How would you respond? Let me share my answer with you.l here.
Monk or missionary? These are the only options now. Ian Harbor explains how our relationship toward social media boils down to one of these two radical options. He explains, “If you are not in control of your social media, social media will be in control of you. And your life will be worse off for it. Why would you subject yourself to a worse life, poor mental health, weak relationships, and a number of other damaging factors just to watch a few mildly funny videos? Count the cost.”
The hardest part of overcoming addiction: Brad Hambrick’s post is as simple as it is important. So, before you click: what do you think the hardest part is?
With over 1,000 videos and eight million subscribers, the Jubilee channel on YouTube is a popular platform for debate. Each episode of Jubilee brings people who have disagreements together to try to hash out their opposing opinions. They have episodes about everything from abortion to immigration to the Israel-Palestinian debate. In one of the episodes, two sides debate whether the earth is flat or not. Of the three proponents that the earth is flat, two of the three were Christians. The three opponents were all scientists.
How did we get here?
Christian friends, we’ve got to do better.
Every nightmare starts as a dream: Erik Raymond warns us, “No one sets out to bring misery upon themselves. Quite the opposite. They are looking for fulfillment. They want happiness. They are chasing the dream. But remember, every nightmare starts as a dream.”
Pain needs interpreting: Simon Arscott, “My job is to help people interpret their pain. Pain itself – though very unpleasant – doesn’t tell us much. It hurts. It’s uncomfortable. It’s upsetting. We don’t want it. Often, we just want it to go away! But good spiritual care requires interpretation of our pain.”
We just returned from two weeks in southern India. Down is still up and up is still down. And I’m not just talking about jet lag (although that is very real, too). India is a country that is not only physically distant, but also spiritually distant. That is both a hard thing and a good thing.
India is one of the most antagonistic nations on earth toward Christians. In Open Doors’ recently published World Watch list, India is listed as the 11th most persecuted nation on earth for Christians, including a 99% rating for violence.
Hard news surrounds us. Health issues. Wars. Famine. Persecution. How can we help? The needs can feel overwhelming.
When Helping Hurts by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett, one of the most impactful books written about poverty alleviation from a Christian perspective in the past two decades. The book is written from the perspective of economists with significant experience in ministries seeking to make a difference in the lives of those born into poverty. As the title suggests, Fikkert and Corbett make a persuasive argument that most of the well-intentioned aid efforts of the West actually hurt those they are seeking to help.
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