Afshin Ziafat shares his story of being raised in Islam but coming to faith in Christianity and explains what the true will of God is for our life and how we can follow it.
Tim Devane shares how we can and should practically give our lives away for Christ for the lost wherever we may be; in the United States or abroad.
Nick Roen, elder at Bethlehem Baptist Church, discusses Biblical Sexuality by sharing his story and Biblical perspectives on same sex attraction, singleness, and marriage.
Nick Stromwall and Katie Beth Strand shared biblical perspectives and practical resources on how to manage your money, think about investing, create a budget and more!
The Traveling Team joined us for an evening of encouragement and vision-casting as we explored God’s heart for the world.
BY GREG MORSE
What does the dark side of a small group entail? The author quotes C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters to get the point of Satan's desire for the destruction of holiness, by means of community and fellowship within the body of Christ.
BY KELLY NEEDHAM
Kara seemed to have everything Maddie lacked: she was organized, had great social skills, and was confident in her strong opinions. Maddie was insecure, awkward, and disorganized. Their friendship blossomed on the soccer field sidelines, as they watched their kids run drills at practice every week. Maddie enjoyed Kara immensely, and felt she was a more well-rounded person when they were together. Her confidence grew with such a social butterfly by her side.
So, when Kara announced that her husband had taken another job ten hours away, Maddie’s despair was difficult to hide. What would she do without her best friend?
BY JENNY FRANK
God is on a mission to redeem the world. We know this is true because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As believers, on one hand, we relate to this mission because we are those God has brought near to himself. But on the other hand, we relate to this mission because Jesus has commissioned us to participate by spreading the gospel....
BY JOHN PIPER
Jesus Christ is Lord of the universe. Therefore, all the nations — the peoples — of the earth belong to him by right of creation and by right of his redemptive purpose on the cross....
BY TRILLIA NEWBELL
I hear the words “abide in Christ” mentioned a lot by women as a way to express rest. At least I think that’s what they mean. The truth is, I’ve never had it defined for me clearly, even though I’ve heard it shared often. In order to gain more understanding, I started digging into God’s word to see what he says about abiding in Christ....
BY SCOTTY SMITH
I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. Phil. 3:12-15....
Let’s now face a painful but helpful truth: the boldness of grace cannot come from our natural selves. I am naturally (that is, in my sinful nature inherited from my first parents) self contained and self-praising. I tend to seek assurance of my righteousness by comparing myself with others — judging them as sinners and myself as more or less sin-free (Luke 18:9-14). Following the example of a friend, I must identify myself this way: "My name is Jack Miller, and I am a recovering Pharisee.”.....
BY J. OSWALD SANDERS
In nothing should the leader be ahead of his followers more than in the realm of prayer. And yet the most advanced Christian is conscious of the possibility of endless development in his prayer life. Nor does he ever feel he has "already attained." Dean C. J. Vaughan once said: “If l wished to humble anyone, I should question him about his prayers. I know nothing to compare with this topic for its sorrowful self-confessions." Prayer is the most ancient.....
BY JOHN PIPER
One way to answer this question is to look at what the early church prayed for. Here is a list gathered from the New Testament. It can guide you in how you pray. I suggest that periodically you pray through this list just to test whether your prayers are leaving out anything the New Testament included. We don't have to pray all of these each time we pray. But over time it would be good if our prayers had the breadth and depth of the New Testament prayers.....
BY JON BLOOM
Each of us has received grace-gifts from God. And, “as each has received a gift,” we are to “use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). We are given these gifts for the “progress and joy” of one another’s faith (Philippians 1:25).....
I was brought up to believe that it is a sin to be late. To cause others to wait for you, my parents taught us, is to steal from them one of their most precious commodities. Time is a creature — a created thing — and a gift. We cannot make any more of it. We can only receive it and be faithful stewards in the use of it....
BY KEITH WELTON
The average person will spend about 70,000 hours at work.
That’s a significant part of one’s life, and yet many find themselves lacking joy and purpose in it. We get worn down by challenges and monotony at work. We feel little appreciation for what we do. We hear people boast about things like vacations and retirement or talk about the value and satisfaction of....
BY JONATHAN PARNELL
“I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.”
This is the straightforward truth that David clings to in Psalm 57:2.
Here he states two basic facts: God has a purpose for him and God will fulfill that purpose. Both these truths combine to become that deep and wondrous theological concept we call “providence.” The word was much......
BY JOHN PIPER
Being “in Christ Jesus” is a stupendous reality. It is breathtaking what it means to be in Christ. United to Christ. Bound to Christ. If you are “in Christ” listen to what it means for you:....