"Watch your life and doctrine closely"
From the blog this week: When It Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas Born of Encouragement “For discipleship to be healthy among our churches, we need to rediscover Barnabas’s role and become sons and daughters of encouragement.” 10 Key Bible Verses on God’s Sovereignty “When life feels out of control, it can be comforting to remember that…
The pumpkin in the middle of our dinner table has been replaced with Advent candles. A well-lit tree takes up part of our living room and the Amazon delivery guy is a frequent visitor. We have officially entered the Christmas season. A Different Year Every year we are told this is “the most wonderful time…
From the blog this week: Favorite Reads of 2020. A collection of links from the web: Thomas Jefferson Tried to ‘Fix’ the Bible “Jefferson…took for himself the liberty of editing the Gospels. He cut them up, using a sharp knife to excise what he saw as the problematic parts of the sacred text.” Goodnight Till…
The strangeness of 2020 stretches even as far as my reading list. One would think extra time at home would lead to more books being read to completion, however, it seems both my brain and my reading list were scattered and random this year. If you, like me, are trying to get into a better…
A collection of links from around the web: A Family Update Four Weeks After Our Worst Day “We are okay. At least, I think we are. To be honest, I don’t really know how to judge that, or even what it really means. But I think it’s true. We’re badly broken, but somehow okay.” Why…
As I finished the sermon, I closed my bible, prayed, and then walked over and stood at the head of the casket. Row by row, the ushers guided people from their seats to the front of the room and out the door. My sister was one of the last ones in the room; she leaned…
A collection of links from around the web to encourage your growth in grace! 2020 Will Not Be Wasted “But 2020 will not be wasted because God does not waste experiences. If you have been united to Christ, then there is not one moment of 2020 that you can describe as worthless. The mundane, the…
A collection of links from around the web: How to Biblically Defend the Sanctity of Life “God placed a higher premium on protecting the life of the unborn child and the pregnant mother than protecting the life of anybody else in Israelite society.” What Does it Mean that God Chose Us Before the Foundation of…
My heart pounded and felt like it was pumping acid through my veins. My legs screamed for me to stop, but I couldn’t. There was still another mile to go in the 5k and I knew I had to finish strong. I had my goal pace in mind and had trained diligently over the past…
Stop Ignoring Toxic Leadership in the Church “As the world experiences more Christian leaders living and leading authentically with greater humility and integrity (not perfection), we believe more people outside the faith will “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8). How Progressive Christianity Preaches Another Gospel “What would cause someone to run…