A Lament for Memphis: Reflections from a Memphis Minister
*Editor’s Note: On January 7, 2023, 29-year-old Tyre Nichols was pulled over by Memphis police for reckless driving and was tased and pepper-sprayed. He attempted to flee and was then beaten by police officers so mercilessly that he died three days later of his injuries. Bob Turner is the senior minister of the White Station...
Bob Turner
5 Learnings from Participating in Deliverance Ministry
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you....
William Butt
Is Change Good? Reflecting on Why God Placed Us in Time
Is change good or bad? As we look back over our lives, we can spot changes that were obviously good as well as ones which felt very harmful. But as we take a step back and look at change itself, how should we feel about it? What good reason might God have for positioning us...
Daniel McCoy
Sermon on the Mount: Narrow Gate
In Luke, someone straight-up asks Jesus, “Are only a few people going to be saved?” (Luke 13:23). In his answer, echoed in Matthew, Jesus clearly says, “Yes”: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the...
Jeremy Bacon
Family Worship: 6 Ways Connecting with God Together Will Bless Your Family
Family worship, at its most basic level, is the regular gathering of the family to worship God and receive instruction in the Christian faith. Parents have been given a responsibility to disciple their children, and one of the best ways is through regular times of the family gathering to worship God together and learn more...
Darren Williamson
What’s the Meaning of Ecclesiastes?
What is the meaning of Ecclesiastes? This book in the Hebrew Bible tends to puzzle us with its pessimistic tone and philosophical orientation. What we find as we explore the message and meaning of Ecclesiastes, however, is an honest exploration of the best life has to offer—out from under God’s authority—from a person who was...
Tina Wilson
The Remarkable Power of Preferred Pronouns
I told myself I wouldn’t brag about this publicly. For years, it’s been a bit of a Clark Kent-Superman dilemma: should I tell people about my secret power? Should I keep it under wraps? At the risk of sounding vain, I’m going to go ahead and tell you. I know a lot about pronouns. Like,...
Daniel McCoy
Losing My Faith in Progressive Christianity: The Tough Questions (Part 7)
This is Part 7 in a series on leaving progressive Christianity by Dave Stovall, worship leader and former lead singer of Wavorly and band member of Audio Adrenaline. He describes how his journey into progressive Christianity left him dissatisfied and how he found the road to a more sustainable, faithful faith. Here’s Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 and Part...
Dave Stovall
What We Learn from Job’s Three Friends
The story of Job, from the Old Testament, is well known. He is the man who lost everything—family, wealth, health—and yet did not lose his faith in God. While in the midst of Job’s suffering, Job’s three friends came to pay him a visit. Their names were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar...
Ron Bay, Jr.
Jesus Turns Water into Wine…And Turns Worry to Faith
The Gospel of John narrates how, to save a wedding feast which has run out of wine, Jesus turns water into wine. As Jesus’ first public miracle, the Gospel of John describes it as “the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory” (John 2:11, NIV). What do we learn about Jesus from...
Daniel McCoy
What God Accomplishes Around a Table
When I started out preaching, I attended a church growth conference where the presenter shared that the two most important rooms in the church were the nursery and the women’s bathroom. He explained that, if you wanted to make a good first impression, start here. He also said that the best day to have “Friend...
Rowlie Hutton
What Is Holiness And Why Is It Such A Big Deal?
What is holiness, and why is it such a big deal? God’s holiness means that he is entirely unique, pure, and powerful, and to enter into his presence in a state less than holiness would result in death. God gave Israel the law so that we would know his holiness and our unholiness, but the...
Gavin Andrews
What Ethics Do We Learn from Generative AI?
First off, what is generative artificial intelligence (GAI)? Artificial intelligence has been around for a while now. It’s your phone deciphering between your fingerprint and someone else’s. It’s the chatbot attempting to answer your online question, hopefully quicker than it takes to connect with a customer service agent. More recently, it’s your car’s dashboard beeping...
Daniel McCoy
Having Anxiety? Remember the Sabbath.
*Editor’s Note: Why should we “remember the Sabbath”? Jesus once explained that “the Sabbath was made for man’’ (Mark 2:27a, NIV). He must have wanted us to understand that God gave the Sabbath for humanity’s good. But how can it be a good thing for busy people to take a day and not try to...
Luke Gray
The Symbiotic Relationship Between Prayer and Fasting
I really enjoy a good, robust cup of coffee in the morning. It’s a great way to get my day started. I love the smell, the aroma, and the warmth of the mug as well as the taste. It awakens my brain and gets the synapses firing. I begin to think and contemplate, and the...
Michael Eagle
Jesus’ Baptism: What It Did and Why It Matters
What was the point of Jesus’ baptism? Of all the baptisms John the Baptist did, the one that most confused him was when the Messiah himself came to be baptized. Jesus’ explanation was that he needed John to baptize him in order to fulfill righteousness. But how would Jesus’ baptism do that? And what significance...
Daniel McCoy