Do You Feel Forgotten?
Months ago, I was digging into the story of Hannah from 1 Samuel. Unable to have children, she cried out to the Lord who gave her baby Samuel. It’s an amazing account of her faith and perseverance, as well as God’s love and miracle-working power. Many of us know the story in its entirety, so...
Megan Nelms
A Brief Biography of St. Paul
It would be difficult to exaggerate the impact that Paul had on Christianity. His attacks on the church prompted the first missionary activities. His conversion and subsequent preaching transformed the Jewish messianic movement into a universal religion. His intellectual genius was embedded in his thirteen N.T. letters which became a cornerstone for church doctrine and polity. Next...
Mark E. Moore
The 3 Spheres of Addiction
*Editor’s Note: Because addiction can disrupt our ability to submit to God and to love ourselves and others well, followers of Jesus do well to understand the subtle causes of addiction. The following is an excerpt from Renew.org resource Untangling Addiction, by Dr. Marcus De Carvalho, M.D. So, what is addiction? Before we answer that question,...
Marcus De Carvalho, M.D.
Jon Sherwood
Freedom Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means
Freedom is doing whatever you feel like doing, right? People who do whatever they feel like whenever they feel like it are the truly free ones, right? Actually, that’s the quickest way to bondage. In fact, you’ll find the longer you live that you are owned by something. As the Apostle Paul put it, “You...
Mike Ackerman
A Prophet for our Times
“People tend to turn to astrology in times of stress,” writes Atlantic columnist Julie Beck. While the New Age boom of the 1970s mellowed, some of its practices, such as utilizing the zodiac, have gone mainstream with millennials. They are hungry to hear from beyond. It was common in the ancient world to seek truth...
Kelvin Teamer
Planet
Did you ever lie back and watch the stars on a summer evening? As the earth rotates, the starry hosts of heaven march grandly across the sky in perfect formation. But wait—there’s a star out of formation! It’s not in the same place as before! What is this wandering star? The Greeks had a name...
Kenny Boles
Not My Call When It Comes to My Calling
I remember that when I first went to Ozark Christian College (where I now teach) as a student, I was pretty raw. I was pretty passionate. I didn’t know a whole lot. I remember sitting in Acts class, realizing for the first time that there even was a Book of Acts. I didn’t know we...
Mike Ackerman
Something the Old Testament Does Better
I love parties, and I’m especially partial to a good wedding reception. I love to have fun on the dance floor. I remember during the wedding reception at my own wedding, the music started, but no one was really dancing yet. Then one of my best friends in high school, Brett, gives this warlike shout....
Matt Stieger
Tiptoeing on the Tricky Tightrope of Boundaries in Ministry
A woman comes into your office. She’s been in before. She has a reputation. She asks you for money and says the children won’t eat that evening if you don’t help. You suspect the funds will be spent on drugs and alcohol, but something about her seems a little more desperate this time. What do...
Julia Martin
Grace in a Single Set of Clothes
Stephen is senior pastor of Trinity Worship Tabernacle, a non-denominational church in Nakuru, Kenya. His story is full of examples of trials giving way to triumph. Here, Stephen narrates his upbringing in which he was separated from his family because of his father’s illness and brought up in the home of an alcoholic and abusive...
Stephen Muhota
Hard to Hear through the Hurt
When our daughter Campbell was still crawling and speaking just a few words, she burnt her arm badly on the oven door. My wife had been preheating the oven, and I think our son must have opened the door. While crawling around, Campbell crawled up to the open preheated oven door, propped her arm up...
Aaron Brockett
What Were the Scariest Words of Jesus?
Usually, “crazy one” doesn’t carry a positive connotation. It may remind of us a crazy cross-eyed uncle who lived in a van down by the river. But when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he launched an advertisement which began, “Here’s to the crazy ones.” In the ad, Jobs praises “the crazy ones, the...
Joel Singleton
Is It Legalism–or Obedience?
“I don’t want to be a legalist, but . . .” I heard that phrase in a life group once. Someone’s teenage son wanted his girlfriend to be able to spend the night. The parent was against it for moral reasons, but didn’t want to come across as legalistic. “I don’t want to be a...
Jim Putman
