Paying Attention to God

Introduction

The Christian life is about a muscle. Simon Vay said that the only way we can love people is if we know how to pay attention. The most generous ...

Loss, Loyalty, & Lament

Introduction

I've never been one to read romance novels, but lately I've been reading one. It's been a good one, too. Believe it or not, it's a book I ...

Spring

Introduction

I spent many early years in a northern mill town—a town with a heavy reputation. It's a place that made ice in winter and mud in summer, ...

Winter

Introduction

Confession: I've lived nearly 50 years and, for most of them, have never heeded the truth of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. For everything there is a ...

God Is Big Enough to Comfort My Suffering

Asleep at the Wheel

From the editor

Chances are, you've probably preached the story of Jesus calming the storm. The account is recorded in three of the four Gospels (Matthew, ...

Wait for the Morning

Introduction

Right after the Virginia Tech University massacre, the worship leader at a community worship service turned to this text. On behalf of those ...

Loss, Loyalty, and Lament

Text: Ruth 1:1–22
Topic: Learning to make the right choices in difficult times

From the editor:

Perhaps you're looking for a unique way to approach ...

Cross at God

Introduction

For the longest time, I hoped that my brother, Jeffrey, would return to the Christian faith. He once was an active Christian, but something ...

What Have We Done?

Introduction

After the Chicago Cubs lost their 96th baseball game in 2006, manager Dusty Baker, was called in to meet with the general manager. We all ...

A Strange Résumé

Introduction

It's the most dreaded question of the job interview, and when the time comes, you can't seem to push the words out of your mouth. "Tell me," ...

Life on Wings

Introduction

The biblical image of the kind of life Christians are called to live is, "The way of an eagle in the air." I have lots of experience with ...

God's Noninterventions

Introduction

When I was a boy, my sister left our home in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania, and traveled to Central Bible College. She had a lifelong problem with ...

The Valley of Death's Shadow

Everyone walks through valleys.

Donald Barnhouse was the pastor of Philadelphia's Tenth Presbyterian Church when his wife died and left him with young ...

Those Who Rise

Introduction

The story is told of a farmer's donkey who stumbled into an old, dry well. For hours the animal cried piteously as the farmer tried to sort ...

Why Is There So Much Suffering and Evil in the World?

Introduction

Here are two photos, both showing scenes from two earthquakes of similar magnitude that happened within just days of each other just last ...

Getting In the Last Word

Introduction:

When we began this series, I mentioned that First Peter deals with some topics that Americans don't always immediately relate to. Peter ...

Get Ready for a Rough Ride

Introduction:

This is the sixth message in our series on First Peter: Living Bold in Tough Times. Peter wrote this letter to encourage believers to live a ...

Trust God

Today we're looking at one of the most popular passages of scripture in the Bible. You've probably heard it before...

(v. 5-6) Trust in the Lord with ...