Rediscovering Depth in Authentic Friendships

By Forrest McPhail | January 15, 2025 | Comments Off on Rediscovering Depth in Authentic Friendships

I don’t know what you are hearing, but I feel like I am constantly hearing two complaints from young adults today: 1) Loneliness is a huge problem; 2) Young adults greatly desire serious friendships and mentors. One would think that, if so many young men and women are lonely and desirous of friendships with depth…

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Jeremiah, the Wooden Literalist

By Paul Henebury | January 14, 2025 | Comments Off on Jeremiah, the Wooden Literalist

Many Christian interpreters of the Bible will readily call you anti-intellectual, obscurantist, and other nice epithets if you dare to believe the Bible really means what it says. You will be decried as a naive “wooden literalist.” Well, here’s a little something for you to meditate upon before you succumb to the hermeneutical sophisticates who…

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DEI and the Local Church

By Kevin Schaal | January 12, 2025 | Comments Off on DEI and the Local Church

DEI in the Local Church? The discussion about Equity and Inclusion has been a roller coaster ride for the last eight years. The conversation usually centers on work, education, and government, and this election has revealed a huge nationwide backlash against the concept. But what about the concepts of equity and inclusion in the local…

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Podcast – Interview 57: Maturity and Wisdom (Bryan & Rebecca Brock)

By Proclaim and Defend | January 11, 2025 | Comments Off on Podcast – Interview 57: Maturity and Wisdom (Bryan & Rebecca Brock)

We are back from our holiday break with new podcasts based on the articles in our magazine, FrontLine. We left off with an interview with the associate editor for the November/December edition of the magazine, Dr. David Anderson. We did that interview just before Christmas. You can check our feed to catch up on that…

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A Look at the Lists: Spiritual Gifts for Today

By David Huffstutler | January 10, 2025 | Comments Off on A Look at the Lists: Spiritual Gifts for Today

A spiritual gift is a God-granted ministry to each member of the body of Christ in order to edify its members. There are a variety of gifts (each member with his own gift or combination of gifts), but this variety is united in purpose—to edify the church. They are granted by the Triune God—the Spirit,…

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Four Reasons Acts 2:38–39 Does Not Imply Infant Baptism

By M. R. Conrad | January 9, 2025 | Comments Off on Four Reasons Acts 2:38–39 Does Not Imply Infant Baptism

Fifty days after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit and led by Peter, ignited a gospel movement that spread from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the world. Acts 2 records the riveting historical account of timid followers of Jesus leaving their hiding places and boldly preaching to crowds gathered…

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Two Essential Propositions about God

By Don Johnson | January 8, 2025 | Comments Off on Two Essential Propositions about God

Deuteronomy 4 gives us two strong statements about the nature of God. I am calling them “propositions.” A proposition is “Something which is asserted or avowed; a sentence or form of words in which this is done; a statement, an assertion.”1 Years ago, I read John Broadus on preaching and discovered the idea of a…

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Is God There?

By Randy Livingston | January 7, 2025 | Comments Off on Is God There?

I’m sure that every child of God has experienced a time when they longed for that confirming presence of God and yet felt very alone. Does that mean that God was not there? Do we interpret the silence as meaning that he, perhaps, does not care? The Old Testament records the experience of a godly…

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Why I Will Not Set Goals In 2025

By Treg Spicer | January 6, 2025 | Comments Off on Why I Will Not Set Goals In 2025

As the calendar turns to 2025, the temptation to set lofty goals is ever present. New Year’s resolutions and goal-setting planners promise transformation and success. But by the second Monday of January, most will have quit the goals they started. This year, I’m choosing a different approach, and here’s why. In 2017, my carefully crafted…

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A Life of Worship to God (Romans 12:1–2)

By David Huffstutler | January 3, 2025 | Comments Off on A Life of Worship to God (Romans 12:1–2)

Romans 12:1–2 is a fun text to study. It’s easy to notice three imperatives that guide the passage (present, do not be conformed, be transformed) and also two sets of three descriptors—one for “sacrifice” (living, holy, acceptable) and the other for “the will of God” (good, acceptable, perfect). In short, this passage teaches us to…

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