James’ epistle teaches us that true Christianity is a product of the new birth and results in a genuinely changed life – one that desires to glorify God. This new life manifests itself in our speech. This is natural when we recognize our speech reveals what is in our heart. When God gives us a…
As this series on missionary support concludes and before we consider what should be done after the missionary visit, let’s review where we’ve been: The Doctrinal Side: Part 1: Deputation and the Bible Part 2: Inviting and Partnering with Missionaries Part 3: The Challenges and Benefits of Deputation The Practical Side: Part 4: Scheduling a…
This message is scrawled on a prayer request card, sitting in front of me on my desk. Tears come to my eyes as I read it. I just ask the Lord help me thru this mental storm I’m going thru myself and give me, my mom, my grandma, and my siblings the strength to go…
This blog series is adapted from Sunday School lessons I wrote several years ago for women and teen girls. The goal was to form a “theology of woman” by looking chronologically at all of the major portions of Scripture regarding women and womanhood. What does the Bible say are the roles, duties, challenges, and opportunities…
Imagine you find yourself at a funeral. The funeral is for a man you never met, but was the father of a close friend so you go to show your support. At one point in the afternoon, you find yourself standing in a circle with three adult grandchildren, all reminiscing about grandpa. “I remember grandpa…
One of my favorite ways to help Sunday school children grasp the location of our country of service is to ask for a globe and two volunteers. I help one child put his finger on where we are in the USA. We all give clues to help the other child find the small nation of…
“The missionaries are here!” I hope those words still excite young hearts as much as they did mine growing up. My family enjoyed hosting visiting missionaries, and though I didn’t know it then, such opportunities played a pivotal role in drawing my own heart to the field many years later. Building on the previous posts in…
Today marks the final conversation from the January/February edition of FrontLine, “AI: Developing a Christian Perspective.” We’ve had a lot of conversations talking about AI, how it works, some of the ethical concerns it brings, and ways to use it in ministry. This last conversation from the magazine has a different focus. We are turning…
Have you recently used the phrase “the fullness of the blessing of Christ”? Probably not. What does it mean? And, to use it in the sense that it has in Romans 15:29, how does one come “in” it to someone else? In context, Paul has just ended the body of his letter (Romans 1:16–15:13) and…
“From New York to Los Angeles.” “Washington is at it again.” “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” Most Americans know exactly what these expressions mean, because they know the character, reputation, geography, and history of these cities. Cities tend to become shorthand for bigger ideas, whether it’s the ironically named Philadelphia (“city of brotherly…