Posts by Ben Hicks

Our church recently finished a series through Deuteronomy 5-11. One thing that is hard to miss when studying this section is the importance of fearing God. In fact, fear of God and love of God are frequently put forward as dual motivations for obedience to God. Moses alternates between the two often, with the word…

The title of this piece might seem as controversial as saying firefighters should use water or that people scared of heights shouldn’t sky-dive. Of course Christians shouldn’t participate in vice! Is anyone arguing they should? Well, from what I’ve seen, yes. There are in fact Christians arguing that certain vices aren’t that big a deal,…

If you have the truth on your side, you don’t have to be afraid of questions. If you fear questions, people might wonder if you really have the truth on your side. If we want to successfully pass off our faith to the next generation, we can’t be afraid of their questions. If we are,…

One of the great advantages of the technological revolution is that we have unbelievable access to all kinds of great resources. One of the great disadvantages of the technological revolution is that intellectually speaking it conditions us to go after McDonald’s hamburgers rather than Ruth Chris steak. If we’re going to be honest, there are…

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…

“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…

Living in a reasonably large city like Indianapolis I can see the signs are everywhere. In fact, once you notice it, it becomes hard to unsee—dogs are the new kids. We take our kids to play on a playground and with a small handful of other families and watch countless individuals and couples walking their…