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Served by God, Serving Man
My dad hasn’t been to seminary. He has no formal theological training. Nobody pays him and Mom for their endless hours serving the church. But they could write an article on sacrificial service to the church. They’ve lived …Read More
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What the Needy Need
Since we live in a fallen world, our greatest strengths have a way of giving birth to our greatest weaknesses. This is why some churches that emphasize a strong Bible-preaching pulpit are less vigorous in ministries of mercy. One inner …Read More
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Spontaneous Compassion
Bureaucracies aren’t programmed to be compassionate. It’s not in the nature of the thing. Take my friend, David Bowie, in his big, bulky wheelchair. After he became a quadriplegic in a car accident and his wife left him …Read More
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True Greatness
As Jesus approached His final week leading up to His crucifixion, He spoke plainly to His disciples about the events that were about to unfold in Jerusalem. He wanted them to know that the horrific things that would happen to …Read More
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The Service of Leading
Good music is hard to find these days. In fact, I would argue, most of what we hear today isn’t music at all, it’s just synthesized noise with a beat. Good music, however, takes time to produce. It …Read More
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Mercy Established
From Hebrews 7:26–28 we see the importance given to the fact that Jesus identifies with those for whom He died by undergoing temptation. We are also made aware of the necessity that this High Priest be sinless, or …Read More
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The Battle of Our Lives
After dinner, the Bible study group sat down to discuss what topic they would take up next. Someone suggested they study spiritual warfare. “Why would we study that?” asked another member, “What does that have to do with us?” The …Read More
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Worthy of Work
Several years ago, my wife and I agreed to coordinate the Sunday evening children’s classes at our local church for the entire summer. Our church often asked for volunteers to do this or they would have to cancel …Read More
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Set Free to Die
Central to the practice of mortification is the believer’s union with Christ Jesus. In Romans 6:1–13, Paul shows the relationship of union with Christ to mortification. In Romans 6, the apostle is answering the objection that justification …Read More
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Don’t Retire; We Need You
You may have heard that retirement can kill you. Men and women die of boredom, for lack of intellectual challenge, or from the deafening silence that can accompany a spouse’s death. Depressed saving accounts may represent another motivation to …Read More
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Holy Orders
In 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul admonishes Timothy with these words: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” This is a …Read More
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The Imitation of Christ
“My ministry is to teach refugee families to read.” “I lead children’s Sunday school.” “I’m on the missions committee.” “I serve at the clothes closet once a week.” “I really don’t know what my ministry is.” These …Read More
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Rejoice with Trembling
“Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Ps. 2:11–12 …Read More
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Christian Exiles
In a profound sense, this world is not our home. When we are away from our bodies we will be “at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). We are not to be “conformed to this age” (Rom. 12 …Read More
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A Woman Richly Blessed
Imagine a contemporary teenage girl who becomes convinced, without a doubt, that God especially favors her. She knows God will bless her richly, beyond what any other woman ever has known. What does she expect that to mean? Surely God …Read More
