What Does a Healthy Church Look Like? Every church will look different – most churches have their own culture, have a variety of giftings among the congregation, and are led by pastors with their own unique passions and plans from God. What all these churches can have in common is good health.A healthy church will teach from the Bible, have pastors

1. We desperately need you!Help us always be aware of how desperately we need you (Psalm 107:6) and that we cannot love you or each other without your Holy Spirit teaching us how (John 14:26) and enabling us to do so. We need your help to be the spouses we have been called to be and to fight against the fiery darts that the enemy is aiming at us on

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).This helps me to see His bigger plan and to reach beyond myself. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).Thi

What Is the Context of John 12? At the end of John 11, the religious leaders are determined to kill Jesus. Caiaphas, the high priest, has concluded that Jesus must die in order to save the entire nation from Rome. If Jesus continues stirring people up, then it is assumed that Rome will try to squelch the movement and the entire nation could be lost

What Is the Torah? The Torah is made up of the first five books in the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Torah includes poetry, instructions, narrative, and other writing styles to convey the story of God and humanity. All of God’s followers are encouraged to read, learn, and live the teachings of the Torah. I

Come out!Come forth!Arise!He commanded the person to be whatever they needed to be. He was dealing with the devil and the devil has been made subject to His authority. So Jesus didn’t ask, He demanded.And when Jesus told His followers, whatever you ask in My name, He was not talking about prayer to our Father; He was talking about exercising the au

How Can We Support Families Experiencing Miscarriage?Our four directive actions should include:1. PrayerPrivatelyGod can and does use any circumstances He wills to call people to Him. We, as believers in the Lord Jesus, know this and we can direct our private prayers accordingly, for the Lord may use a miscarriage to:Draw the grieving unbelievers t

What Are Some Important Reasons to Study Ecclesiology?The church can be all that Christ has called it to be. Limits set by human ability are surpassed where the Spirit of God is present. Lives can be transformed. Hearts can be renewed. The miraculous workings of our Holy God can be witnessed when the church functions as it is meant to.We must study

Did God Make the Dinosaurs? “And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds — livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.’ And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the

What Is an Idol? If you went for a walk in the neighborhood and I told you to watch out for the mean dog, you might think you know what I’m talking about. You’d take your walk with a bit of trepidation and each barking dog would draw your attention. When you come upon the house with a pit bull aggressively barking, you’d probably assume that you’ve

What will grace look like for Ruth? For you? For Ruth her deliverance will seemingly come out of nowhere. Boaz enters the story unexpectedly. He’s not part of Naomi’s plan. She hasn’t factored in the possibility of a kinsman-redeemer. Naomi has resigned herself to this bitterness. She is beyond the point of crying out for rescue. But rescue still c

One area that has an inordinate amount of influence in people’s lives is the media. Media is so vital an influence that you can tell what forms of media people listen to based on some things they say. There is nothing wrong with watching or viewing media (as long as you don’t go overboard with it.) So how do you guard your heart against the media?

Darrell BockSteve HamWhy Did Jesus Have to Be Broken on Our Behalf?The answer to this question has its roots in Genesis 3, and from it springs the Gospel. God’s creation was good, until sin entered when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. And now, we are all born sinners (Psalm 51:5), both in Adam, the first man as our representative head, and by our own p

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts

Bible Verses about EarthquakesLuke 21:11 ~ Mark 13:8 ~ Revelation 11:13 ~ Matthew 24:7 ~ Acts 16:26 ~ Psalm 60:2 ~

Discipleship Is More Than Using the Right Words Our faith must be more than simply the words we say. True, Scripture says “it is with your mouth you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:10), yet this does not mean that one’s faith is simply a matter of speech. Empty phrases and hollow prayers will not cut it. In fact, throughout Scripture J

1. Put Scripture in Places Where You Will See It Hebrews 4:12 - “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”The Word of God is described in two ways in Hebrews 4:12: alive and active. Current books

3. To Celebrate with Those Who Are Celebrating“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15).At its core, Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom from slavery. This alone is cause for rejoicing. Slavery was a horrific experience for those who were forced into it. There is no way to sugarcoat the experience of slavery at

Why Does God Show His Power in Our Weakness? Every summer my wife and I take our kids to a campground in Southwest, Missouri. There is a spring fed creek set against the backdrop of a mammoth Ozark hill. If you go at the right time of year – and we always plan our campground to hit at the right time – you will see fireflies along the hillside.That

We Are God’s Representatives For those of us truly committed to Christ, we must realize we are His image bearers and have a great responsibility to represent Him truthfully in this hour. We must resolve to be disciples who remain unspotted from the world, and people who rise above the rhetoric and outrageous behavior. We must stand and be the restr