Jesus was probably a good student of the Scriptures in His childhood, listening carefully to His teachers. He learned to read, recite, and memorize portions of the Tanakh. Perhaps Mary and Joseph created other ways to encourage His natural curiosity. In the Luke 2 account, Jesus sat with the teachers in the Temple and absorbed their teachings. His

1. Manasseh, the Wicked Yet Repentant King I’ve heard people talk about how harsh and angry God appeared in the Old Testament. Yet, that’s not the image I receive when I consider His long history with His people. Some, like Moses, the Old Testament prophets, and rulers like Josiah and Hezekiah, honored Him by representing Him well. Numerous others,

Bottom line: whether an elder, overseer, or deacon, the pastor must serve, care for their congregation, and reflect upright and godly behavior.Does a Pastor Have Special Duties or Requirements?A pastor does indeed have special duties or requirements. In 1 Timothy 3:2-7 Paul says the “overseer” must “be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperat

The Most Important Way God Is Working for Our GoodGod’s ultimate desire for your life is to mold you into the image of Christ. Beyond that, his ultimate reward for your life goes beyond earthly success. In fact, the outward signs of earthly success are not even a requirement to know he is working for your good. The ultimate reward is to give you et

Piper said worshiping leads to more blessing. If you get caught up in the secular world, busyness, and striving for temporal success, you will not find happiness. “And (the reverse) when you seek your blessing in God rather than in the products of human labor, you hallow him and honor his holiness as the greater wealth.”This does not mean that God

How Does Worship Benefit Us?Firstly, worship aligns us with truth. In John 4:24, Jesus states, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” This passage underscores the importance of worshiping God authentically, connecting with him on a spiritual level, and embracing the truth of his word. When we worship, we acknow

The wicked are all who are not invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And who are the wicked? We are given a picture of the wicked, their system, and their demise in Revelation 18 as John describes the fall of Babylon, aka the system of the world. Pastor Kevin DeYoung gives us a succinct definition of wicked Babylon, “In the book of Revelation

Spouses are to create a life together, to make plans, have children if it is God’s will, and to pursue sanctification and evangelism as one mind and one person. A woman’s body is not her own in part because her life is no longer her own. Likewise a husband’s body is not his own because his life belongs to his wife and his marriage. They are suppose

What Is the Biblical Definition for Submission? The biblical definition of submission involves willingly yielding to the authority, guidance, or will of another, acting with humility and respect. Scriptural submission doesn’t imply inequality or slavery, but rather a willingness to align ourselves with God’s order and purpose. The Old Testament us

1. SerpentThe serpent is depicted at the very start of God’s word and at the very end, but it also appears throughout the Bible. The serpent, also referred to as a snake or viper, is consistently portrayed in a negative context, often as a symbol of evil, temptation, cunning, and deceit.In Genesis 3:1-7, the serpent is identified as “crafty” and te

1. Pray for the leaders of America to come together to provide strategic leadership that will lead to righteous and peaceful living in America. “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all

When Do People Lay Hands on the Sick in the Bible?In the Old Testament, laying hands on the sick for healing wasn’t common, but it does show up in certain areas, like commissioning leaders (Numbers 27:18-23) and placing people’s sin on a sacrifice by the priests (Leviticus 16:21). At one point, the prophet Elisha heals a man, Naaman, of leprosy. El

Ultimately, the Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast reveal two paths: faithful following of God verses conformity to rebellious and destructive evil forces.What Characteristics Describe Those with the Seal of God? Revelation 14:1 offers a look into the character of those who bear the Seal of God. “Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mou

“If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true and not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long

1. CreationIn our first introduction to God in Scripture, God brings peace and order to chaos through creation. Genesis 1:1-2 states, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”The earth first existed in

1. Work and Toil Makes Life Hard, and There’s No Escaping That “It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:13b-14).It may seem self-evident that life is hard, but many philosophies through

1. Know That Doubt and Unbelief Aren’t Synonyms When I first came to know Jesus, a well-meaning preacher sat me down and said, “young man, this is the day when your eternity is marked forever. Trust God with this and never for one moment give doubt any room.” I took that to heart. Which meant when doubt reared its ugly head, I ran away from it rath

1. Prayer of FreedomHeavenly Father,We come to You asking for Your strength to break us from this cycle of doomscrolling we are stuck in at the moment. We need freedom from this unhealthy pattern, so we ask that You provide a way for us to separate ourselves from this harmful habit and realign our focus on what God says in the Bible about our futur

From the pulpit to the community, Christians then and now continue to practice pietism as they turn from sin and embrace Christ in prayer, obedience, and faithfulness. So based on these examples in Scripture and in history, what are the strengths of pietism? What Are Pietism’s Strengths?Piety can lead to many great things for Christians of any den

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of hi