Category: CHRISTIAN LIFE
Hospitality for Gospel Advance
I occasionally travel around the country in order to teach the Bible in various settings, typically staying in the home of a pastor or church members. Looking back over several years of these experiences, I can confidently say that joyous hospitality is a boon to my...
Helping Friends Who Receive The Call We All Dread
It’s happened to all of us. We get a call or an email letting us know that someone we love has a family member in the hospital in serious condition, and we want to help. Our hearts immediately turn to prayer, but along with that, we...
Hearing Aids for Believers
Let’s face it-sometimes it is hard to get much out of the sermon or teaching you receive in your church. While some of the blame often lies at the feet of the presenter, it is still the obligation of the listener to scratch for something nourishing...
Guaranteed Ways to Make Your Pastor Rejoice
Are you the kind of church member who makes your pastor’s ministry a joy? (Hebrews 13:17) Do you esteem in love the pastors that God has put over you? (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13) Do you honor those elders who “work hard at preaching and teaching?” (1 Timothy...
Getting the Most Out of the Public Reading of Scripture
Some of the ladies of the first church I pastored started digging around in their purses the moment I announced the passage of Scripture I was going to read. It was a nearly synchronized hunt for a piece of gum. Usually, they offered a piece to...
Four Miles from Church
How important is faithful church attendance for the Christian? One man who understood its importance was the father of 19th century missionary John Paton. Living four miles from their church in Dumfries, Scotland, Paton writes, . . . during all these forty years my father was...
Conquering the Shy Chromosome
Like it or not, much of church life and our impact on society depends on conversation. Do you do much of that? It is the responsibility of everybody in the church—including the shy people. There may be a shy chromosome in the genes somewhere, but if...
Creating a Culture of Hospitality
Church doesn’t just happen on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights. We all know that. In our busy and self-isolating culture, we have to make intentional, personal contact with each other if we want to be a real community. But how do we do it? Let me...
A Plea to Christian Young People to Be Fools
The people of God are called to be fools for the sake of Christ. Many Christian young people are not. When Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, he was fighting this very battle. He brought into sharp contrast the wisdom of the world and...
A Revival of the Public Reading of Scripture
I’m risking sounding old-fashioned, uninventive, or the promoter of something that “just won’t work these days,” but here’s my conviction: We should read even large sections of Scripture when the church meets. A Concise Biblical History Throughout the Bible, God expected His people to hear His...
