What are the advantages of preaching consecutively, chapter after chapter, all the way through a book of the Bible? There are five reasons…
The essence of Christmas is the mysterious, glorious and profound claim that God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, became a man in the person of Jesus Christ. To this astounding truth one might be compelled to ask: did it have to be this way? Was there any other way for God to redeem us? The second chapter of Hebrews gives us three reasons why God had to become a man:
Next Saturday (April 19, not tomorrow) is Record Store Day. This annual celebration of independent record stores has been taking place since 2007, and gives special attention to the vinyl record, which happens to be the main reason independent records stores are still in business. As music consumption moves away from CDs and increasingly toward MP3 downloads or direct streaming, there has been a movement back toward buying records the old fashioned way. Vinyl sales have been on the increase for the last few years, and show no signs of slowing down.
Sometimes people complain that they didn’t get much out of a sermon. Often (maybe even most of the time) this is the fault of the preacher, but sometimes this can be the fault of the listener. There are certain steps you can take to prepare yourself to get the most out of a sermon on any given Sunday at any given church. Here are some tips:
Thankfully, there are more opportunities today to hear good preaching than ever before, as one can hear multiple sermons from high-profile preachers on the Web. Below is a list of seven preachers that I consider to be highly skilled and Gospel-centered, and from whom I personally receive much spiritual edification and inspiration. Click the links and you will be directed to a list of sermons you can hear on-line:
Let’s just admit it — many of us are people pleasers. We long for the affirmation and approval of others, and we will do almost anything to get it: we will be someone we’re not; we will slander another person; we will give the impression we believe something that we really don’t; we will neglect responsibilities and even renege on promises; we will fall into deep depression if we feel we are devalued by others, and we will become haughty and prideful if we are adored by others.
One of my favorite books from last year was Is God Anti-Gay by Sam Allberry. In the book, the author, who himself struggles with same-sex attraction (SSA), makes a suggestion that I had not considered, and that many gay rights activists might not even consider a remote possibility. Here’s what Allberry wrote:
Below are the 10 most stimulating, edifying and/or inspiring books I read last year. Before I proceed, let me recommend Goodreads to you. It’s a fun way to keep track of your own reading progress in individual books; to maintain an ongoing list of books you’ve read, along with the dates when you finished them; and to connect with friends so you can share reviews and suggested titles. Check it out here.
There is an important word that sums up what Christmas is most fundamentally about, and it’s not “Santa,” “gifts,” or “eggnog.” It’s not even “peace” or “goodwill.” The word is “incarnation.” Christmas is the celebration of the truth that God has become incarnate, meaning that the eternal, immortal and invisible God has taken on flesh (a human body) and entered our world in the person of Jesus Christ. There are at least three reasons why this is a vital and fundamentally essential doctrine for the Christian faith:
As we close in on the beginning of another new year, it’s time to start putting together a plan for reading through the entire Bible in 2015. This is a very worthy but daunting task. It’s easy to have high aspirations in January, but before long, as our schedules get busy and as we wade through more difficult portions of the Bible, we get tempted to give up.
