William Carey: an influencer of modern missions

This is the first of a three-part series on the life of William Carey and his commitment to missions and his influence on the modern missions movement. It has been well-noted by a historian that “The history of Christian missions is the story of God employing individual believers to spread the Gospel message around the […]

The Persistent Care of the Great Shepherd

It is undoubtedly the most well-known song in the world. If asked, “what follows these words, ‘the Lord is my…’” even most unbelievers could quote, “…shepherd, I shall not want.” The song, penned by David and placed in the psalter as the 23rd song, has served as a comfort to mothers cradling ill children, husbands […]

Singing the Shepherd Song

Singing the Shepherd SongPsalm 23May 12, 2024 Where do you go or what do you do when you are uncomfortable — when you are discouraged, sad, hurting, uncertain about the future (or even today)? You could go to the internet for some suggestions: Comforting Smells — Scents from lavender to rose, cinnamon to vanilla, delivered […]

The Godly Life in an Ungodly World

The Godly Life in an Ungodly WorldPsalm 15May 5, 2024 Gracie Allen, an actress from a couple of generations ago and the wife of comedian George Allen once received an alligator as a gag gift. What do you do with a gift alligator? Who knows? So she put in the bathtub and left for […]

God’s Glory in the Pinnacle of His Creation

God’s Glory in the Pinnacle of His CreationPsalm 8April 28, 2024 How has your week been? Do you ever have weeks or days when you stop reading the news alerts on your phone and email because it just is too distressing for your spiritual heart? I have some good news for you: Worldwide, there […]

Standing on the Word

Standing on the Word in a Shaky WorldPsalm 1April 21, 2024 What’s on your music playlist today? Or better yet, what kind of playlists do you have on your music app? If you’re like me, you have different playlists for different times of the day and different activities: I have a list of quiet […]

Christ, Resurrected

Christ, ResurrectedMatthew 28:1-15March 31, 2024 Every Easter we talk about the resurrection. We gather on resurrection morning to read the story, be reminded of Christ’s life, rejoice in the good gift we have been given through His resurrection, and meditate on the essential nature of the resurrection. For the believer in Christ, nothing is more […]

Why Christ Wept

Imagine a young man who is in love with a young lady. He has been saving and planning and one evening he pulls a box out of his pocket and asks the young woman to spend the rest of her life with him and exposes a gleaming ring in that box. And she bursts […]

The Victorious Christ

The Victorious ChristJohn 12:12-19March 24, 2024 When a country wins a war, it often recognizes it’s victory by constructing a grand memorial: The Victory Monument was erected in Bangkok, Thailand in 1941 to commemorate the Thai victory in the Franco-Thai War. The Buon Ma Thuot Victory Monument in Vietnam commemorates the Ho Chi Minh […]

So you might believe…

Yesterday I preached on the story of the father with the demon possessed son in Mark 9:14ff — “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (v. 24). Today I read a similar account of the death of Lazarus (Jn. 11) — a story that on the surface seems to be “faith crushing.” Yet our wise Savior […]

Examples of Steadfastness, Part 2

Examples of Steadfastness, Part 2Selected ScripturesMarch 17, 2024 Many of you have exercise routines. You enjoy getting out in the morning and running for 30-60 minutes, or heading to the gym after work to lift some weights and put in some cardio work. I’m guessing that none of us has a workout routine like Candice […]

Examples of Steadfastness

Examples of SteadfastnessSelected ScripturesMarch 10, 2024 Slowly read Psalm 16. Did you hear what the psalmist said of his relationship with God? “I take refuge in You.” “I have no good besides You.” “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup.” “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my […]

Pray for One Another

It is hard to endure, to be resilient, to be unmovable and steadfast. Many pressures weigh on us and entice us to despondency and even to give up on faith in God — to go the way of Demas and leave the faith. And too often in those struggles we are prone to forget the […]

A Prayer for Steadfastness

A Prayer for SteadfastnessColossians 1:9-12March 3, 2024 Patrick Lawler had a persistent toothache. For about a week his tooth had been bothering him. It was bad enough that even his eyesight became blurry. He tried painkillers. They didn’t work. He tried icepacks to reduce the swelling. Nope. He even tried the cure-all for all mouth-related […]

How Jesus Transforms Our Accounting Methods

At the end of Matthew 16, Jesus utters a familiar saying: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (v. 26). The saying is part of Jesus’ call to follow Him in faith and obedience […]