8 Items For Christian Parents To Ponder: Along the way he includes a brief but powerful section in which he exhorts parents in the duties they have in raising their children. He wants you, the parent, to seriously consider the responsibility that God has entrusted to you for each one of your children. And, at least for me, each of them felt like a gut-punch. He offers these 8 considerations, asking that you would ponder each one and allow them to motivate you to call your children to respond to the gospel.

Stephen Curry And The Culture of Self-Trust: The gospel transforms our notion of self-worth and identity because it invites us to embrace a sense of meaning and purpose that’s bigger than ourselves. In Christ, we we’re not demoralized by failure or overly impressed by narrow ideas of success, like football tackles or MVP awards or prestigious scholarships and degrees.

How Do I Know I'm A Christian?: Whenever counseling Christians looking for assurance of salvation, I take them to 1 John. This brief epistle is full of help for determining whether we are in the faith or not. In particular, there are three signs in 1 John given to us so we can answer the question “Do I have confidence or condemnation?”

What Does It Mean To "Accept Jesus": Ray Ortlund gives us a very helpful instruction of what is truly means to "Accept Jesus".

7 Truths About Hell: Hell is a difficult reality, but it is something that the Bible teaches, and we can't fully understand God and his world unless we grapple with it. These seven truths should frame our discussion of hell.

9 Things Adult Daughters Want Their Mothers To Know: John Stott notes that Paul’s emphasis falls upon the restraint, not the exercise, of parental authority. He writes, “Children are to obey . . . yet they have a life and personality of their own.” I wonder if these young women and Stott aren’t on the same page. So moms, there you have it, from the younger generation to us older. May we listen and take it to heart.

How To Listen To A Sermon: So the call is to listen eagerly and expectantly to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, looking for instruction and edification at every opportunity.  But our eagerness must be joined with careful reflection.  Both phases are needed for spiritual maturity and growth in Christlikeness.

How To See Our Differences As Opportunities: But Jesus himself told us to pray for our enemies. Can you do so? Can you understand that different approaches may be needed in different scenarios, like a counselor exercising discernment and care? Even better, can you admit that we need all the compassionate, courageous, and commissioned Christians we can muster to work together out of respect for God’s gifting and in obedience to Jesus? The magnitude of our challenges today ought to dispel the illusion that any one wing of the divided church can go it alone.

The Baltimore Thug Debate: Why It's Not Solving Any Problems: Jesus’ teachings provide answers to the spiritual problems facing African-Americans in Baltimore, as well as some helpful solutions to some of the other challenges currently affecting both black and other racial communities in the city (i.e. blessed are the peacemakers)

How To Shut Down Gossip: Gossip is nasty. It is never good and should be despised by all who love Christ and his church. Instead of being passive and tolerating something that is widespread we should be vigilant to remove something that is destructive and vile. Let’s step our game up and, starting with ourselves, work to shut down gossip.

The Unchanging Truth About Jesus And The Danger Of Following Fads: What was once true about Jesus will always be true about Jesus. You don’t need some clever recreation or refashioning of biblical truth about Jesus. He and the truth about him is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

Calling People To The Kingdom Through Feasts: I grew up believing that after I died, I would go to heaven, which would be like an eternal church service. As a teenager, I wasn’t too excited about that. All I could imagine was a bunch of us in white gowns floating on clouds that felt like hard wooden pews. We would forever listen to long sermons and sing songs from red hymnals. Later in life, as I read the Bible, I found out that this is not an accurate picture of our future with Jesus. The Scriptures tell of a day when we will dwell on a new earth and enjoy a sin-free existence, living life fully and abundantly with God in our midst. We will eat, play, create, work, celebrate, and rest in perfect harmony with God and one another. It will all be good and it will all be worship!

Making Disciples In The Everyday Stuff Of Life: Here’s the reality; all of us are always making disciples. The questions are: Who or what are we making disciples of? And what would people believe about following Jesus if they were to follow our example in everyday life?

Gospel, Community, Mission & Summer: In my experience, there are a few things that will help a community thrive in a season where many fade away. Here are three ideas to consider implementing.

How Can I Get Better At Evangelism: How can I get better at evangelism? As a pastor I love this question. It comes from a heart that understands the priority of the great commission while also feeling the conviction for unfaithfulness to it. When I think through evangelism and the privileged responsibility to boast in Christ, there are two primary areas that I have had success focusing on...

Reflections From The Supreme Court Sidewalk: Let’s stand with the ancient truth of God’s word—about marriage and sexuality and everything else. And let’s stand with the truth of God’s word—that Jesus delights in saving sinners, any sinners who will come. Let’s speak that gospel to the men in the dresses and to the men with the megaphones, and everyone in between.

The Mean Muggin' Christians: And if you ever find yourself struggling to be Christ-like in this way, consider this: if Jesus had the “No New Friend” mentality, we Gentiles would all be doomed in our sin. Who can you be gracious to in this way this week?

No, Hanging Out With Your Friends Is Not The Church: Here are five ways these gatherings of friends fail short of what it means to be the church.

When Your Twenties Are Darker Than You Expected: Our twenties bring so many answers to that question — transition, failure, desperation, dependence, accusation, responsibility, moral failure, stagnation, unfulfillment. “Sting” isn’t sufficient. Our twenties can be a dark time.

Smartphone Addiction And Our Spiritual ADD: These are exciting times loaded with new potential. These are also anxious times requiring our most diligent reflection as we face perhaps the most challenging discipleship question of our generation. By the power of Christ, we will not be mastered by anything, even by phones that offer us many good benefits.

Talk Is Cheap: Our words cause a lot of pain and hurt because we're not hearing how the other person receives our words. That's one reason why James says we ought to be "slow to speak" (James 1:19). In your next conversation, be slow to speak and quick to consider how the other person might interpret what you have to say.

The Messy Christian Life: I believe there is some good and some bad in our seeing the Christian life as “messy.” The difference is why we are calling the Christian life messy.

15 Doctrines That Ought To Bring Comfort In Suffering: In what follows, I’d like to simply (and briefly) point out some of the many ways the main doctrines of the Christian faith provide a comfort to the believer in times of struggle, suffering, and pain.

8 Lies Christians Believe About Success: At some point in my life, Christianity had become a magic wand instead of a humble posture. Here are some lies we in the church often believe about success.

Check Your Investments: What we do here will have implications for generations to come.  Are we working to build that awe-inspiring, Christ-glorifying phenomenon in our own families, or are we too preoccupied investing in all of the stuff that doesn’t matter?  Today is the day to begin.

A Legacy With Leaving: The following is a letter my (Ray Ortlund's) dad wrote several years before his death, which he left in his desk, where he knew we would find it.

Faithfully Delivering The Gospel: Christians are to simply be minimum wage table servers, taking the masterpiece from the award winning chef and bringing it to the tables.

The Transgender Agenda: Rather, it might be sensible to recognise that the transgender agenda is causing us, among other things, to, as Brendan O’Neill puts it, experiment on our children in the most damaging way.

Two Wisdom's And The Good Life: Who among us is wise, living the good life of divine wisdom? Only those who God’s Spirit dwells within, those who have picked up their cross and sought to embody and proclaim its seemingly foolish message.

The No Feeling Zone: But the problem is we have been shamed into what I call “The No Feeling Zone”. In this zone, when singles express feelings about their hardship, and the desire for marriage, this automatically translates into them being discontent in their singleness, and idolizing marriage. We have cynically been shamed into a room in the corner where we are not allowed to express our struggles without being judged by those who are “content”.

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8 Thoughts To Encourage Your Kids In Schoolwork: As the school year begins I hope all of us – kids and adults alike – remember why we work. It is not to earn our salvation, security, or success. We work because God works. By working well wherever He has placed us, we can reflect His glorious image and worship Him.

How God Defines Success: From a worldly standpoint, they appeared to be failures. Yet, from God’s perspective, they were found faithful. They were true successes in His eyes – and ultimately, only His assessment matters.

Of Whom I Am The Foremost: Jesus goes around making enemies into friends, of himself and each other. He makes them family. How does this work? The gospel.

Do You Think It Happened, Or Not?: That’s what the Bible means when it says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). It means that Jesus, the resurrected and reigning King, the One to whom God has granted all authority in heaven and on earth, has the right and authority to save people from their sin.

The Most Important Thing My Parents Did: Why? I ask the question from time-to-time. Why are all five of my parents’ kids following the Lord, while so many of our friends and their families are not?

In Her Shoes: A Christian Woman Who's Had An Abortion: I ask you today, as I’ve done before, to take a walk in another woman’s shoes: a Christian woman who’s had an abortion. I’ve asked her to share her story so we see the power of Christ’s redemption and so we’re ready and able to respond when someone we know and worship beside confesses an abortion.

What Is A Disciple? 6 Expert Views: After all, the early disciples were called Christians because they were learners, students, and apprentices of Christ. Thus, just as “being Canadian” is a part of the identity of a Canadian citizen, “being Christian” or “being a disciple” is an identity issue. But what exactly is a disciple? What sort of definition should we use to understand our identity?

6 Things Jesus Does With Sin: John the Baptist commands a beholding of the sin-taking-away Lamb. What do we see in this beholding? How exactly does Jesus take away our sin? Here are 6 things Jesus does with sin:

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