3 Ways To Encourage Peace Between Generations Within Denominations: In the end, it is important to remember that substance is more valuable than style. We can and should be aggressive when it comes to issues of substance. There are things you cannot be and still be considered within the boundaries of your theological tribe—it isn’t a free-for-all. If you are going to be in a family, value what the family values.

The Simple Beauty Of God's Grace: It’s easy to overlook a little phrase like that. It’s easy to let it be little more than background noise, quickly filtered out. But a couple of weeks ago it was like I heard it again for the first time: “By God’s grace.” It’s a beautiful thing! It is an acknowledgement that without the sweet grace of God, the very opposite would be true. It is an acknowledgement of utter dependency upon God.

Intimacy Or Familiarity: When I consider Bible reading, I see two broad approaches: one that aims for familiarity and one that aims for intimacy. Both are good, both are beautiful, and both have their place.

Slander In The Camp: How many of you have witnessed the evils of slander? Sadly, it happens all the time in circles of people who name Jesus as their King and Redeemer. The more I speak with leaders and fellow Christians, the more I realize how prevalent this is.

More Highly Than You Ought: I’m deeply persuaded that we’re addicted to the pursuit of self-glory because, when we look in the mirror, we think we see someone who deserves to be glorified. Instead of using the mirror of God’s Word to keep our judgment sober, we see an aggrandized version of who the Bible says we actually are. I’ve found that there are four common factors that contribute to this distorted view of self:

Rules For Facebook From Parents To Daughter: As long as we live she will always be the object of our concern and love, but one day we will no longer be responsible for her choices. But for now, these are the rules.

The Secret To Abounding: Growing up in the United States, we are bred to believe that we can accomplish anything we want, that all of our goals and dreams are within reach. We like the idea that we can do anything or everything, and at a glance, Philippians 4:13 seems to support that idea—“I can do all things.” But did Paul really mean that as long as we rely on Christ’s strength we can do anything?

Should I Date A Godly Girl I Do Not Find Attractive?: I appreciate Matt Chandler’s response to the question.

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Ways To Restore Zeal When Sharing Your Faith: Hundreds of Christians are martyred every day for their faith. Yet, today, most Christians in the western church will be silent, afraid, or unmoved by the lostness around them. Why aren’t we as zealous about our faith in the western world? We don’t run the risk of death for our faith (at least not yet) but we seem mostly apathetic about sharing Jesus. Here are a few thoughts:

The 'Gospel' That Almost Killed Me: If you meet someone lost in this false gospel, please, please, please love them and tell them the truth. Sit them down, buy them lunch, and open up your Bibles. Speak life. Be brave. Odds are, no one has ever loved them enough to tell them the truth about themselves. The truth is they cannot be saved by a false gospel, and the prosperity gospel is certainly that. Jesus saved me from the prosperity gospel, and he can save more. He will save more. How could he not?

The Power Of A Boring Testimony: If you’re the type of person who has a boring testimony, take heart! You also are a sinner who deserves hell apart from the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Just because your sins weren’t as directly destructive to society doesn’t mean that you’re not rebellious. As Tim Keller has famously said, “We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” Jesus’ death on the cross was every bit as much for you as for anyone else.

What is Marriage, According To The Bible?: We can’t turn the clock back to the days of the Christian social consensus the West has foolishly thrown away.  But we who say we believe the gospel can and must stand up for the biblical definition of marriage.  We must cultivate beautiful marriages ourselves.  We must suffer social rejection bravely.  We must pray for revival.  We must wait for the inevitable collapse of every false view of marriage.  We must lovingly serve all who suffer for their foolish attempts at false “marriages.”  And we must go to church this Sunday and worship the living God with all our hearts, so that we ourselves are sustained for faithfulness over the long haul, because this isn’t going to be easy.

On World Vision and The Gospel: We’re entering an era where we will see who the evangelicals really are, and by that I mean those who believe in the gospel itself, in all of its truth and all of its grace. And many will shrink back. There are no riots if the gospel you’re preaching doesn’t threaten the silversmiths of the Temple of Artemis. And there are no clucking tongues if the gospel you’re preaching isn’t offered to tax collectors and temple prostitutes. 

World Vision And Why We Grieve For the Children: So, yes, we grieve for the children across the world who will be adversely affected by World Vision’s decision and the evangelical response. But we also grieve for children here at home who are growing up in a culture in which sexual idolatry distorts the meaning of marriage and the beauty of God’s original design. Today is a day to grieve for the children.

World Vision Reverses Decision To Hire Christians In Same-Sex Marriages: Only two days after announcing it would hire Christians in same-sex marriages, World Vision U.S. has reversed its ground-breaking decision after weathering intense criticism from evangelical leaders.

Gentrification: Its Impact On The Local Church: All of the above leads us to conclude that gentrification is hurting local churches by multiplying cross-ethnic tensions (thereby hindering the proclamation of the gospel of reconciliation across ethnic lines) and by producing new segregated congregations even in ethnically diverse neighborhoods (thereby hindering the visibility of the gospel of reconciliation at work).

The Distrustful Generation: The decline of social trust is the deepest problem our culture faces. The cancer of distrust will eat away at all our plans to deal with political, economic, and familial problems. Sooner or later, this culture is going to realize that nothing can save it if it doesn't rebuild its moral bonds. Showing the world what φιλοξενία looks like will not only help us stay faithful as our culture becomes more faithless; it will help our culture rediscover why it used to think faith was so important.

Our Consuming and Crushing Snare: We don't typically learn what others really think of us. But do we really want to know? More often we're left to assume the best or nothing at all. Unfortunately, though, many of us don't assume the best or nothing at all. We're preoccupied by the opinions of others.

Believer Baptism and Mental Disabilities: Navigating the question of a believer baptism and mental disabilities and how these two go together.

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