Baseball Illustrates Christ as Substitute and Representative

On the Cross, Jesus was both our substitute and a representative. Here are two analogies to unpack what that means.

A substitute is someone who takes the ...

Marathon Runner Changes His Name to ‘Christian’

Pastor Bryan Chapell writes in his recent book Grace at Work:

I have a friend who's a marathon runner. He was in a race a few years ago that he knew ...

Family Creatively Admits Defeat to Neighbors' Christmas Decorations

Every year around the Thanksgiving holiday, families across the country begin decorating their homes (inside and out) with Christmas decorations. For ...

N.T. Wright's Projected Last Words

When the Bible scholar N.T. (Tom) Wright was asked what he would tell his children on his deathbed he said, "Look at Jesus." Tom Wright explained ...

We're Like an Eight-Year-Old Boy with a Broken Toy

Imagine an eight-year-old boy playing with a toy truck and then it breaks. He is disconsolate and cries out to his parents to fix it. Yet as he's crying, ...

Karl Barth Retells Legend of the Saved Rider

Karl Barth preached regularly to the inmates of the prison in his hometown of Basel, Switzerland. Knowledge of that context adds poignancy to the sermons. ...

Jesus Obeyed His Father 20 Million Billion Times

Here's one way to look at Jesus' earthly life of obedience to God the Father. Jesus lived approximately 33½ years, or 1,057,157,021 seconds. In ...

Daughter Uses Dad's Credit Card; Adopts His Identity

A number of you in the room are old enough to remember when you did not pay for gas at the pump. Remember when you had to actually take your wallet out ...

Christ's Resurrection Is a Giant Receipt

Think of Christ's resurrection as a store receipt. If you're in a department store and you buy some clothes, you should always ask for the receipt. Why? ...

College Admissions Acceptance Sets Student Free

For many Americans, the college admissions process is an oppressive and extraordinarily stressful area of life. A number of years ago, I watched as two ...