Waiting for Christmas

Introduction

Isn’t it so hard to wait to open your gifts? I remember when I was around 9 years old, my brother and I wanted an electric race car ...

Praying Through Our Struggles

Introduction

What is the one thing we all have in common? We all struggle, we all know what it’s like to go through hardships. We may struggle with ...

Successful Suffering

Introduction

Give me an S.
Give me a U.
Give me a C.
Give me a C.
Give me an E.
Give me an S.
Give me an S.

What does that spell? "SUCCESS."

The Love Reaction

Introduction

(Read 1 Thessalonians 3:6-10)

A single mother struggles to pay for a college education for her only child. She hates her job but knows she ...

Resurrection Realities

Introduction

Concerned with the quantity of church growth and the quality of church life confronts us on every hand. We are barraged at conferences with ...

To Live Is Christ, and to Die Is Gain

Introduction

I don't like it when people take Bible verses out of context and slap them on coffee mugs, put them on bookmarks, put them on bumper stickers. ...

Rachel Weeping

The story behind the sermon (by Ken Langley)

Pastors struggle to find a fresh word at Christmas. We also struggle with expressing authentic sermonic lament ...

God's Courtroom

Introduction

I have a confession to make. It's going to date me, and for some of you, it's going to lower me in your esteem, but I'm going to say it anyway. ...

God's Sacrifice

Introduction

I went to a university that was known for its basketball team. The students who attended the games (like me), were known as the sixth man ...

The Whys Have No Answer

Introduction

In these last few days, most of us have witnessed what we have never seen before. I never could have imagined the fury of the most devastating ...

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Introduction

"No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear." That is how C. S. Lewis begins his book A Grief Observed, a compelling account of ...

The Trumpet Call of God

From the editor

Eschatological issues have always been intriguing, but the interest has both widened and deepened in the last 25 years or so. Bestselling ...

Beyond Comfort

Introduction

Where do you turn for comfort when you encounter loss, pain, or disappointment? Some people turn to food. For some reason, certain foods—like ...

Unbreakable?

Introduction

M. Night Shyamalan's film Unbreakable begins with a train wreck. Everyone on board is killed—over a hundred people—except for ...

Doing Justice

Introduction

I want to talk to you about a concern that lies at the heart of the Prophets, but let's start with a question. Think about the basic human ...

A Mind-Expanding Faith

Introduction

Some time ago, my wife got me a unique birthday present: a ride in a hot-air balloon. We went together to the field where all of the hot-air ...

Triumphing Over Trials

Introduction

Connie Wertenberger is facing a major trial. Connie is a 30-year-old mother of two boys, a woman of faith who is excited about the birth of ...

Surviving D-Day: Death

Introduction

As we conclude our D-Day series, I am sure that there have been some hearts that have been tugged. Maybe a few cheeks are a little wet. So, ...

Encouraging to the End

Introduction

This past week, my dad was in a serious car wreck. He was t-boned by a small car, and his pickup rolled over three times and landed in a deep ...

Go With the Flow

Introduction

I'm told that the U.S. standard railroad gauge is four feet, eight-and-one-half inches between the rails. Why such an odd number? It's very ...

His Own Knew Him Not

Introduction

In a recent survey conducted by the Section on Worship and Board of Discipleship, namely Hoyt Hickman calling his friends in the evening, ...

Rejoicing in Our Suffering

If you make the ultimate goal in your life to become successful in business, what do you do when you reach a certain level of success? If you make a goal ...

The 23rd for the 83rd

What does the psalm have to say to our day? I think it is possible to say with some confidence that this twentieth century has seen developments in many ...

Is There Any Comfort?

Is there any comfort when there are no answers? I would like to argue that the deepest comforts you will ever receive come to you from the hand of God ...

Singing in the Rain

The psalmist is singing again. It's not exactly like singing in the rain, but it's kind of like singing in the rain, because he's in trouble ...

Rejoicing in Our Suffering

Rejoicing in Our Suffering

by Ron Lee Davis

If you make the ultimate goal in your life to become successful in business, what do you do when you reach a ...

Good News for a Weeping World

Do you hear the crying? If we would listen, especially with our imagination, we would hear the weeping from all parts of our world—from Nicaragua, ...

The Praise of an Old Man

Shortly after David came to power, he brought the ark to Zion. The ark was a box about the size of a piano bench, and in it were some famous artifacts. ...

Trusting God in Times of Crisis

 

What do you do when life takes you all the way out to the ragged edge of reality?

I grew up with a guy named Craig Stillwell. We were good friends ...