“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4 ESV).
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Charles Spurgeon once told the story of an ancient Saxon king who had the reputation among his tiny kingdom as being the fairest and most loving king that had ever lived. The people loved him, and he loved them.
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I used to preach fairly regularly at an Orlando church with seven identical services over a weekend, the final one on Monday night. (I still sometimes preach there, but they have a larger sanctuary and fewer services.) If the first sermon was bad and unfixable, I knew...
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The father of the modern Olympic Games was Pierre de Courbertin, a French aristocrat who became very interested in physical education. He believed organized sports in French schools could create moral and social strength.
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Everyone loves to pull for the underdog. Whether in sports, business, or the movies, we always like to see the character with the most obstacles to overcome conquer them. It stirs our souls because we secretly wish we would have the courage to accomplish something extraordinary.
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The condition of Jerusalem during Nehemiah’s day resembled many parts of our communities—in ruins, with broken down or nonexistent walls. Nehemiah could have succumbed to despair but issued a call to rebuild instead.
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We’ve all had strange dreams from time to time. Sometimes the details are so confused and convoluted you can scarcely believe your mind concocted them in the first place. And no matter how vivid the dream appeared, you likely wouldn’t base something as insignificant as your lunch order—much less you...
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Before we can begin to restore our relationship with God, we need to understand that this relationship is broken to begin with and why that is the case.
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ALL OF US HAVE PRACTICED certain areas of wrong from our youth. It is a pattern of life that comes "second nature" to us. As a result, it strongly resists change. We gloss over our resistance with the varnish of excuses:
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We are living in very ‘interesting’ times. Some would say ‘trying’ times. The perpetual news cycle that is constantly feeding us the latest details on the latest thing to be worried, upset or outraged over can leave you feeling hopeless. Robbing you of one of the most vital attributes of any follower of Jesus. Hope. We recently visited St. Margaret’s Chapel at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. It’s a very small building ...
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