Exploring Faith and Spirituality

Religion

Missionary, Look for the Glory of God

The glory of God is the driving force of missionary work. The result is secure: “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). In t...

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One Pentecost Was Enough

Recently, Jesus Culture—a well-known worship group connected to Bethel Church in California—posted a clip on X of a song they released today. The lyrics repeatedly declare, “We need another Penteco...

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Editor’s Pick: Resources for Next Generation Ministry

Discipling our children is an especially urgent matter because our character is substantially formed during our early years. Sanctification is a lifelong process, but kids who experience meaningful...

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What happens in church on Good Friday? That would be an ecumenical matter | Letters

Rev Canon Michael Ainsworth and Nigel Eifion Rogers Hartley continue a conversation on communion. Alan Gough says any bank holiday is a feast dayCanon John Longuet-Higgins oversimplifies on the mat...

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The Mercy of Gnats (and Other Outdoor Discomforts)

My 12-year-old daughter and I were camping along Pennsylvania’s Youghiogheny River. Looking downstream, we watched the sun setting behind a mountain—leaving in its wake a glorious array of pastel-c...

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Weary Christian, Set Your Mind on Things Above

Most American professing Christians (85 percent) believe in heaven, according to Pew’s Religious Landscape Study in 2024. But how often do they think about heaven? Not often, if a survey of popular...

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When Marriages Get Hard: Practicing Sabr Without Losing Yourself

Struggling in your marriage? Learn how to practice sabr (patience) with purpose and how Ihsan Coaching helps Muslim couples reconnect and heal through faith-based marital support. You’re Trying ...

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When Evil Comes for Children, Where Is the Light?

Last month, a horrible abuse story broke in my state, Alabama. It involved children, a bunker, and sex trafficking. I can’t tell you any more than that because I couldn’t bring myself to click on t...

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Don’t Settle for What You Already Know About God

The first time I got on an airplane, I was in awe looking out the window at the clouds below me. Now I close the window so there’s no glare on my laptop screen. The wonder has faded. The same dri...

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Unveiling the Heart of Apocalyptic Preaching

In this lecture, Don Carson teaches that Jesus Christ must remain the central focus in interpretations of the book of Revelation. Carson critiques various scholarly approaches that often marginaliz...

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When Kierkegaard Goes to an Oasis Concert

Two miles west of my home in Edinburgh stands Murrayfield Stadium. The Scottish national rugby team’s home, Murrayfield moonlights as a major concert venue. Even at that distance, as long as my liv...

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What Hath Hogwarts to Do with Jerusalem?

“So,” a friend asked me a few weeks ago, “what do you think about demonic possession?” The question caught me off guard, but I should’ve been more prepared. It was at least the third time in the p...

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Best Practices for Recruiting Children’s Ministry Volunteers

In my time serving as a children’s minister and family pastor, perhaps nothing tested my faith in God’s provision like recruiting volunteers. I once participated in a conference call with a group o...

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6 Ways to Lead Better Bible Study Discussions

“What does this passage mean to you?” You start with an easy, open-ended question to get the conversation moving. Fifteen minutes later, the group is discussing how Sharon should respond to her c...

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How to Traverse the Dark Side of God’s Sovereignty

On Sunday, May 18, 1969, my grandmother suddenly passed from a heart attack while attending her church’s evening service. It was my mother’s 27th birthday. Now 83 years old, Mom has often told me t...

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We Need Cultural Climatologists

Back in 2016, I asked the noted sociologist James Davison Hunter a few questions about that season’s tumultuous political campaigns. Who better to answer than the scholar who popularized the phrase...

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Glorifying God with Our Bodies Isn’t About What We Don’t Do

God made us for his glory. He created us “in his own image” (Gen. 1:27). We were made to reflect and display him, to be mobile monuments to God’s strength and beauty, not to be stationary statues. ...

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Retrieving the Past Can Sharpen Your Convictions

Several years ago, I served as an elder at a church that began to introduce to our congregation the idea of reciting the Apostles’ Creed together weekly. We were careful to unpack this idea through...

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Nicodemus: Incredulity, Indecision, and Identity

Snakes often evoke terror and revulsion. I experienced this one day on a hike when I heard a sound at my feet. There, right next to me, was a rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike. One of the ho...

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Why Being Late to Church Matters

I’ve been wrong about church changes before. Pastors without ties? I was against it. Praise songs instead of hymns? Hated the idea. Coffee in the sanctuary? Borderline heretical. Now, though, I ca...

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How Grieving Moms (and Dads) Can Find Hope After Miscarriage

In his famous hymn “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken,” Henry Lyte writes, “With Thy favor, loss is gain.” His lyrics capture a paradox of the heart of the Christian life. Gaining Christ comes through t...

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