"Strive together for the faith of the gospel." (Philippians 1:27) This verse is one place when the words "strive" and "gospel" should be kept together. We never strive in our own moral goodness to earn our salvation. "By grace through faith" is the gospel message. But...
The recent snowstorm made us aware of the importance of stability. A slip on the ice or a car headed into a ditch means we're off balance and out of control. That's frightening. When it comes to our faith, we often feel unstable as if we're...
Dinner had not reached our table at a local restaurant when my friend asked me, "So, are you an evangelical?" My sense was that, like most Americans, he recently heard that evangelicals are a "voting block" being pursued by presidential candidates. The pace of our...
Reverence for God and respect for the life he created is the foundation for every moral decision we face. We do not have one reason to abolish abortion and another to remove racism from our hearts. We do not have two different reasons for ending...
There was a time when the sermons, songs, and conversations of the church reflected the Bible's priority on life and death and on life in relation to death. It seems we have gotten away from this priority and shifted to themes more related to life...
Some of what we will experience in 2016 will bring us joy—some of it will not. Joy seems so uncertain because our experiences are so unpredictable. Is there a sure way to find joy? Is there a stable place to attach our joy? This Sunday at Grace...
O Lord, Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in your presence, in your service, to your glory. Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour, that I may not be one moment apart from you, but may rely on your Spirit to...
O Love beyond compare, You are good when you give, when you take away, when the sun shines upon me, when night gathers over me. You have loved me before the foundation of the world, and in love did redeem my soul; You do love me still, in spite of my hard heart,...
One of my annual practices is to think through how I will spend time in prayer and Bible reading in the upcoming year. This year, I would like to invite you to join me. I have used Bible reading plans that take me through the Bible...
"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21 Jesus came to save his people from their sins. His people are a people, not just individual people. There is a corporate nature to salvation. The...
