I’ve recently been a part of discussions on taking a new approach toward inviting people to and engaging them in our church—Bible study as outreach.
Self-fulfilling Prophesies
When we were young children, our parents would tell us that we were smart, hesitant, too thin-skinned, impatient, or cute. We often accepted the labels our relatives gave us before we had a chance to understand the significance of our attributes.
Formations 09.03.2023: Saved
A. T. Robertson is one of my heroes. “Dr. Bob,” as his students called him, was perhaps the greatest Greek scholar Southern Baptists have ever produced.
Connections 09.03.2023: Up to Good?
Of all the descriptions we might apply to the Bible—holy, inspired, encouraging, uplifting—one we might not usually consider is ironic.
Meditations on Luke: The Depth of Darkness
One the greatest measures of human creativity is our ability to rationalize almost anything. No matter how destructive our actions, no matter how foolish our choices, no matter how selfish our behaviors, no matter how dark our impulses, we can always come up with a good excuse or a reasonable explanation for them.
Naming Our Demons
In the ancient world, people believed that knowing a person’s name gave them a degree of power over that person. You might use your knowledge of someone’s name to give the person a blessing or place a curse on him or her.
Crossroads: God’s Love Is Eternal
David’s psalm is a great reminder that God’s love never fails. God never quits on us. God sees and knows everything about us and still loves us. And when people hear what God has to say, they will sing about the glory of God. Their response will be one full of thanks.
Formations 08.27.2023: Legacy
“Legacy” is a hefty word. We connect it with death, since many people’s life goal is to leave a legacy behind when they die.
Mission and the Families of the Earth
The story of ancient Israel offers one powerful example of the way gives meaning to each particular family. The challenge is to find the point of intersection between the story of the family and the purposes of God in the world.
The Struggle to Cope with Time
The prayer, “So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart,” serves as the turning point in the larger prayer of Psalm 90. The human experience of time is a major theme of the psalm as a whole.