Saturday Lagniappe: "5 Tips for Christmas Sermons That Bring Guests Back" and Much More

5 Tips for Christmas Sermons That Bring Guests Back

Are you ready for your Christmas sermon? Read More

Seven Reasons You Should Not Indulge in Pornography

My burden in this article is to motivate you not to indulge in pornography. I am particularly burdened to motivate people who habitually indulge in pornography and who are not killing their sin of lust. If that describes you, then this article is a way of metaphorically taking you firmly by the shoulders, looking you directly in the eyes, and soberly warning you, “Wake up! Do you realize what the consequences are for indulging in pornography?!” Read More

Breaking the Rules Like Jesus Did

Every child needs rules. But there comes a time when you stop living by the rules and start loving from the heart. Read More

It’s Time To Take Your Medicine

The gospel has a kind of logic to it. According to Sinclair Ferguson, it always holds to one important rule: Divine indicatives (statements about what God has done, is doing, or will do) logically precede and ground divine imperatives (statements about what we are to do in response). Any actions God requires us to take are grounded in his own actions. Read More

Six Amazing Things You Might Not Know About The Prodigal Son

In our familiarity with the story, I wonder if we miss a whole host of interesting elements that would have been understood by Jesus' original audience. Is it possible that despite all the times we've heard it, there are still many things that we don't understand about the parable of this Lost Son? Here are just a few examples of what I mean.... Read More

4 Ways to Work for a Boss You Don’t Like

Work is so much more fun when you enjoy both what you are doing and whom you are serving alongside. Read More

Pastor as Coach and Shepherd? Yeah, Right. (From a Real FB Convo)

When someone sneers "A pastor that helps you define anything other than who would lead a committee! HA! Good one," let's listen before responding. Read More

Why You Should Read Multiple Books at the Same Time

I’ve discovered that if I’m not reading, I’m not learning. And if I’m not learning, I’m not growing. And if I’m not growing, I have no right to be leading. Read More

A Plea to Preachers

There is a center to the Bible and its message of grace. It is found in Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected. Grace, therefore, must be preached in a way that is centered and focused on Jesus Christ Himself. We must never offer the benefits of the gospel without the Benefactor Himself. For many preachers, however, it is much easier to deal with the pragmatic things, to answer “how to” questions, and even to expose and denounce sin than it is to give an adequate explanation of the source of the forgiveness, acceptance, and power we need. Read More

What Does Good Preaching Look Like?

I heard a while back of a course on preaching at Greenville Seminary in South Carolina where the students spend a semester working through some sermons of men generally regarded as the best living models of preaching in the world today. The class analyzes the sermons – they put them into test tubes, so to speak, and distill the essence of what makes their preaching so profitable and edifying (there’s a useful idea for a book!). I haven’t taken the class, but I want to suggest three aspects of gt preaching. I realise there are many more, and these may not be the top three. In fact, they may not actually be three separate things at all, but rather three different ways of looking at the same thing. Read More

How does a pastor fight through the “Preaching Hangover.”

You may call it something different, but every pastor knows about it. It is the mental, emotional, and spiritual crash that takes place the next day (Monday) as a result of pouring your heart and soul out in the proclamation of God’s word to God’s people the day before. Read More

10 Different Ways to Drive to Church This Weekend

I want you to go to church a different way this week, but I don’t mean, “Take a different route than you usually take.” Here’s what I mean.... Read More

How Seeing Jesus in Scripture Affects Our Spiritual Formation

8 Habits to Develop for Spiritual Formation (Part 2) Read More

Renouncing Narcissism

This post is adapted from Glory Hunger: God, the Gospel, and Our Quest for Something More by JR Vassar. Read More

Why It's OK If People Don't Respond To Your Evangelism

One of the greatest discouragements to our evangelism is the relatively sparse response we experience even when we preach the gospel faithfully. This causes us either to question ourselves, or more dangerously, to question the truth and power of the gospel itself. Read More

This, however, does not justify a perfunctory effort at evangelism. We are not glorifying God by going through the motions of evangelizing the lost without putting much effort into it.

Why ‘The Secret of Kells’ is a Perfect Christmastime Movie

The film is a gorgeous reminder of the beauty of God that waits beyond our walls of fear. Read More

What Is The Future Of The Religious Right Under A Trump Presidency?

Trump is already backtracking on several campaign promises. Can he afford to do the same with the Religious Right? It's known disappointment before. Read More