Pastor Benny began his message on Sunday by saying these are difficult verses because of how radical Paul’s message was. The Galatian churches were being affected by “men from James,” the Jerusalem church that James led. The Judaizers, whom James did not agree with, were saying, it’s fine and important to become a Christian, and yes, Jesus is the Messiah. But to be...

I watched a man die once. It was not an experience I’ve ever wanted to repeat again. He was a quiet, pleasant patient whom I had taken care of a few times since he had been placed within our unit. That day, my friend was his nurse. She called me in to come help her, stating he was having difficulty breathing. Sure enough, he was in his recliner gasping for breath. As she...

This past Monday started out pretty gloomy. I had trouble sleeping the night before, partly because aging brings sleeping issues and, yeah, I’m in “that season” of life when sleeping is typically challenging. But my restlessness was also related to some weighty concerns I’ve been having about people I love…a lot....

Jake Phillips writes about our response as Christians to the coming Executive Order regarding amnesty. Our biblical mandate to incarnate Christ and display compassion is more important than our political views regarding issues of immigration and enforcing laws. ...

Fascinated by scenes unfurled, fascinated they come and dance This vision of a Son of Man, who melts my heart with soulful glance Across the vision of cautious mind, foreboding foresight still I see the Maker of all things, bear a cross uphill...

Often the moments I hear heart-wrenching comments like this are while sitting on the couch in my living room sharing a glass of sweet tea with women from my church. Like me, they’re dealing with the often-weighty consequences of sins by or against them: pain that runs deep like a knife being slowly twisted through the heart. It’s not always there. But when it’s trigg...

Recently, Sheree Phillips wrote a transparent and helpful post on the struggle of waiting for God. If you're like her (and me), then you probably have an aversion to waiting for just about anything. And the reality is that if you're a Westerner, you're probably just like us in this way. It's no new revelation that with our culture-wide embrace of fast food, fast cash, and ...

Jake Phillips wraps up our posts on elections with a call to unity. Our identity in Christ is more important than our political affiliations, and it is important to remember, as Joey preached this past Sunday, that the believer is not permitted to make distinctions based on classes. ...

Eric Garrett attempts to help us arrive at a better understanding of suffering. The fact is that Jesus suffers with us, not because there is inherent value in suffering (in fact, it's part of the curse), but because He has come to redeem our suffering by suffering in our place. Jesus hates our suffering, and has provided a way out. We cannot truly understand the glory o...

Bob Putnam reviews Joey Phillips' sermon from this past Sunday about our union with Christ, a union that destroys divisions and makes us equal heirs to the promise of God. ...

How we contextualize Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 within the United States' governmental structure? What does it mean to honor the governing authorities if the government under which we live is a government "of the people, by the people, for the people"? Jesse Phillips argues the answer is to locate the supreme authority within a governmental structure, and to apply the command...

How should Christians think about voting, elections and democracy? Ryan McLaughlin argues that the way we should think about these issues should be informed by what we know about the kingdom of God, the resurrection, and the preeminence of Christ. ...

Jake Phillips writes about Amendment 2, the amendment votes will face tomorrow about allowing the legalization of medical marijuana for medicinal purposes. What are the issues facing Christian voters? What would the passage of Amendment 2 actually mean? Jake's goal is not to convince anyone to vote one way or another, but to clarify some of the issues surrounding Amendmen...

Modest dress is a worthy discussion (after all, the Bible does talk about it!) but modesty includes far more than what can be seen on the outside. In fact, the definition of modest is not “Women who dress culturally appropriate.” Rather, the definition is “the quality of being modest; freedom from vanity, boastfulness, etc.” I didn’t see “Modest is hottest” a...