Are You Living in Laodicea?
Laodicea was a rich church as the community was a financial center in Asia Minor. Some scholars note that it was the financial capital of the region, with a wealthy…
Laodicea was a rich church as the community was a financial center in Asia Minor. Some scholars note that it was the financial capital of the region, with a wealthy…
There was a time when going to church is what respectable people did. Church was a place not just of worship, but, for the worldly-minded, of upward mobility. My childhood…
“Consumerism and the Church: Reclaiming the Gospel From Our Most Powerful Religion” is written by Joe Terrell, content manager at CareyNieuwhof.com. Joe’s writings for Medium, Relevant, Carey Nieuwhof, and his personal…
Introduction In today’s world, it is common for people to identify themselves using their “preferred pronouns” to reveal how they want others to address and identify them. The cultural assumption…
Faithfulness to God manifest in uncompromising godliness and reliance on God brings blessing. Joshua, the one who had begun to lead the Israelites so successfully against the Canaanites, and who…
The Book of Judges closely parallels the times we live in today. We can learn much about our culture from studying this Bible book! Scholar Abraham Kuruvilla introduces us to…
Dear Roger, I’m a new Christian, and I have been reading in the Bible about the crowns, treasures, and rewards that Jesus will give to Christians who live God-honoring lives…
Many of us enjoy stories about good versus evil. We love to watch the good guy defeat the bad guy. Still, we often underestimate how enticing and persuasive the bad…
Dear Roger, I am not surprised when I see so many people in our world grasping for riches and money. What breaks my heart is to see Christians doing…
Our passions and desires are at war within us, and we must fight against them. While pride, boasting and divisiveness mark worldly people, humility, obedience and repentance mark the godly.…
SO I SAY, WALK BY THE SPIRIT, AND YOU WILL NOT GRATIFY THE DESIRES OF THE FLESH. GALATIANS 5:16 One of the most dangerous heresies that confronted the Early Church…
James teaches us we need to examine the purity of our hearts and behaviors. Here’s why…
If you have ever tried to walk straight while aboard a ship being tossed by the ocean’s waves, you know how hard that is. The motion around you challenges the…
Solomon was a wise man, but he did not always act wisely. Jesus was the personification of wisdom.
When athletic teams play at home, they know that there are extra odds in their favor. The extra boost of fan participation, applause, encouragement and recognition in their home…
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world.” 1 John 2:15 When we as believers love this world more than our eternal home with Christ, we risk…
We need to build our faith on a strong foundation that will protect us when the storms rage. Because a man is the foundation of our society, anything a spiritually-strong…
In the Bible, Jesus tells us a story about two men who built their houses on two very different foundations. While one was built upon the sand with little difficulty,…
” If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous…
Dear Roger, I am presently pastoring a church in a remote area in Nigeria, a community of idol worshipers. My neighbor joined the church. In the process, I discovered that…
Max Lucado calls us to life and peace in a world filled with uncertainty and violence: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Matthew 10:28…
Dear Roger, I am shocked and disappointed. I have been to several dynamic, growing churches who end a service and asked if anyone in the audience wanted to “pursue a…
The reality gap is this. Our God is an utterly amazing, incredible God. So we think – What does a God-believer look like? Every one of us comes up with…
Hello, Roger! Jack Wellman of “Telling Ministries: Talking Truth Through Technology”, emailed me an article that he had written delineating some of the signs of apathy that tell the…
If you grew up in a conservative evangelical church like I did, it is possible there is a story from the Bible that was repeatedly used to teach you about…
“The best way to think about Satan’s power is not in terms of physical strength, but moral deception.” Deceiver and Accuser Even though this supernatural being, this fallen angel and…
Dear Roger, Our Bible study group was studying the Song of Solomon and came across Song of Solomon 2:15: “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin…
Was Queen Vashti, King Xerxes’ ex-wife, as shallow and stubborn as we assume? I want you to ponder and puzzle with me. Queen Vashti’s gripping story is told in twelve…
So many of us suffer with false guilt; we take moral responsibility for actions, events, and situations that were not our fault. False guilt has no value; it is always…
Revelation 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna,…
%&*#! Potty mouth. Sexual innuendo. Cussing. Cursing. Smack talk. Smut. Swearing. OMG…Taking the Lord’s Name in vain!!! We have become desensitized to vulgarity. “PG” ratings now use “R” language. What…
The American Dream can be a curse when we are driven by greed, futile pursuits, and broken relationships. There are four keys to avoiding the “American Nightmare.” We must value…
Erik Reece is writer-in-residence at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, teaching environmental journalism, writing, and literature. He published a book last April entitled, An American Gospel: On Family, History,…
How many of you have had the experience of being stripped naked before a room full of strangers? Anyone here this morning ever been strip-searched? You have if you’re a…
Lot’s selfishness, misplaced priorities and spiritual dullness cause disaster. He and his family barely escape certain death because of God’s amazing acts of mercy and grace. The lesson for us…
How do you know if you are greedy? If you make most decisions based on the financial impact, if you put financial opportunity over family and health, if you experience…
Jesus teaches that it is hard to live by God’s values when we don’t know what they are. He instructs us to saturate our minds with the Scriptures and live…