Author: Administrador

As in cake-baking, 5K-running, baby-birthing, and home-building, so in Bible-studying – preparation is indispensable. Study methods abound, but using any of them effectively requires preparation. Instead of hunting for ”the best” procedure, let the following thoughts guide your preparation for studying the Bible and remember it through the acronym, B.E.S.T: B-Before, E-Expect, S-Seek, Search, Savor … Continue reading “The Best Way to Study the Bible: ”Prepare the Way””

One fundamental reason for a follower of Jesus to study the Bible is that Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, studied the Bible. Jesus’ education, like that of other Jewish boys growing up in first-century Israel, included memorization of the Scriptures-especially the Written Torah. What Christians refer to as the ”Old Testament” was the first … Continue reading “Five Reasons to Study the Bible”

I love Bible studies. I love sermons. Both have their place and both can be tremendously beneficial in the life of the church and the spiritual diet of the believer. But I’ve observed that some sermons are actually Bible studies and some Bible studies are actually sermons. Though I will grant there can be a … Continue reading “One Way To Make Sure You’re Preaching a Sermon, Not Leading a Bible Study”

Dear Church, There are some in your community who are struggling. Those among you may be struggling in different ways and to different degrees. Infertility is more common than you may realize. You very likely—and unknowingly—have relationships with couples struggling with infertility. According to the CDC, nearly 10% of couples experience some form of reproductive … Continue reading “An Open Letter to the Church on the Issue of Infertility”

Q. Will we pray ourselves into a glad submission to God? A. Our preaching will never satisfy us. It isn’t meant to. Let’s give our hearts to God. ——— Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and … Continue reading “All for the King”

Nearly half a million people run marathons annually. That’s equivalent to everybody in Toledo, Ohio, running 26.2 miles every year. What’s interesting is more than 50 percent of the runners are running marathons for the first time. Why would people willingly do that to themselves? What motivates someone to endure the grueling training schedule? The … Continue reading “So What? Who Cares?”

Pastors and leaders spend a lot of time with people—leading meetings, grabbing coffee, responding to messages. And yet with all this connection, they are often socially isolated, with their interior lives largely unknown. Some feel relationally full, yet upon deeper reflection, they find they don’t have any true friends. As our culture experiences a loneliness … Continue reading “Church Leader: It Shouldn’t Be Lonely at the Top”

A Unique Opportunity for Mission Halloween offers a great opportunity for many to engage in new relationships with those around us or to revisit some old relationships with new missional intentionality. Regardless of what you think of the holiday and it’s roots, the culture we have been sent by Jesus to reach is going to … Continue reading “12 Practical Ways to Be on Mission This Halloween”

The What So what exactly is forbidden by the third commandment? The word vain (as it’s rendered in the ESV) can mean “empty,” “nothing,” “worthless,” or “to no good purpose.” We are forbidden, therefore, from taking the name of God (or taking up the name or bearing the name, as the phrase could be translated) … Continue reading “What Does It Really Mean to Take the Lord’s Name in Vain?”

Trust Issues Here’s what happens in times of suffering. When the thing you have been trusting (whether you knew it or not) is laid to waste, you don’t suffer just the loss of that thing; you also suffer the loss of the identity and security that it provided. This may not make sense to you … Continue reading “How Suffering Reveals Your True Self”