John Stott once said that the occupational hazard of Christian ministry is discouragement. He was right. But that word is far too neat a container for what pastors actually carry. It doesn't account for the sleepless 2 a.m. hours wondering if you misread your calling. It doesn't capture the gut-punch of a church split, or an Elders meeting that ends in frustration and gives way to betrayal. It says nothing about a man watching his wife weep quietly at home when everything cha

Why Being Your Own Counselor Will Destroy You You are having a conversation right now that no one else can hear. It started before your feet hit the floor this morning. It will continue after you close your eyes tonight. It runs underneath every meeting, every meal, every relationship, every decision you make. No, it’s not your parent, not your best friend, and not your pastor. You are talking to yourself. Constantly. Relentlessly. And the voice doing the talking is the one y

Why Faith Doesn't Wait for Dry Ground John Ortberg tells the story of the night he tried walking on water. Well, not literally. But he writes about the first time he went waterskiing. The boat was fast, the rope was tight, and his instructor kept yelling one piece of advice: "If you start to fall, let go of the rope." That seemed counterintuitive. The rope was his lifeline. It was the only thing between him and total disaster. Why on earth would you let go? Then he fell. And

What decision are you about to make today? You will make one—many, in fact. Some will be insignificant, others life-altering. It's the...

The Old Path Jeremiah 6:13–16 (ESV) — 13 “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from...

There's a stranger in the field. Why is he there? Simple. To lead you in the way that leads to pain, rejection, abandonment, and...

Have you ever found yourself painfully regretting a social media post, pic, or response? Have you ever attempted to address an issue or comment on one of your platforms only to soon discover that you're in the middle of a full-blown argument? Join the crowd. It's a common experience. Unfortunately, for all the good it offers, social media also provides a great opportunity for believers to ruin their personal witness. And let's be honest. We've all seen it happen. The deacon w

Martyr, theologian, and pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer once stated, “Nothing can be more cruel than the leniency which abandons others to their

3 CRUCIAL REMINDERS IN A WORLD OF UNCERTAINTY   TRUST GOD For the Stuff You Can't See, Can't Stop, and Can't Stomach   Trust God. It's a common and perhaps overused phrase, and yet, the sentiment that it carries is perhaps one of the most valuable that one could ever discover. This is especially the case when the unbridled chaos of life causes paralysis in nearly every part of our being. I'm talking about those times when the challenge in front of you seems to creep in like a

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from...

PSALM 102 -A PRAYER OF ONE AFFLICTED, WHEN HE IS FAINT AND POURS OUT HIS COMPLAINT BEFORE THE LORD. “Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry...

One of the challenges with Thanksgiving is that it brings into undeniable focus our need to be thankful. This is difficult at times...

Failure is real and opposed to the common sentiment in “feel good” sermons, sometimes it is final. Sometimes the opportunity is gone,...

If “Silence” were able to take the witness stand today, he would testify that every chapter of human history is filled with waiting. No...

Balance, what exactly does it mean? According to Webster’s dictionary, it means “the state of having your weight spread equally so that...

Updated: 2 days ago Parenting is perhaps one of the most difficult and challenging of all tasks that a person will undertake in their...

Why Pray to a God Who Already Knows? Self-promotion. Vain repetition. Empty rewards. Verbose pleading. This is the kind of prayer Jesus disdains. Those who practice such hollow trumpeting He calls hypocrites  and heathens . And yet, when Jesus taught us about prayer, He did so on this very canvas because He, knew we'd see ourselves in it. Gaze into the mirror of truth long enough and you'll find the same polluted waters flowing from your own heart. We share more with the hypo

In his book By Grace Alone , Sinclair Ferguson cuts straight to the heart of Western Christianity's crisis: "A chief reason for the weakness of the Christian church in the West, for the poverty of our witness and any lack of vitality in our worship, probably lies here: we sing about 'amazing grace' and speak of 'amazing grace,' but far too often it has ceased to amaze us. Sadly, we might more truthfully sing of 'accustomed grace.' We have lost the joy and energy that are expe

The Forgotten Discipline: Why We've Lost Our Ability to Say No Shakespeare said "all the world's a stage." What he failed to mention is that the stage has on it a seemingly endless banquet table for insatiable, albeit proverbial, stomachs. Even the casual observer in this world full of delightful tables can conclude that we are a people with most ravenous appetites. Much has been said in recent years of the ever-expanding size of our daily meals and the super-sized messages p

It took the nation and parts of the world by storm. How is it that such a tiny and seemingly insignificant book can become a top seller...