This is the seventh installment in Maxie’s series on Core Convictions. You can find the first six articles here, here, here, here, here, and here. What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If
Maybe you are like me and enjoy trying Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects. I enjoy the challenge of tackling carpentry, mechanical, or other such projects. The proliferation of DIY information online, particularly on YouTube, makes it even easier to gain confidence to try new tasks. However, not everything, including Christian Discipleship, is a DIY Project. The Limits of DIY Faith There is
Scripture Focus: If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with
This is the sixth installment in Maxie’s series on Core Convictions. You can find the first five articles here, here, here, here and here. In previous articles, we explored the case that all need to be saved, all can be saved, all can know they are saved, and all can be saved to the uttermost. Having laid these forth, we now
In a world where negative news often dominates the headlines, it can be tough yet rewarding for believers to embody the message of the Gospel in their daily lives. The gloom of the bad threatens to darken the light we are promised. Gleaning wisdom from the Good News of scripture and our traditions provide a roadmap for cultivating lives brimming
This is the fifth installment in Maxie’s series on Core Convictions. You can find the first four articles here, here, here and here. In daily conversation of Christians from different denominational expressions, it’s difficult to talk long about salvation before someone raises a question or makes a claim about “falling from grace.” The term is used when discussing eternal security (what
For two weeks this summer, the world’s eyes were on Paris for the Olympic Games. Viewers cheered for their countries and stood in amazement at the skills of some of the best athletes in the world. Through the media we were connected to an important city in the middle of the European continent—a place that needs Jesus more than we
Scripture Focus: In that day, everyone in the land of Judah will sing this song: Our city is strong! We are surrounded by the walls of God’s salvation. Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust
This is part III of Maxie’s series on Core Convictions, you can find his prior articles here, here, and here. I have long admired the great evangelist, Charles Spurgeon. I often wonder what it would have been like to hear him preach, He is high on any list of renowned preachers. People had to stand in line to get into worship
Romania is a neighbor of Ukraine, sharing about 605 km of border in the northern and southeastern regions. We have always considered Romania the quiet neighbor. Due to the communist and Soviet contexts, each country had preconceived opinions about the other. The Soviets sought to break any form of collaboration with us through various media manipulations and other means. The
“Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:5-6 “Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed.
“What’s that song you’re humming?” my five-year-old asked as we sat parked in the ATM line. “I’m gonna feast at the table of the Lord…” I sang more loudly. “FEAST? What does THAT mean?” “It means to eat a of really nice food as a celebration, like a party,” came my made-up-on-the-spot-parenting reply. What does it mean to feast at the
He says that “in Christ,” through what Christ has done for us in his life, death and resurrection, through his empowering Spirit and inspiring example and our relationship with Christ, God is recreating, restoring us to what he originally intended us to be. The Greek word that Paul uses literally means a “masterpiece.”
Sociologist, historians, and theologians suggest that we are living in the midst of a paradigm shift. Young adults inhabit a different world than that of their parents.
The Lord took Peter, James, and John to a high mountain apart. It was essential, for their effectiveness, that He reveal facts about Him they did not yet know. It is important to note that they were separated from the others and it is not by accident that they journeyed to a high mountain apart. He had something to show
The global West’s current fundamental battle of narratives is whether or not there is a context to being human. The Christian (and Jewish) narrative, of course, affirms a theological context: human beings are made in God’s image. The conflicting contemporary narrative, growing with uncritical acceptance, is the denial of God’s image—or any image. Instead, this competing narrative argues that human
“Read everything.” Rev. Steve DeNeff, a pastor and well-known preacher and speaker in The Wesleyan Church, said this one day in my undergraduate homiletics class. He is an excellent communicator and taught a fascinating preaching class. At the end of the second semester, he presented students with a print of a pastor in a pulpit, surrounded by shadowy figures –
In the Old Testament book of Exodus we read the account of the Israelites journey out of slavery, through the desert and into the Promised Land. This journey provides the ultimate illustration for our spiritual journey and Moses as their leader, demonstrates that the disciplines provide the access point to God’s Presence.
As we start our journey through Mark together, today we are going to look at Chapter 1:1-8: In the NRSV this section is entitled The Proclamation of John the Baptist: 1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead
A college professor at my faith-based liberal arts university used to make a bold declaration. “The greatest spiritual need on this campus,” he would state, “is sleep.” Every semester he saw the same thing. A student would come to his office for a meeting feeling discouraged or depressed, defeated or frustrated, struggling. Whether it was addiction or relationship problems or
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