5 Ways to Prepare for Easter
“Will you Easter with me?”
At first, my kiddo’s syntactical error made me giggle. But after a moment, I realized that she’d said something very profound.
Hope Restored
Does the sun rise in the east? Is the sky blue? Is the ocean salty? Is the atomic weight of Cobalt 58.9? Okay, that last one you might only know if you’re a science geek or tend to dabble in trivia, but the other questions have an obvious answer: “Yes.” In fact, questions like those are usually mixed with a hint of sarcasm.
If we’re not careful our modern, sometimes jaded ears can hear a bit of sarcasm in Jesus’s question to an invalid: “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6). The obvious answer would seem to be, “Are you…
Are You There?
When his wife contracted a terminal illness, Michael longed for her to experience the peace he had through his relationship with God. He had shared his faith with her, but she wasn’t interested. One day, as he walked through a local bookstore, a title caught his eye: God, Are You There? Unsure how his wife would respond to the book, he walked in and out of the store several times before finally buying it. To his surprise, she accepted it.
The book touched her, and she began to read the Bible too. Two weeks later, Michael’s wife passed away—at peace with God…
Are We Missing the Point of Lent?
From a distance, Lent appeared to be a time of forced obedience when people tried to “clean themselves up” by fasting or going for extra church services. It felt less like a special season of the Christian life and more like an attempt to “schedule time with God.”
Jesus Carries His Cross
Jesus was forced to carry His own cross to His execution at Calvary. But in truth, that piece of wood symbolized so much more. Today on Discover the Word, we consider the full weight of what Jesus was carrying. It truly was “the way of suffering—the Via Dolorosa.” The team continues the series titled, “Cross Stations” today on Discover […]
Being Consumed
In his book The Call, Os Guinness describes a moment when Winston Churchill, on holiday with friends in the south of France, sat by the fireplace to warm himself on a cold night. Gazing at the fire, the former prime minister saw pine logs “crackling, hissing, and spitting as they burned. Suddenly, his familiar voice growled, ‘I know why logs spit. I know what it is to be consumed.’”
Difficulties, despair, dangers, distress, and the results of our own wrongdoings can all feel consuming. Circumstances slowly drain our hearts of joy and peace. When David experienced the consuming consequences of his own…
Dumbo: A Trumpeting Call to Defend the Weak
Tim Burton’s adaptation of Dumbo had me in a flood of tears, and it was not tears of joy that flowed freely down my cheeks.
Preparing Our Hearts For Easter
The suffering that Jesus endured on the cross is unimaginable. But His path leading up to the crucifixion at Calvary wasn’t any less painful. Today on Discover the Word, the team will discuss what Jesus suffered as He made His way to the cross. It’s a sobering conversation to prepare our hearts for Easter, today on Discover the Word!
Peace-Filled Hearts
For forty-five years after his career as a professional athlete ended, Jerry Kramer wasn’t inducted into his sport’s hall of fame (the highest recognition). He enjoyed many other honors and achievements, but this one eluded him. Although he’d been nominated for the honor ten times, it had never been bestowed. Despite having his hopes dashed […]
“The Way Of Suffering”
The phrase “Via Dolorosa” means “the way of suffering.” And when you retrace Jesus’s steps to the cross, it becomes clear this path was aptly named. Currently, on Discover the Word, the team is considering what Jesus must have suffered on the way to Calvary. Join us for the series titled, “Cross Stations,” today on Discover the Word!
Through the Valley
Hae Woo (not her real name) was imprisoned in a North Korean labor camp for crossing the border into China. The days and nights were torture, she said, with brutal guards, backbreaking work, and little sleep on an ice-cold floor with rats and lice. But God helped her daily, including showing her which prisoners to befriend and share her faith with.
After she was released from the camp and living in South Korea, Woo reflected on her time of imprisonment, saying that Psalm 23 summed up her experience. Although she had been trapped in a dark valley, Jesus was her shepherd…
Betrayed By A Friend
Few things are more painful than being betrayed by a friend, so imagine how Jesus must have felt when Judas turned him over to the authorities. Today on Discover the Word, the team admires the way Jesus handled His arrest, despite the pain of betrayal. Join the conversation today on Discover the Word!
Good News to Tell
“What’s your name?” asked Arman, an Iranian student. After telling him my name is Estera, he lit up and exclaimed, “We have a similar name in Farsi, it’s Setare!” That small connection opened up an amazing conversation. I told him I was named after a Bible character, “Esther,” a Jewish queen in Persia (present-day Iran). Starting with her story, I shared with him the good news of Jesus. As a result of our conversation, Arman started attending a weekly Bible study to learn more about Jesus.
One of Jesus’s disciples, Philip, guided by the Holy Spirit, asked a question that opened…
“Cross Stations”
Since Jesus’s resurrection, Christians have visited Jerusalem to retrace the Savior’s final steps to the cross. And today on Discover the Word, the team will lead us on a metaphorical pilgrimage through Scripture, so that we too can experience Jesus’s journey to Calvary. Begin a new series called, “Cross Stations,” today on Discover the Word!
Unexpected Winners
Perhaps the most preposterous, spellbinding moment in the 2018 Winter Olympics was when the Czech Republic’s world champion snowboarder Ester Ledecka won an event in a completely different sport: skiing! And she took the first-place gold medal even though she had the unenviable position of skiing 26th—a feat believed to be basically impossible.
Amazingly, Ledecka qualified to race the women’s super-G—an event that combines downhill skiing with a slalom course. After she won by .01 of a second on borrowed skis, the cameras showed she was just as shocked as the media and other contestants who had assumed the winner would be…
