• Topic > Christian Beliefs > Bible >

    The Power of Demonstration

    My attempts at fixing things around the house usually lead to paying someone else to undo the damage I caused while trying to fix the original problem. But recently I successfully repaired a home appliance by watching a YouTube video where a person demonstrated step by step how to do it. 

    Paul was a powerful example to his young protégé Timothy who traveled with him and watched him in action. From prison in Rome, Paul wrote, “You . . . know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings” (2 Timothy 3:10–11). In…

    Letters Home

    Far from home and training for World War II, American recruits in basic training turned to humor and correspondence to cope with the challenges they faced. In one letter home a young man described the vaccination process with wonderful exaggeration: “Two medical officers chased us with harpoons. They grabbed us and pinned us to the floor and stuck one in each arm.”

    Yet one soldier began to realize that humor could only take him so far. Then he received a Bible. “I enjoy it very much and I read it every night,” he wrote. “I never realized you could learn so…

    Direct Instructions

    My second child was eager to sleep in a “big-girl bed” in her sister’s room. Each night I tucked Britta under the covers, issuing strict instructions to stay in bed, warning her I’d return her to the crib if she didn’t. Night after night, I found her in the hallway and had to escort my discouraged darling back to her crib. Years later I learned her customarily-sweet older sister wasn’t excited about having a roommate and repeatedly told Britta that she’d heard me calling for her. Britta heeded her sister’s words, went to look for me, and thus landed herself…

    Have You Felt the Pain Inflicted by the Lord?

    He said to him the third time, “…do you love Me?” —John 21:17

    Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the most sensitive area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor human emotions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being…

    The Piercing Question

    Do you love Me? —John 21:17

    Peter’s response to this piercing question is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35; also see Matthew 26:33-34). Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks…

    Listening to His Voice

    I’m hard of hearing—“deaf in one ear and can’t hear out of the other,” as my father used to say. So I wear a set of hearing aids.

    Most of the time the devices work well, except in environments where there’s a lot of surrounding noise. In those settings, my hearing aids pick up every voice in the room and I cannot hear the person in front of me.

    So it is with our culture: a cacophony of sounds can drown out God’s quiet voice. “Where shall the Word be found, where will the Word resound?” poet T.S. Eliot asks. “Not here,…

    The Gospels

    The first four books of the New Testament — Matthew, Mark, Luke and John — are commonly known as “the Gospels.” These books explain the life and ministry of Jesus, and are the basis for most of the distinctive doctrines of Christianity.

    Clouds and Darkness

    A person who has not been born again by the Spirit of God will tell you that the teachings of Jesus are simple. But when he is baptized by the Holy Spirit, he finds that “clouds and darkness surround Him . . . .” When we come into close contact with the teachings of Jesus Christ we have our first realization of this. The only possible way to have full understanding of the teachings of Jesus is through the light of the Spirit of God shining inside us.

    5 Reasons Why the Reformation Matters Today

    In a conversation about our favorite historical figures, I asked a coworker if he knew who Martin Luther was. He responded with, “Oh! Is that the guy who nailed stuff to the door?” “Yes, that’s him!” I said with a laugh.

    The Pentateuch: Genesis-Deuteronomy

    The first five books of the Old Testament are commonly called the Pentateuch. They tell the story of the nation of Israel from creation to preparation for the conquest of the Promised Land. But is the Pentateuch simply the historical account of God’s chosen people, or is it something more? This course explores the books of Genesis through Deuteronomy, examining why they were written, what they meant to their original audience, and how we should respond to them today. This course is based on the lecture series, The Pentateuch, produced by Third Millennium Ministries and hosted by Dr. Scott Redd…

    What’s That Book About?

    Perhaps you’re familiar with the Bible, but not with the over-arching story this book unfolds to us from its beginning in Genesis to its conclusion in Revelation. Discover the themes that unite these 66 books into a cohesive narrative. And discover the essential part you play in this big story.

    Fifteen-Minute Challenge

    Dr. Charles W. Eliot, longtime president of Harvard University, believed that ordinary people who read consistently from the world’s great literature for even a few minutes a day could gain a valuable education. In 1910, he compiled selections from books of history, science, philosophy, and fine art into fifty volumes called The Harvard Classics. Each set of books included Dr. Eliot’s Reading Guide titled “Fifteen Minutes A Day” containing recommended selections of eight to ten pages for each day of the year.

    What if we spent fifteen minutes a day reading God’s Word? We could say with the psalmist, “Turn my…

    We Believe in God

    This course briefly surveys what theologians call theology proper or the doctrine of God. It deals with questions such as: Who is God? What are his attributes? What is his eternal plan? What are his works in history? At the most fundamental level, the Scriptures were given to teach us about who God is and what he has done for us. In fact, knowing God is essential for us to understand ourselves and our world. This course is based on the lecture series, We Believe in God, produced by Third Millennium Ministries and hosted by Rev. Dr. Thurman Williams with…

    Forever Flowers

    As a toddler, my son Xavier enjoyed giving me flowers. I appreciated every freshly picked weed or store-bought blossom he purchased with his dad. I treasured each gift until it wilted and had to be thrown away. One day, Xavier gave me a beautiful bouquet of artificial flowers. He grinned as he arranged the silk […]

    He Gave Us Scripture: Foundations of Interpretation

    Evangelical Christians affirm the Scriptures as God’s inerrant word, but we still disagree sometimes over the meaning of particular verses or passages, and these differences can influence our Christian doctrine and practice. One reason for these disagreements is that there are many different approaches to interpreting the Bible. But how do we know which approach to interpretation is the most responsible? This course will help answer that question. It is based on the lecture series, He Gave Us Scripture: Foundations of Interpretation, produced by Third Millennium Ministries and hosted by Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr. with contributions from a variety…