Topic > Christian Beliefs
Discover the importance of reading the Bible in context
Start reading a book in the middle of the story and you’ll quickly be confused! Let's emphasize the importance of reading the Bible in context, remembering that each verse is part of a single narrative.
Dust Art
When God chose dust as His artistic medium to create Adam (Gen. 2:7), He didn’t have to worry about running out of material. According to Hannah Holmes, author of The Secret Life of Dust, “Between 1 and 3 billion tons of desert dust fly up into the sky annually.
One By One
Edward Payson was a famous preacher in a bygone era. One stormy Sunday, he had only one person in his audience. Some months later, his lone attendee called on him: “I was led to the Savior through that service,” he said. “For whenever you talked about sin and salvation, I glanced around to see to whom you referred, but since there was no one there but me, I had no alternative but to lay every word to my own heart and conscience!
Wonderfully Made
While getting an eye exam recently, my doctor hauled out a piece of equipment that I hadn’t seen before. I asked him what the device was, and he responded, “I’m using it to take a picture of the inside of the back of your eye.”
Strengthened Through Suffering
Church services often end with a benediction. A common one is taken from Peter’s concluding remarks in his first epistle: “May the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you” (1 Peter 5:10).
Ruth & Hannah: Learning To Walk By Faith
Uncertainty in not knowing what lies ahead can be frustrating. In this study, author Alice Mathews explores the stories of two women in the Bible whose circumstances led them on a journey of faith. Discover how you can move forward by faith and experience God’s peace in the midst of difficult times when you allow Him to lead the way.
A powerful lesson on grace
Jesus’ instruction to offer unlimited forgiveness to those around us is a pretty tall order. Is it even possible to accomplish? That’s the question on today’s edition of “Discover the Word.” Join us as we study a parable Jesus told about a debt-stricken servant and a compassionate king.
From Bleak To Beautiful
Spring is the time of year when God reminds us that things are not always as they seem. Over the course of a few short weeks, what appears hopelessly dead comes to life. Bleak woodlands are transformed into colorful landscapes.
Let’s take a biblical view of our own mistakes and where we can go to find forgiveness
It’s overwhelming to consider our own sinfulness. So instead, we focus on what others are doing wrong, and in comparison we look pretty good!
All The Comforts Of Home
Once, during my tenure as a human resource officer for a construction company, we took some jobs in a neighboring state. This meant our workers were faced with a 2-hour commute each way, plus a full workday. To ease the burden, we booked motel rooms for the week, but we also arranged vans and drivers to transport those who decided to commute.
Jesus’ parable of forgiveness
Paying off our credit card balance may be doable. Paying off the national debt all by ourselves, well that’s impossible! Let's discuss the magnitude of our own spiritual debt, and who has the capacity to clear our balance.
Cape Tribulation
On June 10, 1770, British navigator James Cook’s ship hit a reef off the northeast coast of Australia. He sailed the ship out into deeper water only to hit the reef again, and this time the collision almost sank the ship. This experience moved Cook to write in the ship’s log: “The north point [was named] Cape Tribulation because here began all our troubles.”
The story of a compassionate king and a debt-ridden servant
A good story can help us understand important principles in a fresh new way. Let's turn our attention to a parable from Jesus that puts the issue of unlimited forgiveness into practical perspective.
Money Talk
Marilyn and Steven had been married just a few years, and money was tight. But as she looked at their threadbare bedspread, she wanted to replace it. So she decided she would buy a new one with a credit card—hoping to somehow find the money to pay it off.
Tell The Story
In an interview with Wired magazine, filmmaker George Lucas was asked how he wanted to be remembered. He replied: “I’ll be remembered as a filmmaker. . . . Hopefully some of the stories I told will still be relevant. . . . If you’ve raised children, you know you have to explain things to them, and if you don’t, they end up learning the hard way. . . .
