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Justice League: Heroes & Insecurities
What makes a person a superhero? Would it be his superpowers? Or a track record of being undefeated?
3 Faulty Thoughts Believers Have about Same-Sex Attraction
“I completely disagree with what the pastor said about homosexuality,” Jenny* blurted out as we warmed our seats while awaiting the arrival of our pre-lunch dessert.
Can Christians Be Vegan?
You may be the type of person who hears the word “vegan” and turns away with a scoff and a roll of the eyes. That’s certainly how I used to respond before I began seriously considering the vegan* way of life.
Harvey Weinstein: Monster or One of us?
Google the name “Harvey” today and you’ll immediately get a deluge of negative articles about Harvey Weinstein—previously celebrated but now disgraced American media mogul. Weinstein’s nightmare started a month ago, when allegations of sexual harassment against him by several women, including actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, came to light in a New York Times article.
Our Prayers, God’s Timing
Sometimes God takes His time in answering our prayers, and that isn’t always easy for us to understand.
That was the situation for Zechariah, a priest whom the angel Gabriel appeared to one day near an altar in the temple in Jerusalem. Gabriel told him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John” (Luke 1:13, italics added).
But Zechariah had probably asked God for a child years before, and he struggled with Gabriel’s message because Elizabeth was now well beyond the expected age for childbirth. Still,…
Thor: Ragnarok – What Does The End Of The World Mean For Us?
What would you do if your home comes under threat of destruction? For Thor, it involves a journey to alien planets, squabbles with family and friends, and letting go of some of the things he was once so attached to.
Ruth’s Story
Ruth cannot tell her story without tears. In her mid-eighties and unable to get around much anymore, Ruth may not appear to be a central figure in our church’s life. She depends on others for rides, and because she lives alone she doesn’t have a huge circle of influence.
But when she tells us her story of salvation—as she does often—Ruth stands out as a remarkable example of God’s grace. Back when she was in her thirties, a friend invited her to go to a meeting one night. Ruth didn’t know she was going to hear a preacher. “I wouldn’t have…
Seeking Détente in the Battle of the Sexes
Battle of the Sexes is the latest movie to weigh in on the ongoing discussion on gender equality. It centers on the highly publicized 1973 tennis match between 29-year-old female tennis star Billie Jean King and 55-year-old past-his-prime former champion Bobby Riggs.
God Provides
One snap of the shutter, and there it was . . . one beautiful moment captured in time for eternity. The late summer sun reflected in the breaking wave made the water look like liquid gold splashing onto the shore. If my friend had not been there with his camera, the wave would have gone unnoticed, like so many others that have come and gone, seen only by God.
Who can imagine how many waves Lake Michigan has sent rolling onto the shoreline? Yet each one is unique. As seen in every wave, God makes extravagant beauty out of seemingly mundane…
The Insanity of Faith
Written By Adelena Oh, Singapore Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1) It seems crazy to believe in something that’s not there yet, to have complete certainty that something’s going to happen even though there is no physical evidence. Yet Hebrews 11:1 describes […]
Blade Runner 2049: What Does It Mean To Be Christian?
What does it mean to be human? That was the question at the heart of Ridley Scott’s neo-noir science fiction masterpiece Blade Runner (1982). It’s a question further explored and dissected in Blade Runner 2049
Discover how our manners reveal deeper spiritual truths
Do manners matter? We certainly tell our kids that they do, so the answer might seem obvious, but how can our manners actually reveal deeper spiritual truths? Today on Discover the Word, we’ll kick off the final week of the series “Falling into Love” on Discover the Word. Love is not rude—listen today!
Enough
When my husband and I were first asked to host a small group in our home, my immediate reaction was to decline. I felt inadequate. We didn’t have seats for everyone; our home was small and couldn’t hold many people. I didn’t know whether we had the skills to facilitate the discussion. I worried that I’d be asked to prepare food, something for which I lacked both passion and funds. I didn’t feel like we had “enough” to do it. I didn’t feel I was “enough” to do it. But we wanted to give to God and our community, so despite…
If I Knew Then . . .
On the way to work, I listened to the song “Dear Younger Me,” which beautifully asks: If you could go back, knowing what you know now, what would you tell your younger self? As I listened, I thought about the bits of wisdom and warning I might give my younger, less-wise self. At some point in our lives, most of us have thought about how we might do things differently—if only we could do it all over again.
But the song illustrates that even though our past may fill us with regrets, all our experiences have shaped who we are. We…
The Perfect Prayer Partner
Few sounds are as beautiful as hearing someone who loves you pray for you. When you hear a friend pray for you with compassion and God-given insight, it’s a little like heaven touching earth.
How good it is to know that because of God’s kindness to us our prayers can also touch heaven. Sometimes when we pray we may struggle with words and feelings of inadequacy, but Jesus taught his followers that we “should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). God’s Word shows us that one of the reasons we can do this is that Jesus himself “is at…
