It became clear after the pandemic that God’s people were really struggling. Counseling appointments and posts on social media showed a consumption with angry, hopeless media and a general sense that normal life was slipping away. Many Christians were in need of a personal revival in their commitment to God.

Yeah, I get it. Anxiety is real. Life gets tough, trials hit, pressure mounts, and our flesh takes over- before we know it, we’re overwhelmed with worry. Thankfully, for those of us who trust in Jesus, we don’t have to wander aimlessly when it comes to anxiety.

This article will lay out four practical tips for “dropping our lines” into waters which are teeming with unconverted “fish”—men, women, and children who need to hear the saving gospel message.

It’s been a year since COVID-19 first drove churches from their buildings. For many churches, this marked their first foray into online ministry. When it first began, I was serving as the Director of Digital Platforms for Grace to You. And I can’t count how many pastors contacted us asking where to begin. Most had never live-streamed a service before; many didn’t even have a website.

We don’t have to look far to find immodesty in our culture today. Simply switch on the TV, flip through a magazine, or walk through the grocery store, immodesty is everywhere. Our over-sexualized culture celebrates clothes that do not cover and garments that glitter. Clearly, our culture cares about what you wear.

When studying the book of Isaiah, the first five chapters can give you whiplash as they go back and forth from the present (relative to the prophet) and the future. Judah is sinful in one verse then seems to be sacred in the next. That is the sense you get from reading these chapters. Isaiah keeps switching between judgment and salvation.

I didn’t vote for him. Maybe you did or didn’t. Or, maybe you didn’t vote at all. But based on what the Bible teaches, there’s a pretty strong case for honoring Joe Biden.

Stories are an essential part of being made in the image of God. Everyone has a story, and God gifts us with storytelling abilities. Most notably, every single one of us exists in the most significant story of all: God’s redemptive story. As people redeemed by God, there is nothing more important than worshipping God by declaring His story of redemption to others.

In 1999, my wife and I graduated from college and began working to pay off our student debts, which were substantial. We didn’t have a “missionary call,” but we believed it was important to be rooted and active in our local church, and faithful in reading our Bibles and prayer.

With things off to a fast start and generous individuals enabling our effort, I thought it would reflect the heart of our ministry philosophy to let you know up front how we handle your giving.

We have all heard some version of the statement: “I love Jesus, I’m just not into theology.” Or, “I know the gospel, which is all the doctrine I need.” Or, “learning doctrine and theology is for those stuffy seminary types.” Or, “Jesus + Nothing = Everything.”

If you want to climb a mountain, you would not simply start walking down up a trail. No, before you scale Mount Everest, it might be a good idea to sit down and get a bird’s eye view of the mountain, see where it is steep and where it requires more attention. You may also try to look at pictures of the peak, so you know what to expect.

Vivid within my memory is when my parents bought our first computer—a tall, bulky tower with a massively heavy screen that sat in our kitchen. I can still hear the static beeping connection of the world wide web. The small screen I carry in my pocket is much more powerful and efficient than that massive first computer.

Fear is found all over the scriptures. Both the Old and New Testaments are packed with stories and examples of God’s people continually being forced to choose between two different kinds of fear: the fear of the Lord or the fear of man.

This is a controversial topic that our ministry gets asked about consistently. It tends to incite debate but my encouragement is for Christians on all sides to think Biblically, rather than emotionally. Our aim ought to be to engage Scripture, present truths as best as we can, steer clear of character assaults, and make logical arguments with a generous dose of grace.

Christian parents need a steady stream of wise counsel. How we obtain that counsel, and whether or not we submit to it, is the difference between a home that is growing with chaotic rebellion (even if we deny it), and a home that is growing with consistent righteousness.

If you’ve interacted with social media at all this past year, you’ve more than likely seen the back-and-forth debates about social justice. In the midst of Twitter manifestos and keyboard wars, terms like “Marxism,” “Socialism,” and “Woke” are thrown around, and threads fill with $10 words that so few people actually understand.

One of the more-frequently misapplied passages of Scripture is Matthew 18:20, where the Lord Jesus is recorded as saying: “For where two or three have gathered in My name, I am there in their midst.” Whether this verse is thrown around at a men’s prayer breakfast, a church potluck, or a small group conversation in a living room, the subtle suggestion is that Jesus is not going to bother to show up when one of His followers is flying solo.

Negativity has been spreading faster than a California wildfire this year and with numerous states doing all they can to cancel Christmas, Christians need to push back with power that no government can ever shake. Simply put: we need to remember that we are a people of hope!

He sits in the counseling office, eyes down, a sheepish grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. He’d only been married three years but already had one little guy crawling and a baby girl in diapers. He and his young wife were burning the midnight oil – cook, eat, clean, diaper, work, park, toys, repeat – and by ten o’clock each night, there was barely enough time to say a prayer and catch some sleep, hoping nobody was teething.