When the seed of life is sown in their hearts, God’s people grow up beautifully and gloriously. Taking up this botanical analogy, The Beauty and Glory of Christian Living opens by discussing the divine roots of the Christian life in being united to Christ in faith, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, becoming spiritually minded, and living by the means of… Read more…
Too often, Christians today either sensationalize the subject of spiritual warfare by obsessing over demon possession, exorcisms, binding the devil, and rebuking demons, or they minimize the idea and are unprepared for the real struggle they face against principalities and powers. Pastors Brian Borgman and Rob Ventura provide a balanced approach that exposes… Read more…
The essays in The Beauty and Glory of the Father call us to stand in wonder of the First Person of the Trinity. Through an assortment of studies, readers are challenged to recognize the Father’s glory displayed in His Son, to adore His beautiful attributes, to know Him as a Savior, and to rest in His loving hands. This book, along with The Beauty and Glory… Read more…
It’s become a modern question because of the traditional doctrine: How can God be both loving and wrathful? In The Most Encouraging Book on Hell Ever, Thor Ramsey (an author, pastor, and comedian…but don’t let that fool you) tackles this question by probing deeper. Avoiding the caricatures of God as either a Frankenstein out to crush you or a Santa Cla… Read more…
God is radically dedicated to our redemption. This is both glorious and terrifying. It is terrifying because we are idolaters. This means that when God brings redemption he also brings a death sentence to our fallen desires. In love, God will do whatever it takes-even ripping us to shreds if necessary-to replace our feeble pleasures with lasting desire for h… Read more…
Most Christians will agree that we ought to love our God. But what about fearing God? The Bible says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10), yet a broad survey of modern evangelicalism reveals that the fear of God is hardly regarded as such anymore. Many Christians seem to wrongly assume that the gospel of grace trumps the… Read more…
The fight against chaos is universal, whether it be the outward chaos of disorder and frenzy or the inward chaos of fear and self-criticism. Even if we already know how to do better, something falls apart between our good intentions and getting it done. Most books on organization just add more rules to your life, whether it be another plan, another calenda… Read more…
“Revolutionary love” sounds like an oxymoron. Revolution is usually a negative, violent, and destructive change, while love is positive, peaceful, and contented. But true love always changes people. And Christ’s love brings the most revolutionary change of all. Festo Kivengere (1919–88) experienced both kinds of revolution. He escaped Uganda when the… Read more…
“The unity of the Body is one of the most forceful apologetics for the divinity of Christ. Conversely, disunity is Satan’s most successful tool.” – Otto Helweg
God’s glory in us is the basic provision for Christian unity. “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.… Read more…
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger . . . . Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Eph. 4:31–32)
Bitterness can spring from a small offense, but once it takes root, its effects are devastating. You can see bitterness in people’s eyes. You can hear it in the tone of thei… Read more…
Semper fortis. Semper fidelis.
“During my difficult first year at the Naval Academy, I came to the realization that my religious background was meaningless and that my professed faith was an empty shell. I look back now and recognize that God had ordained to do a marvelous thing in my heart.” —Larry Yandell, USNA Class of ’62
&… Read more…
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15–16
Disobedience. It’s normal, right? For hundreds of years, the Church has struggled with how to overcome sin in the Christian life. We know that the cross takes care of our past sins at salvation and assur… Read more…