Bible Basics Why are There so Many Types of Bibles? When you begin reading the Bible for the first time, you may get overwhelmed with all the options available. Looking at all the options of Bibles available in a Christian bookstore or online, there is a seemingly endless number of choices: gift Bibles, Bibles for men, women, military Bibles – the
Bible Basics Why is the Bible Split in Two? If you are a new Christian or new to reading the Bible, you might have wondered why the Bible seems to be split in two. Why is there a New Testament and an Old Testament? Does the New replace the Old? The most important thing to understand before answering these
Articles What Is a Sermon? What comes to mind when you think about a sermon? With different denominations, worship styles and agendas, sermons today sometimes can feel more like motivational speeches or platforms for social issues. Contrary to these styles of preaching, Belgic Confession article 29 says that one of the marks of a true
Devotionals God is More Than a Lifeguard “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions
Articles God Does All That He Pleases Children rarely do as they please. What they do is dependent on their parents and other parental figures in their lives. Teenagers have more ability to do as they please but are still limited by teachers and parents. Adults are limited by their bosses and family. The very rich and
Articles What’s in a Name? Names are very important in the Bible. Children’s names often reflected a physical characteristic of the baby or a hope the parents had for the coming child (Genesis 25:25, 1 Samuel 1:20). Often the name became a fitting description of the child as they grew up. When
Articles Truth or Tradition Traditions in and of themselves are not bad. Some are God-honoring and can be helpful for us on our walk. Based on Jesus’ teaching, traditions can be acceptable as part of our spiritual disciplines and in worship if they meet two broad qualifications: that they do not contradict Scripture and
Articles How to Repent Psalm 51 is one of King David’s penitential Psalms where he prayed to God as a result of sin. There are six of these in the Psalms (Psalm 6, 32, 38, 51, 130 and 148). We do not know the exact occasion for any of them except for Psalm
Articles Is Jesus Really the Messiah? As Christians, we claim that Jesus is the Messiah, that He was sent by God the Father to save all those who believe in Him from their sin. Why do we believe that Jesus is the Messiah? The Bible testifies to the fact that many even in Jesus’ day claimed
Articles What is Justification? Imagine a courtroom scene for a crime. The jury has just come back into the room with their verdict, and everyone is waiting to hear what they will say because a guilty verdict will carry a hard sentence for the defendant. The prosecutor and defense attorney both presented very strong
Devotionals Doctrine Leads to Devotion “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?
Articles The World is Scary “The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.” – Psalm 33:16-17 The world can be a scary place. There are wars, racial unrest,
Articles The Conditional Love of God When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, God warned them that if they followed the evil ways of the people, He would take them out of the land, and He would cause them to be overtaken by other countries (Deuteronomy 29:25-28). The books of 1 and
Articles Is Christianity Fact or Opinion? If you want to start a dispute, find two baseball fans and ask them who the best Major League Baseball pitcher of all time is. This question will almost certainly start a dispute because each person will have their own opinion of what “best” means. But if you ask those
Devotionals God is Our Refuge “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.” – Psalm 57:1 What do you think of when you think of a refugee? You might
Articles The Importance of Hermeneutics I remember hearing a story about Pearl Jam, one of the big bands of the 90s. One of their biggest songs called “Alive” is a painful autobiographical song written by the singer, Eddie Vedder. However, fans of the song heard the song as a song of inspiration and strength. They
Articles The Difference Between Antinomianism and Legalism in a Christian’s Life When it comes to the Christian life, there are two opposite but dangerous errors when it comes to understanding the law – antinomianism and legalism. Antinomianism is the teaching that since Jesus fulfilled the law, we have no law to follow and are free to do anything we want. Legalism is
Devotionals God Is Not Like Us “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your
Articles The Trinity The Trinity The Trinity is the biblical concept that God exists as three Divine Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The purpose of this article is not to be a comprehensive study of the doctrine of the Trinity. The basic goals of this article are 1) to
Articles The Prosperity Gospel It has been said that one of America’s biggest exports is the spread of the prosperity gospel. The teaching of the prosperity gospel is about how God wants most for His people is health and wealth, that He will bless you financially and in other worldly ways based on
Devotionals I Am What I Am “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” – 1 Corinthians 15:10 When did
Articles A Spirit-Filled Church What is a Spirit-filled church? Is it one where there is freedom to worship God in whatever way our hearts are led? Is it where there is no structure and order to how worship is carried out or where there is structure and order? Does God set guidelines of how
Devotionals Woe to You “And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of
Articles The Pull of Temptation In 2 Samuel 11 is one of the saddest chapters of the Old Testament. In it we see the great fall of David as one of God’s most faithful people to an adulterer and murderer. Although we know David was not sinless, the Bible does not record any significant
Devotionals The Joy of Genealogies If you were to ask a Christian for their favorite Bible verse or passage, you might expect them to say, John 3:16, Psalm 23 or 1 Corinthians 13 or Romans 8. What about any passage from the first seven chapters of 1 Chronicles? “The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher,