Teacher Tips by Jerry Bowling Discussion-based teaching methods can be a vital tool in the Bible teacher’s repertoire​—but only if the teacher knows the why and how of their use. When unskilled, undirected discussion takes place in the Bible classroom, the result is...

I could write great sermons if I just had enough time. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough time. I never have enough time. I am a bi-vocational pastor and I never have enough time. Here are a few things I have learned about writing sermons in the real world--sermons...

Abraham and Sarah weren’t expecting company. They certainly weren’t expecting a visit from God. But he came their way one afternoon, uninvited, unannounced, and disguised in the form of a man. Two other men, angels incognito, were with him. We aren’t told at what...

https://youtu.be/saXAnaz4rkw

https://youtu.be/Rz34MMbgYt4

If you had to answer in a single word what God’s dream for human beings is, what would you say? Consider the word community. Community is not a human invention. It is not a mere social phenomenon. Community is God’s dearest creation. It is only within community that...

The boss had all he could take. He’d endured more than any CEO should have to, he decided. He’d had it up to here. He’d reached his saturation point. No more! he resolved, and he left his staff a two-and-a-half-page letter that began with this paragraph: I am taking a...

There is a great story that dates back to the early 1960s when Vince Lombardi took over the reins of the Green Bay Packers. Most likely you’ve heard it before. It’s become legendary. The Packer franchise had been losing for almost ten straight years. They were at the...

It was a big day in the Lucado house when we purchased a piano. Denalyn loves to play music, and we wanted our daughters to share her passion. Jenna was five years old. Andrea was three. Sara was a newborn. They were too young to accomplish much on the keyboard but...

https://youtu.be/n923cfaBNlA

I shared my experiences with my various men’s groups. Then I explained the five things that showed up in everybody’s faith story. One by one, the members of our team acknowledged how each of these five dynamics had played a role in their spiritual formations as well....

We want to be known, but we want to hide. A friend of mine wrote of a recent experience: We want to be known, but we want to hide. We shook hands warmly before leaving the restaurant. I had a great time meeting with this man.A true brotherhood was developing. That’s...

Whether we like it or not, the moment we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, that is, from the time we become a Christian, we are at the same time a member of the Christian church—even if we do not permit our name to be placed on a church roll, even if we...

Be patient, bearing with one another in love. —EPHESIANS 4:2 NIV He picks his teeth in public. She has this odd manner of clearing her voice every few moments. He can’t watch the news without spouting his opinions. She must apply her makeup with a putty knife. He cuts...

Myth 4: We see everything clearly. Great Christians can be wrong. As a young believer, that was hard for me to accept. It can be embarrassing to go back and read about some of my English theological heroes who defended imperialism from the Bible, or American pastors...

https://youtu.be/g0Wtg5FC4q0

An incident took place a few years ago that has acquired the force of a parable for me. I had a minor operation on my nose and was in my hospital room recovering. Even though the surgery was minor, the pain was great and I was full of misery. Late in the afternoon a...

This world can be a better place. God wants everyday people like you and me to make this world just a bit more like heaven. In one small corner of His grand creation, God created a place that was a lot like heaven. He named it Eden. The Garden State was not just...

Christian faith needs continuous maintenance. It re-quires attending to. “If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change. If you leave a white post alone it will soon be a black post.”[1] Every spring in my neighborhood a number of people prune their...

My big brother used to pick on me. For Dee no day was complete unless he had made mine miserable. He’d trip me as I entered the room. He’d yank back the covers on my just-made bed. He’d wrestle me to the floor and sit on my chest until I couldn’t breathe. When his...

There is a general assumption prevalent in the world that it is extremely difficult to be a Christian. While it is true that many don’t completely disqualify themselves as “Christians,” they do modify their claims: ordinary Christians they call themselves. They...

Paying attention to the historical context will always mean that the theological purpose becomes clearer, which, in turn, matters very much if the living Word of Scripture is going to impact our lives today. We have noted that Isaiah’s time was one of immense...

We were made to know oneness. That is why loneliness is so painful. In the story of the Creation in the book of Genesis, a little refrain keeps recurring: “And God said…and it was so…and God saw that it was good.” The writer is emphasizing that everything that exists...

We are a few years removed from the famous “worship wars,” but it is amazing how divisive musical worship preferences still can be. In the Western world, at least, believers can agree with a church in every major doctrinal question, but if the music isn’t right, they...

To be human is to be in trouble. Job’s anguish is our epigraph: “Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.” Suffering is a characteristic of the personal. Animals can be hurt, but they do not suffer. The earth can be ravaged, yet it cannot suffer. Man and...

Stick-to-itiveness is one of the more inelegant words in the English language, but I have a special fondness for it. I heard the word a great deal when I was young, mostly, as I recall, from my mother. I was a creature of sudden but short-lived enthusiasms. I had a...

IT IS A COMMON SCENE. A couple sits at the breakfast table. One spouse (let’s say the husband) is immersed in the newspaper, while the wife is pouring out her heart. Frustrated, she finally complains, “You’re not listening to me.” “I can repeat every word you’ve...

The spirit of white supremacy is completely antithetical to the gospel. I’m shocked that we even need to say this, but as long as the world asks, we need to answer. Those of us who believe the gospel will always oppose ideas that relegate others to any kind of...