Blog Archives

God is the beautiful artist who, with just a few strokes of his hand, created a masterpiece.

In this digital age of indescribable distraction, our prayers have depleted.  No doubt we could all cower behind this grand […]

God died for us, and in doing so, he provided for our future – with a tree.

You’re not alone if you feel disillusioned.  You’re not the only one who feels this way.   You were probably an excited new believer […]

God created the air that fills our lungs which sustains our life!

Click here to read part 4 of this series Christians sometimes talk about “strongholds” and may have in mind something […]

God created the light first because He is the giver of light. He is the only one worthy of our worship and adoration.

Shame can come from several sources. Sometimes, it’s forced upon us by people who made choices over which we had […]

We so badly want God to show up and do great and mighty things. But we also want him to […]

We’ve heard people say they are going to start a “fast,” whether for health reasons, for spiritual reasons, or maybe […]

On March 5, 1995, I was on a school bus headed to Louisville, Kentucky, for a field trip when I […]

In the old days of mining, the miners took a canary bird down with them while they worked. This bird […]

I noticed the other day that my wife has been using the word precious more frequently. I’ve known her for over twelve years, […]

“God is Great God is Good Let us thank him for our food. Amen” When my brother and I were […]

One of my mentors has taught me a great lesson on character. His name is Job. Even though we’ve never met […]

I suppose two mistakes can be made as you ponder Satan’s work in your life. While we can agree his […]

I think we’ve all experienced it before—that sense of timidity and insecurity, feeling like everyone can see it written all […]

Sin brings pleasure, but not satisfaction. It brings ruin, never flourishing. Disobeying God sounds good somewhere in the bowels of […]

This Christmas season, Netflix released a host of holiday movies. One of them, a satirical comedy, is called The First Temptation […]

The Christmas song “Mary, Did You Know?” was written by Mark Lowery and Buddy Greene in 1991.  It quickly became a […]

I’ve never understood why Christians are called to be joyful sufferers until recently. Like, I understood the theology, sure. I […]

My name is John and I am a recovering church addict. Those are words that seem inappropriate. After all, church […]

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, gave us a pathway to happiness called the beatitudes. God blesses those who are […]

The Bible clearly states that God is the creator of all human life. (Find a list of some of those […]

If only my children would be more grateful . . .  As a young mom, I was sure that was […]

We desire the silver platter of biblical literacy – that we might somehow put in the littlest effort yet receive […]

Hard to believe it’s already November, and it doesn’t seem possible, but it’s the month that officially begins the holiday […]

In school you are taught that there are four seasons in every year. However, for the Swart household, there are […]

Neglecting the Bible is nothing new in this world. But what we’re facing today in the West involves proclaiming Christians moving away […]

Video games offer a world for your kids where they are the ones with power. The lure is easy to […]

A father took his family on a vacation to Washington, D.C. so that his two children would have the opportunity […]

If you’ve done much reading through the Gospels, you know that Jesus has a long history of picking the most […]

John 2:1-10 chronologically records the first miracle recorded in the Bible that Jesus performed: Turning water into wine at a […]

One Sunday morning a small boy was sitting by his mother during the morning worship service. Like most small children, […]

I have a love/hate relationship with my morning routine. There are things I absolutely LOVE! There are things I absolutely hate! […]

Why should you study the Bible? It’s old. It’s long. There are a lot of weird names in it. And […]

Sadness wrenched through my heart like a knife stabbing into my chest. A lump swelled in my throat and I […]

Have you ever wished for a “Redo” button? Have you ever had a day that started off so completely on […]

Around 9:00 every night, my dog Duke stares longingly up at the cabinet above my husband’s recliner. He knows exactly […]

At one point in my life, I wanted to be an archeologist. I thought it would be amazing to dig […]

(Originally published March 2016) I haven’t weighed in much on the current political environment. Don’t get me wrong I believe this […]

In an article in the New Yorkermagazine, author Malcolm Gladwell writes that vicious dogs are often not inherently vicious, but are […]

Divorce.  In American society, it has become the norm. In fact, the United States has the sixth highest divorce rate […]

Satan has been sowing seeds of deceit in my family. This is not surprising or unique because Satan is a […]

I make excuses for not reading the Bible every day. And this is coming from a pastor. A formally-trained-in-biblical-theology pastor. […]

It’s too nice of a day to stay indoors! The flowers that the kids and I planted are doing GREAT, […]

by Joyce Parker When I get in a room of other women that I don’t know very well, I’m not immediately uncomfortable. […]

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My wife and I are old school.  We try really hard to teach our three daughters their manners.  We believe […]

“For you, O God, have tested us;     you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the […]