In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul talks about the growth that comes in the Christian life. He explains that some ministry is like sowing seed, some is like watering plants, but it is God who brings the growth (1 Corinthians 3:5–9). Thus, in one sense, all ministry is a kind of spiritual horticulture—we participate […]
For those of us who are somewhat familiar with the Gospels’ accounts of Jesus, we can end up feeling slightly underwhelmed by what we see in those accounts as we read. It’s been said that “familiarity breeds contempt”–and there is some truth in that. But the other thing that familiarity (or perceived familiarity!) might breed […]
So many Bible study books, with long chapters and multiplied “principles,” imply you need to master some specific content before you can feel confident that you could actually read the Bible. It’s not that there aren’t principles to be learned, but too often the approach taken is more than a bit intimidating to someone who […]
In her book Every Patient Tells a Story (New York: Broadway Books, 2009), Dr. Lisa Sanders addresses a number issues related to the “art of diagnosis”—exploring how doctors’ experience, training, and intuition aid them in rightly solving the most challenging of diagnostic problems. In one of the sections of her book, she shares multiple firsthand […]
We are in the season of Easter—the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. That truth, that reality, is central to the Christian message of “good news;” it is at the heart of the Gospel. (See how Paul underscored that in 1 Corinthians 15:12–19.) But have you ever contemplated: “Who raised Jesus from […]
