Many people will make resolutions in the New Year. What if you asked some questions first? Here are a few suggestions from Donald Whitney. And, what’s the single biggest time-waster in your life, and how can you redeem the time? Social media? TV? Video games? Sports? Hobbies? Actively replacing it with something better helps us in “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).
According to Lifeway Research, the majority of people moving to a new town utilized in-person visits to churches (69%) and recommendations from family, friends, neighbors, and/or colleagues. And, Amazing Grace was first sung in 1773 on New Year’s Day at Lord Dartmouth’s Great Hall in Olney, England. John Newton wrote it to accompany his New Year’s sermon from 1 Chronicles 17, encouraging worshipers to remember the Lord’s “past mercies and future hopes,” the Museum of the Bible records in an online exhibit.
A small town in west Tennessee received some overwhelming news this year. Stanton, a town of 414 souls, was awarded the title of a Blue Oval City by the Ford Motor Company. Markus and Mary Feirer are taking the gospel to the streets of a major East Asian city. Even though some told the gospel workers that approaching strangers and striking up conversations about the gospel wouldn’t work, they tried anyway. And, maybe you’ve wondered what your pastor is thinking as he preaches. In a Baptist Press article, a few pastors share some observations you might find interesting.
Many of the reported 4,500 who were baptized at Harvest Christian Fellowship’s “Jesus Revolution” baptism back on July 8 climbed rocky terrain and were subject to state fees to enter Pirate’s Cove Beach. Speaking of spiritual renewal, 2023 will also be remembered as a time when God visited Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. And, maybe you have some extra time to devote to reading during the Christmas season. A Baptist Press Toolbox piece suggests five good books to read.
It’s Christmas Day! Passed as a federal holiday in 1870 by Pres. Ulysses S. Grant, there are many theories as to why the Congress and the President made the day a national holiday. And, as believers look to Scripture during the holiday season, they often reflect on passages from the Old Testament. A Baptist Press Toolbox pieces reminds us the ancient writings are still relevant today.
It was a Monday night unlike any other on January 10th . That was the night the Buffalo Bills were playing the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football. And, what do people search for in the pages of the Bible? According to the folks at the YouVersion app…they look for hope.
2023 was the year well known pastor and author Charles Stanley passed from this life to his heavenly reward. Stanley died in April at age 90. And, prayer requires patience. In the Christmas story, as told through the winding narrative of Luke, there briefly appears a mysterious man of prayer named Simeon (Luke 2:25-35).
Tragedy and disasters around the world present sad opportunities for ministry in 2023. Haylee Williams is viewing Christmas through a different lens. She’s just weeks away from giving birth to a baby as holiday plans move forward. And, in Luke 2, we encounter a woman named Anna. An elderly widow who lived a life of non-stop intercession she is identified as a “prophetess” (v. 36).
American Christians tend to have nuanced perspectives on the circumstances surrounding the war between Israel and Hamas but clear views on the reality of Hamas, the rights of Israel and the need to protect innocent lives, according to Lifeway Research. A Lifeway Bible study says, in Genesis 3, we read of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. And, in the Christmas story, as told through the winding narrative of Luke, there briefly appears a mysterious man of prayer named Simeon (Luke 2:25-35).
Online church attendees read the Bible more than onsite worshipers. Last fall, IMB missionary Steve Evans and Angolan Baptist partners Ezekiel Castelo and João Quintas traveled to the border to share the Gospel with unengaged and unreached micro people groups — people with populations of less than 100,000. And, Americans love to pray but are often unclear about how, or if, God answers prayer.
Most American Christians have been following the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Ultimately, they say they want negotiations, Hamas to be subdued, and a result that benefits both Israel and Palestinians. The Satanic Temple’s display at the Iowa Capitol has spurred outrage, debate and prayer as many spar over the boundaries of free speech. And, in the Baptist Press Toolbox, Mark Dance provides a perspective on the very first Christmas based on John 3:16…a very popular Bible verse spoken by Jesus to the Jewish priest Nicodemus.
The US Supreme Court says they will take up a case challenging the FDA’s decision to legalize the abortion pill mifepristone. Current lawsuits by expectant mothers in Texas and Kentucky highlight the complex legal landscape of abortion across the nation. A mother’s address sometimes impacts whether an unborn child is carried to term. And, during the holiday season, a natural tendency exists to open the Bible and read the story of Jesus’s birth. But that’s not all Scripture readers are turning to this time of year.
Many people are receiving degrees this Christmas as colleges, universities and seminaries will confer degrees for the students’ hard work. Texas pastor James Reeves knows the pain of neglect and abuse but he also knows the healing that Jesus brings and how the local church can be an expression of care. And, Christmas music is a gift. It’s one that is often overlooked. Jeff Iorg writes, “The music at Christmas is special for several reasons.
With Christmas just around the corner, many Tennesseans are dealing with the aftermath of a series of tornadoes that swept through West and Middle Tennessee on Saturday. At least six people were killed by the weekend storms. International Mission Board missionary Paul Yount sits just outside a crowded cafeteria. Inside the room, chairs squeak across the floor. A cacophony of voices mixes. Forks scrape plates. The ice in the drink machine crashes to the bottom of an empty glass. And, the two leading presidential candidates in the polls today are 81 years old and 77 years old. In the Baptist Press Toolbox, Thom Rainer wonders if pastors are working until later in life as well.
Christian companies have seen conflicting legal decisions about religious exemptions from Title VII LGBTQ rules after the U.S. Supreme Court said in 2020 that the statute prohibits bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity. For many people, Christmas means family – even family that may not be kin. And, sometimes it requires decades to see the Lord’s faithfulness. In 1963 that Southern Seminary launched the Billy Graham chair for evangelism…a specific professorship to help students focus on evangelism.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and the International Mission Board (IMB) have partnered together for the first time to place an international ultrasound machine as part of the ERLC’s Psalm 139 Project. Churches are offering Christmas events and activities beyond weekly worship services this Christmas season, which will make many churchgoers happy. And, when First Lawton of Lawton, Oklahoma sensed godly inspiration to add a second weekend to its Living Christmas Tree, Senior Pastor Mike Keahbone didn’t realize what was in store.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and the International Mission Board (IMB) have partnered together for the first time to place an international ultrasound machine as part of the ERLC’s Psalm 139 Project. Churches are offering Christmas events and activities beyond weekly worship services this Christmas season, which will make many churchgoers happy. And, when First Lawton of Lawton, Oklahoma sensed godly inspiration to add a second weekend to its Living Christmas Tree, Senior Pastor Mike Keahbone didn’t realize what was in store.
While gamers are looking to escape from the real world, many often make real life connections while in a virtual world. The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission hosted ethics leaders from across the U.S. last week. And, most parents wonder if they are a “good mom or dad”. In a piece in the Baptist Press Toolbox, Haylee Williams says this might not be the best question a parent could ask.
Lostness around the world is growing every day. In fact, 59 percent of the world’s population remains unreached. Religious organizations including churches are no longer the most trusted charities among American adults, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) said in its 2023 Give.org Study. And, Lifeline’s Herbie Newell says believers can do a lot to help the world’s orphan care crisis.
When most people hear the phrase “sex-based harassment,” they think of unwanted sexual advances in the workplace, assault or inappropriate comments that are sexual in nature. And, an Lifeway Bible study recalls that “Luke 24 opens on resurrection morning with some women bringing spices for the body of Jesus, but they found the stone rolled away from His tomb and two gleaming angels instead.”