Author: S&P

How important is the resurrection to your faith? Not to the doctrinal center of your belief system, but to the day-to-day out-working of your salvation? If your mind draws a blank, you may be missing the power of the resurrection in your personal walk with God. Steve Mathewson, pastor of CrossLife Evangelical Free Church in Libertyville, Illinois is an adjunct professor in preaching at Trinit...

We do many things to avoid death, the pain of death, and the uncertainty about what awaits us after death. Some people refuse to plan their wills or attend funerals, for that forces them to think morbid thoughts. Others avoid new ventures that involve air travel even though you are more likely to be in a car accident than a plane crash. Still others of us shrink back from sharing our faith where i...

Of late, the evangelical world has found itself reeling from cultural setbacks it once took for granted. The re-election of President Obama, state passage of “gay marriage” initiatives, the uninviting of Louie Gigglio to the Inauguration, and even Super Bowl 2013 have signaled to some that Christians and Christianity have lost their welcome place in the public square. For the first time, some evan...

As the nation marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Rosa Parks, we should avoid the temptation to see her as merely a historical figure, a heroine of the past. It would be easy to do so. After all, no city in America segregates its public transportation system by skin color, not even Montgomery, the capital of the old Confederacy, where Mrs. Parks famously refused to give up her seat to acco...

Apologetics and the Importance of Listening: A Conversation with Mary Jo Sharp: Mary Jo Sharp is an assistant professor of apologetics at Houston Baptist University. She is the founder of Confident Christianity Apologetics Ministry, and an experienced speaker in apologetics. I was impressed with her study, Why Do You Believe That? A Faith Conversation, and so I invited her to contribute to th...

Who was St. Valentine? Saint Valentine, officially Saint Valentine of Rome, is a widely recognized 3rd-century Roman saint commemorated on February 14 and since the High Middle Ages is associated with a tradition of courtly love. All that is reliably known of the saint commemorated on February 14 is his name and that he was martyred and buried at a cemetery ...

“…And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.” (v.25b) You and I are creatures of desire. There is nothing you ever choose, do, or say that is not the product of desire. Desire not only directs your choices, it shapes your dreams. Desire forms your moments of greatest joy and darkest grief. Desire makes you envious of one person while being glad you’re not anot...

In my book “What They Didn’t Teach You In Seminary,” I wrote about something you may have never heard before: Ministry is spiritually hazardous to your soul.  Actually, leadership of any kind has a built-in set of challenges. Here are some of the reasons why that are ministry specific, but are easily transferred over to other areas of leadership: First, it is because you are constantly doing ...

“Americans don’t take Satan seriously. His evil and dark dealings with the culture and lives of people is subtle here. But in Brazil, his work is out in the open. We know he is real.” These are the words of a friend of mine who was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  She expressed concern for how “cavalier” we are about evil in the United States. The Bible has much to say about Satan and h...