A Costly Calling and Enduring Joy
In the summer of 2019, I served as a short-term missionary in the Philippines, helping bring the gospel to an unreached island of 20,000 people with fewer than 50 believers. During our training, the leaders didn’t just teach us cultural context and evangelism methods—they were honest about the oncoming suffering. Through it, the flesh and […]
The River of Wisdom
Every day the Mississippi River pours forth a confounding 7.7 billion gallons of water into the Gulf of Mexico. It boasts a stunning array of seven thousand tributaries comprised of all manner of rivers, creeks, and waterways that fan out like fingers and tentacles across the continental United States. From an aerial vantage point, the […]
Discipled By the Internet
A podcast you’re going to listen to or watch via the Internet warns about voices on the Internet. Not all cultural and theological pundits are helpful to your growth in Christ. Jared Wilson and Ronni Kurtz discuss the strange phenomenon of being “discipled by the Internet.” What does it look like? Why can it be […]
Quiet Labor in the Lord’s Vineyard
The Danish word “hygge” became an internet sensation in the late 2010s. Some translate it as “comfort,”[1] while others describe it as a focused delight in quieter pleasures.[2] The dictionary defines it as a cozy quality that promotes contentment and comfort in life’s ordinary moments.[3] As hygge became popularized, many people—including me—misinterpreted it as a kind […]
Justice in Pastoral Ministry: Caring for Souls with Humility
The Virtue of Justice It is easy to love in general, theoretically, or ideologically, but loving neighbors and giving others their right due is quite difficult in light of all their weaknesses and quirks that drive us crazy. This requires the individual to have their soul rightly ordered to have devotion to the triune God, […]
The Love That Came Down: God’s Love Revealed in Christ
The Meaning of Love of God “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9; emphasis added). A simple phrase—“the love of God”—appears 10 times in the New Testament. Twice, the phrase comes from […]
Failure to Act vs. Failure of Action in Pastoral Ministry
“She’s catatonic. I’m heartbroken,” he told me at the gym. “She’s only 26! My youngest daughter. She had her whole life ahead of her. Chances for anything close to a full recovery are incredibly low.” “Goodness, brother, what happened?” I responded. “She was severely fatigued. She went to the ER. Sodium was low. The doctor […]
How Do You Know Repentance is Real?
They’ve apologized and said they won’t do it again? Doesn’t grace require we just accept that and move on? Well, maybe. But maybe repentance is a little deeper than just saying “sorry.” In this episode, Jared Wilson and Ronni Kurtz talk about the signs of genuine repentance — how to genuinely by grace turn from […]
All Our Boast Is in Jesus
All of us have an issue with boasting. We do it every day—in our heads, in our hearts, and with our mouths. We too often boast in ourselves and in our gifts. Sadly, this disorder has often plagued God’s people. When Jeremiah prophesied, the average Jew was convinced that Jerusalem was untouchable, and, by implication, […]
The Four Senses Train Christians to Read with Four Questions
Have you ever heard a sermon that explained what a biblical text meant in its original context, showed how it pointed to Christ, challenged you to live differently, and encouraged you with the hope of heaven? If so, you’ve encountered something remarkably similar to how Christians read the Bible for centuries. Though the medieval four […]