Hard times come for all in life, with no real explanation. When we walk through suffering, it has the potential to devastate and destroy, or to be the gateway to gratitude and joy.

Elisabeth Elliot was no stranger to suffering. Her first husband, Jim, was murdered by the Waoroni people in Ecuador moments after he arrived in hopes of sharing the gospel. Her...

Our world is filled with fake facades, from the unrealistic filters used on social media to the “holier than thou” personas seen in certain hypocritical believers.

To combat the fake trends, a new trend has emerged—one that fights the facade with transparency and vulnerability. Instead of being filtered or super-spiritual, we’re told to be real and honest...

It’s in the movies we see. It’s in the news we hear. It's in the stories we tell. Every man is stirred by the heroic.

From boyhood, we search for heroes, starting with our fathers. But somewhere along the way, all our heroes disappoint us. And our attempts to be a hero fair no better, leaving us confused and unsure. Yet the heroic longing never leaves us.
...

The Christian life was so much more than just a one-time decision to secure a place in heaven.

What if you could experience heaven on earth today? Not flying angels singing on clouds, but the fulfilled, abundant life Jesus promised in the Bible—a life that, regardless of your circumstances or your present context, experiences joy, happiness, and peace that...

For many, the college experience is defined by drinking, sex, impulsive decision-making, and a journey of self discovery. It's packaged as a consequence-free zone to have the "best time of your life." But the reality is that what happens in college doesn't stay in college. There are real, lasting consequences to your decisions.

Student ministry leaders Ben...

We all know Jesus commands us to disciple others.

But how are we supposed to do this in everyday life? How can women, no matter what stage of life they are in, be a disciple who makes disciples? How can we find time to invest ourselves into others when it feels like our schedules are already full? What is our place in carrying out the Great Commission?

In...

What does the gospel say about your fears? What does it say about the irrational ones, like sinkholes in the Target parking lot? How does it speak to the rational ones, like pet scan predictions? And does the gospel have a word for the fears you feel you'll have for life, like the possibility of losing the one you love most?

Growing up in the green room...

Everybody talks about the worship, but nobody does anything about it.

The well-known quote associated with Mark Twain actually goes like this—Everybody talks
about the weather ... But changing it to "worship" seems appropriate. With Worship Essentials,
Dove Award-winning worship leader Mike Harland helps leaders do something about it.

Perhaps no subject...

Do you enter every holiday wanting it to be meaningful, only to find that it feels chaotic with no direction? We set New Year’s goals we can’t keep, struggle to love or be loved on Valentine’s Day, and find it hard to celebrate the risen Jesus when we are searching for the perfect Easter dress. Our summer and back-to-school seasons are whirlwinds, even as...

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

In the biblical letter of 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul reflected on his passing life. It was but a vapor. He was a pilgrim, passing through this life and into the next. Moments 'til Midnight creatively peels back the curtain of Paul's final hours. Author Brent Crowe...

I know God is loving; I know He is good; I believe He is big and powerful. But sometimes I wonder if He is really kind— really deeply always kind.

Is He?

Christians love to talk about how God is in control, but that’s harder to grasp when things aren’t going like you thought they would, when your life looks quite different than you imagined.

For centuries...

“I used to be a lesbian.”
 
In Gay Girl, Good God, author Jackie Hill Perry shares her own story, offering practical tools that helped her in the process of finding wholeness. Jackie grew up fatherless and experienced gender confusion. She embraced masculinity and homosexuality with every fiber of her being. She knew that Christians had a lot to say about...

God has a plan for your marriage and your money. It starts with a challenge. Will you accept?

For many couples, the collision of marriage and money is the beginning of relational havoc. But does it have to be this way?

What if the collision of marriage and money no longer tore couples apart but brought them together? What if money was no longer a topic to...

How are Christians to live in such difficult times?

Unique of all people, Christians are called to embrace a hopeful outlook on life. Mere Hope offers the core, Christ-centered perspective that all Christians share, and that Christians alone have to offer a world filled with frustration, pain, and disappointment. For those in darkness, despair, and...

Their paths to God’s purpose led them together.

Many know the heroic story of Jim Elliot’s violent death in 1956, killed along with four other missionaries by a primitive Ecuadorian tribe they were seeking to reach. Many also know the prolific legacy of Elisabeth Elliot, whose inspiring influence on generations of believers through print, broadcast, and...

What are the spiritual gifts? Do all Christians have them? Have the miraculous gifts ceased?

The topic of spiritual gifts is often a point of contention among Christians. In Spiritual Gifts: What They Are and Why They Matter, Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner, a leading New Testament scholar, answers these questions.

Schreiner shares his personal experience related...

Should you take the job? Quit the job? Begin a relationship? End a relationship? Move? Plant roots? 

How do we find God’s will for life's big decisions?

What if you had total freedom?

Emerson Eggerichs believes there is a clear answer to finding God’s will. The Bible itself reveals the clue--a secret hidden in plain sight.

Before launching his Love &...

What does it mean to be an American Christian?

In Letters to an American Christian, Bruce Riley Ashford, author of One Nation Under God, addresses overarching issues of the relationship of Christianity and politics, speaks to the way historic Christian belief informs specific hot-button political issues, and challenges readers to take seriously both our...

Case Keenum has traveled one of the most unique paths in the NFL. Recruited by just one college, undrafted, and released three times, Case has overcome every obstacle to become a successful starting quarterback. In 2017, Keenum captured America’s imagination by leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 13-3 record and an NFC North title. His game-winning touchdown...

VIVIMOS EN UNA ÉPOCA en que se valora la razón empírica, la evolución del progreso humano y el derecho de todos a elegir su más auténtica expresión del sentido de la vida, de propósito y de gozo. Entonces, ¿tiene sentido la noción de un Dios o de un poder superior? ¿La fe y la religión ofrecen algo de valor?
En este nuevo libro intelectualmente estimulante...

Most church members don't see their churches clearly.

In almost all of Thom S. Rainer's consultations, church members perceive their church to be friendly. But as he surveyed guests, he found that the guests typically saw church members as unfriendly. The perception chasm existed because the members were indeed friendly . . . to one another. 

The...

Change a generation with something as simple as an invitation.

For many of us, inviting people into our lives and homes feels more like inviting judgment on our entertaining skills and stress on our already maxed-out schedules. But what if you knew that opening your front door had the power to radically change the world? To make an impact and leave a legacy...

What does it mean to be an adult? Different individuals and cultures will answer differently, but they all will have one common theme: self-sufficiency.

Here is where the problem lies for the Christian. On the one hand, the world needs grown-ups, now more than ever. But if growing up is mainly about self-sufficiency and self-reliance, the gospel runs...

¿Y si, en lugar de desprecio, la confianza genera amor?
Pareciera ser que mientras más nos conocemos, más grande es la desilusión. Cuando las heridas de nuestros amigos, familia, vecinos quedan expuestas, nos sentimos tentados a dar la espalda y huir. Pero existe otra forma.
El pastor y narrador Rich Perez proyecta la visión de lo que podría parecer buscar...

Poignant, laugh-out-loud-funny, a must-read book for any woman who has ever felt like she just doesn't measure up.—Crystal Paine, New YorkTimes best-selling author
 
Every woman is intimately acquainted with feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. Whether fueled by a culture of makeover shows, by the lingering memories of mean girls, or by events much...

What if, instead of contempt, familiarity bred love?

It seems as if the more we get to know one another, the more we are disappointed. When the scars of our friends, family, and neighbors are exposed, we are tempted to turn and run. But there is another way. Pastor and storyteller Rich Perez casts vision for what it might look like to pursue love--love...