Look at the Book

Sin is a sticky, entangling web that traps and blinds those who live in it. But where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Spiritual gifts do not lift us above others, they empower us to lower ourselves in the service of others.

Birthday gifts have your name on them because they are meant for you. God’s new-birth gift has your name on it but is meant for others.

The God who spoke light into the world speaks light into our souls, opening our blind eyes and dawning new affections for him.

Few can endure being around grumblers. Heaven forbid that Christians, inheritors of the world, would be called complainers.

People can annoy us with their needs. Our selfishness transforms loved ones into inconveniences. But God calls us to more than begrudging hospitality.

Others’ sin confronts us daily, and daily we must choose how to respond to it. Denial dismisses their sin, indifference ignores it, anger attacks it, bitterness buries it — love alone covers it.

Psychologists cannot counsel him. Philosophers cannot instruct him. Billionaires cannot add to his treasures. He owns all, funds all, receives all. To him be praise forevermore.

The world as we know it passes away, we must then be people who watch and pray.

Sexuality, worldliness, Netflix, and all kinds of distractions compete daily for our thoughts. We cannot give our minds over to the enemy — we must think hard to the glory of God.

We live in a peculiar age: battles rage but the war is won, spring dawns and summer looms, Christ came and is coming back.

Even as Christians, sin still lingers in our shadow. How do we pray for the light of God’s grace to expel our darkness?

The Bible says that the gospel was “preached to the dead” (1 Peter 4:6). Does this mean that someone can hear the gospel and repent after death?

Jesus tells us to love our enemies, but how can we when real injustice is committed against us?

Without holiness you will not see the Lord. Without knowing what holiness means you may never attain it. So what does it really mean to be holy?

With calloused hands and sweaty brow, the Christian rests knowing that his labor in Christ is not in vain.

Pride is a recipe for disaster. But God's luscious logic cooks the cuisine of humility.

“Baptism now saves you?” What in the world does 1 Peter 3:21 mean?

The Christian life is truly worth living. Following Jesus gives us the opportunity to show a dying world what real life looks like.

You’ve given your sins room and board for long enough. Evict them and follow Jesus into the light.

We can live for our will or God’s will, or we could have our passions so transformed that we need not choose between the two.

The apostle John tells us that many antichrists are in the world. What value is there in learning about them?

The enemy’s flaming darts and God’s Great Commission make spiritual warfare unavoidable, and spiritual pacifism suicidal. So, how do we arm ourselves for combat?

Christ did not die to domesticate your sin and make it your pet. His death took the monster out back and killed it.

Once saved, always saved? If so, how do we explain friends, family, and even church leaders who walk away from the faith?

Finding spiritual gems in the Bible is hard work. How do we dig into a verse when we don’t know what it means?

Our hearts break when we repay God’s faithfulness, kindness, and love with sin. What should we do after our spiritual adultery has left us broken, guilty, and distant from God?

Jesus is the only human who ever chose to be born, so why did he come? The Bible’s answer may not be the same as yours.

In this lab, Pastor John teaches us how to cultivate fearless faith.

Anxiety hangs over many of our heads like a dark cloud. How do we break free from the fears and worries that follow us everywhere we go?

Some of the most beautiful aspects of who God is and what he does are buried in poetry in the Bible. Do we skip over it?

Did God bury promises to you in the Old Testament? Many of us apply Israel’s promises to ourselves today — but should we?

What does it mean to walk by faith? Here are five steps for whatever temptation, challenge, or heartache you are facing.

Certain verses in the Bible seem to contradict others. What should we do when come to one of those verses?

More than a third of you will have cancer at some point in life. Do you have a few verses to cling to when the diagnosis comes?

If you only believe in Jesus to get out of hell, you are not a Christian. True Christians want to be forgiven because the forgiven get to be with God.

The hardest commands in the Bible are not the commands to serve, to abstain, or to forgive. They’re the commands to feel. How do we rejoice when we don’t feel any joy?

Some Christians who know the most, love and do the least. So how exactly does right thinking move through our hearts to right feeling and doing?

We all carry wounds inflicted by others — the father who abandoned us, the friend who betrayed us, or the co-worker who lied about us. What part does God play in our pain?

When the world mocks and despises us for our faith, we often want to lash back. God has a better way of shaming those who abuse his followers.

Guilt over sin makes quiet Christians who are full of shame. How can we cleanse our conscience so that we share more boldly?

All Christians know non-Christians. Whether with co-workers, spouses, parents, or acquaintances, a critical question faces us daily: How do I give a defense for my faith?

With terrorism, political instability, and social unrest, much of our culture is given to fear and anxiety. In the face of such realities, should Christians fear the things that the world does?

Do you ever stop to meditate on the Bible? Do you even know what it means to meditate? Here’s a model to help you slow down and really think while you read.

When was the last time you were asked about your hope in Christ? The world will only ask us when they see something in us dramatically different from themselves.

God promises to bless Christians who suffer while living faithfully for his glory, whatever that suffering may be. But what is the blessing, and how does it come?

If you are Christ’s, no one in this world can ultimately harm you. They can only serve God’s good purposes for you and bring you greater blessing.

Jesus did not die only to ransom you from hell. He died to ransom you from wasting your life here on earth.

Should Christians be motivated by blessing when we love our enemies? And if we should be, how is that not works-based righteousness?

How would you describe the core of the Christian faith? Do you have a place you would turn in the Bible? Here are two verses that give us the good news.