Christian Living

Christian Living helps you follow Jesus in the everyday moments—at home, at work, and in your relationships. Here you’ll find practical, biblically grounded articles on spiritual growth, prayer, discipleship, character, and making wise decisions in a complicated world. Explore guidance for living with grace and truth, building healthy habits, navigating suffering and joy, and pursuing holiness without losing compassion. Whether you’re new to faith or have walked with Christ for years, these resources are designed to encourage you, challenge you, and equip you to live a life that reflects the gospel in real life.

September 16, 2011

Christian Standard

A Stormy and Sweet Romance

By Daniel Schantz It was one of the best funeral sermons I had ever heard, and afterward I asked the preacher how he put it together. He explained, “I take the Bible that belonged to the deceased and I look through it, noting the things that were underlined and the comments written in the margins, then I build the sermon around those.” Back home, I said to my wife, “Under no circumstances are you to give my Bible to this preacher when I die.” I love the Scriptures, but I have a tendency to interact with what I read. It”s

September 7, 2011

Christian Standard

A Future Filled with Joy?

By Mark A. Taylor Not everything on Facebook is true, but I want to believe the picture posted there several weeks ago is real. It depicts an announcement board in a church hallway, with white plastic letters pushed into a black background. At the top we read: Evenings at 7 in the Parish Hall. Then this menu follows: Monday: Alcoholics Anonymous Tuesday: Abused Spouses Wednesday: Eating Disorders Thursday: Say No to Drugs Friday: Teen Suicide Watch Saturday: Soup Kitchen And then, below all this: Sunday Sermon 9 a.m. “America”s Joyous Future.” The irony made me laugh out loud, but lately

August 27, 2011

Christian Standard

Let All of Us Examine Ourselves

By David L. Eubanks The major focus of Communion is the Lord Jesus Christ. When he inaugurated it, he said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” The Lord”s Supper is not primarily about us but about him, what he did for us, and the life he gives us when we feed on him. At the same time, there is a definite element of introspection that goes with this feast. That was true of the meal at which Jesus instituted it. When Jesus told his apostles that one of them would betray him, they immediately began to ask, “Surely you don”t

August 26, 2011

Christian Standard

God Has Been Teaching Me about Giants

By Dinelle Frankland Several weeks ago, the sermon series at my church brought us to the account of Moses sending 12 spies into Canaan (Numbers 13, 14). Despite the bright promise of overflowing milk and honey, not to mention the flawless history of God”s provision for his people, the majority of this party chose to dwell on the negative: there were giants in the land. Two weeks later I was seated on an airplane next to a friendly gentleman. I discovered he was a dentist and a member of a Methodist church. We talked about the changes we both have

August 22, 2011

Christian Standard

A Memorial

By Ben Merold I walked up Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to get a view of the path of the first flights made by the Wright brothers. They gave proof to the world that a heavier-than-air flying machine could lift off under its own power, fly, and make a safe landing. This was the place of first flight, and a large monument marks the site. I found myself thinking that the entire area is, in one sense, a memorial. However, everything seems to focus on four large stones that mark the distance of their first flights. On

August 8, 2011

Christian Standard

You Need to Chill

By Brian Jones On August 1, I released my latest book, Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It). I prayed two simple prayers as I was writing it. First, God, help Christians who are not sharing their faith with their non-Christian friends and family to get shaken out of their complacency. Second, Please God, don”t let them become pushy, obnoxious, freaky Christians in the process. Without question, one of the biggest mistakes Christians make when they realize Hell is real is to immediately come on too strong evangelistically. You can understand how it happens. If one day you”re

August 6, 2011

Christian Standard

Discovering the Good in the Bad

By Eleanor Daniel   G. K. Chesterton wrote a series of short stories featuring Father Brown, a little priest with amazing discernment and wisdom. He solves crimes and other puzzling situations easily. He dispenses wisdom freely. These are fascinating stories. In “Father Brown”s Secret,” the cleric explains how he solves the mysteries that regularly come his way. The priest says he imagines himself as the perpetrator of the crime””and that reveals the solution. When someone in the story objected that he could not carry out such evil, the priest observes that no man can know how good he can be

July 29, 2011

Christian Standard

Sacred Moments

By Greg Swinney The white apron covered her faded flowered dress. Breakfast was the first thing on the agenda for my visit, but I stopped eating my cornflakes when I noticed my grandmother reach into an apron pocket and pull out a crumpled piece of notebook paper. Just a few months earlier she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. “I want you to do my funeral,” she bravely said. “Let”s not talk about that now,” I replied. “Oh, yes we will,” she insisted, handing me the notebook paper. “This is my obituary, and it”s what I want you to read

July 28, 2011

Christian Standard

A Place at the Table

By Ethan Magness   Many of Jesus” stories and parables center on parties and feasts. A consistent theme in these stories is that many who attend are unworthy. We see this in the parable of the great banquet (Luke 14:15-24). Many on the initial guest list refused to come, and so many others were then invited. And those invited later were people one would never expect to be invited to a noble event. The great parable of the wayward son (Luke 15:11-32) ends with a surprising feast. The elder son in the parable gives voice to our confusion when he

July 25, 2011

Christian Standard

Innumerable! (Part 1: Starting at the Wrong Place)

By Greg Nettle In the early church, Christology (what we believe about Jesus) determined missiology (what we believe about the church”s mission), which in turn determined ecclesiology (how the church must function). And since Jesus was all about proclaiming his good news so that people could be saved (Luke 19:10), the mission of the followers of Jesus must be to proclaim the good news so that people can be saved (Matthew 28:19). Therefore, the primary function of the church should be to seek and save the lost.1 Unfortunately, around AD 325, the order of things started getting out of whack.

July 24, 2011

Christian Standard

God”s Great Story

By Ethan Magness There is a great story to be told that the world needs to hear. It is a story of rebellion and loss, chaos and destruction, punishment and fear. It is a story of rescue and restoration, order and repair, forgiveness and hope. It is a story of great redemption purchased at great cost. It is the story of great sacrifice because of a great love. This is the story of God and all people and this is the story the world needs to hear. There is a great story to be told that the church needs to

July 23, 2011

Christian Standard

“˜Fulfill Your Word in My Life”

By John A. Hampton “Come and listen to a young man who read himself into New Testament Christianity.” That”s how I was introduced more than once when I was a 17-year-old preacher boy. I grew up attending a mainline denominational church until that time in my life. While I appreciate the teaching, love, and support that small congregation gave me, I wrestled with the layers of denominational bureaucracy that many of the church”s pastors had to deal with. I also struggled with some of the doctrines and practices that were a part of our proud denomination”s history. So with a

July 17, 2011

Christian Standard

Making the Father Known

By Ethan Magness Despite our best efforts and fervent hopes, God cannot be fully known. Our questions will never be fully answered. God’s ways are higher then ours and so, in some ways, God will always be a mystery. But God does desire to be known. Christ came, in part, to make God known. In Christ, we know God is good and kind. We know God cares about the lost and confused, the sick and the poor. We know God is love, not because of an abstract theological declaration, but because his love has been demonstrated and incarnated in Christ.

July 14, 2011

Christian Standard

Outrageous, New, and Glorious

By Ethan Magness   We are shocked by Jesus” words about the bread, “This is my body” (Matthew 26:26, author”s emphasis). We are shocked by the is. Much like the crowds who went away sad in John 6, we get lost in parsing verbs and miss the truly shocking nature of this sentence. The disciples were not shocked by the word is. The disciples understood stark metaphors. They were shocked by his use of the word my. This is because this meal already had meaning. The bread had meaning. The wine had meaning. The herbs had meaning. This meal was

July 11, 2011

Christian Standard

Their Guide, and Yours

By Mark A. Taylor   Haven”t you been enjoying our 2011 Bible feature “The Bible, My Guide”? Many of the entries, although by known writers, share details about their lives or conversions or spiritual practices new to many of us. We can”t list every one of them here, but as I reflect on the columns we”ve printed so far, several stand out in my memory:   Nancy Karpenske Janet McMahon Pat Magness Doug Lucas Chris Travis Tony Twist Diane Stortz Brandon Smith Kay Moll Michael Sweeney Wayne Shaw   If you missed any of these, you”ll do yourself a favor

July 10, 2011

Christian Standard

A Lifetime of New Discoveries

By Wayne E. Shaw As a youth, my only Bible was the King James, and the first 500 verses of Scripture I was challenged to memorize were from that translation. Every day I placed Scripture portions on my knee while milking, repeated my verses to the cows, and later recited them to my mother who tallied what I had memorized. I am amazed at how many of those verses I can still quote, having memorized them nearly 70 years ago. I am thankful for the Bible”s impact on me during those formative years. My parents saw to it my siblings

July 8, 2011

Christian Standard

Our “˜God Is Able” Verse

By Dennis Bratton He walked into the classroom and drew three stair steps on the blackboard. On the bottom rung he wrote “To Know.” On the second rung he wrote “To Feel.” And finally the third rung received the phrase “To Do.” This was J.B. Richardson”s formula for Christian education, and I never forgot it. I like things that are simple, make sense, and work. When preaching, for instance, I would use the “stair steps” to evaluate the sermon. To Know“”what is the truth this sermon exposes? To Feel“”is the truth presented in a way that can reach the heart

July 3, 2011

Christian Standard

“˜And God Bless America”

By Doug Priest Perhaps I am not the only one who has a visceral reaction when politicians (and I do not mean only the presidents) end their speeches with the phrase, “And God bless America.” I cringe every time I hear that, and it is not just because it seems highly hypocritical when so many of the politicians who use the phrase are later caught up in ethical scandals or involved in illicit liaisons. Nor is it because the slogan is pandering, politically tacked on the end of a message to score points with others, but used by many who

July 2, 2011

Christian Standard

“˜God Bless America”

By Mark A. Taylor More than a decade ago, my congregation hosted a patriotic pageant each year called “Sea to Shining Sea.” We had a huge adult choir, a children”s choir, a live orchestra, actors, and dancers. We welcomed color guards from all the armed services. We sang every patriotic song you know, including one that invited veterans from every branch of the service to stand and receive the cheers of the crowd. Fireworks accompanied the songs, and after the last note, everyone sat with necks craned to the sky and enjoyed 20 minutes of the rockets” red glare. Our

June 30, 2011

Christian Standard

I Owe It All to a Bad Hoagie Sandwich

By Michael Sweeney I was 18 and had just dropped out of college after my first semester as a music major at the University of Northern Colorado. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life””I just knew I probably would never make a living playing the trumpet. So I moved out of the dorm, joined a small house church, and shared the living quarters in its basement with three equally directionless young men. I found employment on the janitorial staff of an elementary school across town. Each day I would walk the two miles to work,

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link