September 27, 2021
Visible Reminders
The narrative draws an interesting picture. The curtain hid the mercy seat and ark, leaving visible only the ends of the poles by which the ark was carried. . . .
Articles for tag: Freedom
September 13, 2021
Sept. 19 | Application
The word "sacrifice" has been cheapened by overuse, David Faust writes. Is it really a sacrifice to skip dessert or give up gourmet coffee? What does sacrifice mean to us today? Here are three questions to consider . . .
September 1, 2021
Our 9/11 Journey of Escape and Transformation
“Get up! Get up!” my husband yelled, “Someone’s bombed the World Trade Center!” I struggled to sit up, but one glimpse of the fear in Brian’s eyes jolted me fully awake. I jumped out of bed and followed him to our terrace. Brian and I had just moved into this apartment only six blocks south of the World Trade Center complex, and our 24th-floor terrace provided a coveted view of the city. Now, we could see thick black smoke rolling from the North Tower. Emergency vehicles raced toward the World Trade Center—lights flashing, sirens blaring. Suddenly, something caught my eye.
September 1, 2021
The Equality Act: Its Impact on Churches and How We Should Respond
On May 14, 1974, a spunky U.S. representative from New York named Bella Abzug introduced the first version of what we now know as the Equality Act. Even though the bill was co-sponsored by another New York representative and was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, the bill had little support and never saw the light of day. For the next 45 years, the Equality Act, in one form or another, found its way back in front of Congress. In 2019, the Equality Act passed the House for the first time. Even though it died in the Senate,
August 23, 2021
Which Thief Are You?
One thief chose to believe in Jesus and was saved. The other thief chose to deny Jesus, and in doing so foolishly pushed away the salvation Jesus was willing to give him. Which thief are you?
August 16, 2021
Aug. 22 | Application
The word "free" gets tossed around a lot. Advertisers push fat-free, sugar-free, and gluten-free foods. Financial planners coach us to be debt-free. True freedom, though, seems elusive.
August 1, 2021
#Faust25: ‘A Story to Learn from the Nations’
(Another 25th anniversary column from David Faust, this one from 2001.) Missionary friends have invited me to come to their countries and teach, but in every case I’ve received more than I’ve given.
June 28, 2021
How Mary Became Molly
Mary dropped her water pitcher and ran straight to the front to take her husband’s place. She placed her life in danger to ensure the artillery barrage would continue.
June 14, 2021
June 20 | Song of the King
The songs from which our texts are drawn for this lesson are reflective of deliverance and righteousness, as David poetically revisited his life.
Help for a Fledgling Preacher
Twenty years or so after stepping down as editor of Christian Standard, Edwin Hayden penned this reminiscence of four gentlemen who had helped and encouraged him during his career: W.H. Book, P.H. Welshimer, Toyoza W. Nakarai, and W.R. Walker.
March 1, 2021
Truth and Tone in an Age of Fake News
One of the disorienting realities of living in the United States today is not knowing where to go for truth. Think about it—who do you go to for truth? Politicians? The media? The church? Christian Twitter? Google? The irony is we have more access to content and commentary than ever, but who can we trust? Trust has completely eroded in our society. A 2018 research study conducted by the Pew Research Center cited these statistics: 75 percent of Americans say trust in the federal government is shrinking 64 percent say trust in other Americans is shrinking 61 percent say you
The Understanding Distance
In January 1846, Alexander Campbell wrote an article on biblical interpretation for the Millennial Harbinger with a message that is as relevant now as it was then. There is a distance which is properly called the speaking distance, or the hearing distance, beyond which the voice reaches not, and the ear hears not. To hear another, we must come within that circle which the voice audibly fills. Now, we may with propriety say that as it respects God there is an understanding distance, Campbell asserted. All within that distance can easily understand God in all matters of piety and morality,
February 10, 2021
NewThing Planted Nearly 1,000 New Churches in 2020
By Chris Moon Even in a pandemic, the work of church planting continues. Chicago-based church-planting organization NewThing reports it planted 982 churches in 2020, an increase from 855 in 2019. Most of those church plants occurred outside the United States—many of them in Africa and Asia. “COVID hasn’t slowed it down,” said Patrick O’Connell, global director for NewThing. NewThing is the church-planting mission of Community Christian Church in Naperville, Ill., which was founded by Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson. The organization has been around for about 15 years and has planted a total of 6,373 churches in 26 countries so
December 7, 2020
Week 3: The Shepherds
By Stuart Powell Note: This is week three of a four-week series of Communion meditations in which we consider essential features to the story of the birth of God’s Son. This week we focus on the shepherds. Luke recorded surprisingly few details of what occurred in the stable on the day of Jesus’ birth. We might boil them down to these: Jesus was born, a feed trough was used as a cradle, and some excited shepherds arrived. There are many reasons why we wouldn’t put either of the latter two incidents in a story about God’s Son. We could use
November 22, 2020
A Biblical Case for Noncompliance
How We Chose to Deal with the Restrictions and Mandates Placed on Us by State and Local Governments “I had some serious thoughts of suicide in December. I was making headway with the help of my mental health classes and church, then both were taken away from me. Now, with nowhere else to physically go, I’m struggling.” This was a direct message from a church member who reached out to me for help during the coronavirus pandemic. This precious believer was struggling, lost, hurting, and losing hope. It crushed me because I felt helpless to do anything about it. I’m
June 29, 2020
Declaration
By Stuart Powell In the late 18th century, a colonist began writing a manuscript that summarized the political unrest of his time. He produced a startling declaration read aloud in a political hall in Philadelphia: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes
May 17, 2020
Our Impact in the Wider Evangelical World
By Matthew Wilson As a pastor in an independent Christian church, I’m excited and encouraged that many denominational churches are abandoning traditions and conventions and are migrating toward movements like ours that embrace biblical supremacy. In many ways, I believe we are coming out of a dark ages and entering an era of enlightenment. People no longer follow doctrines and practices just because they are told to; instead, they demand to understand the context for what they believe. In modern history, many Christians relied on the authority of their governing bodies, but now we live in an information-driven age where
May 17, 2020
A Restoration Movement for Everyone
By Megan Rawlings In 1962, while NASA was taking its first feverish steps to land a man on the moon (and bring him home safely) by the end of the decade, President John F. Kennedy visited the NASA Space Center for the first time. While touring the premises, he observed a janitor mopping the floor. Kennedy started a conversation with the janitor by asking what he was doing. Much to the commander-in-chief’s surprise, the custodian replied, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.” Everyone who worked for NASA—astronauts, engineers, mathematicians, janitors—shared the same vision and knew they had a
March 23, 2020
Application for March 29: In Our Right Minds
(This “Application“ column goes with the Bible study for March 29, 2020: “Power Over Evil.”) By David Faust Jesus’ encounter with the man possessed by demons known as Legion is a strange-sounding story, but here are three practical lessons we can learn from it. Satan is real; evil is devastating. The prince of darkness isn’t a childish myth. We struggle “against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). Demonic forces nearly destroyed the man. He was violent, self-destructive, and anti-social, and he lived in a cemetery. It’s naïve to deny Satan’s influence.
January 2, 2020
'Called to Counsel': How We Are Sharing God's Grace with the Hurting and Lost
“I was sick and you looked after me.“ _ _ _ By Heath Neal Everywhere you look, people are sick and hurting. At our church, we encounter people every week hurting from the sickness of sin. Some of their pain comes from the sin of others, but often it is the devastating result of their own sin. This shouldn’t surprise us. Scripture repeatedly tells us we all are sinners. (See Genesis 3; Romans 3:10, 23; Jeremiah 17:9; and John 3:17-21 as examples.) For years, our church’s response to the sick and hurting was to pray for them and hand them
