December 18, 2025
The Best Christmas Ever
Dr. Joe Grana recalls the story of a Christmas that changed everything in his life and was the best Christmas ever.
Articles for tag: Neighbor
April 29, 2025
Are You Lovesick?
Not surprisingly, love is listed first among the Fruit of the Spirit because love is the fertile soil where other virtues thrive and grow.
January 20, 2025
Don’t Forget About Pastoral Care
Jesus was a man on a mission, but people were at the heart of his mission. The Lord is our shepherd, and he calls us to be shepherds, too.
July 8, 2024
July 14 Application | ‘Something Worth Dying For’
What inspires heroic actions? . . . If there is no God, and survival of the fittest is nature’s rule, why would anyone jeopardize their own safety to save someone else? . . .
April 15, 2024
April 21 Application | ‘Unselfies’
“In the past,” a friend pointed out recently, “when people were outside enjoying nature, they photographed the scenery. . . . Now, we turn the camera the other direction and take pictures of ourselves.”
November 13, 2023
Settle In (Matthew 26:17-19)
The Lord's Supper invites God's family to the finely crafted table of his love . . .
November 1, 2023
Love Is Always a Choice
By Gary L. Johnson We make choices from the time we get out of bed until long after the sun sets. Some choices are simple and some are more serious, ranging from what clothes we wear to whom we marry. Weighty decisions are difficult, while simple decisions are made with little thought or effort. “What the World Needs Now Is Love” was a hit song in the mid-1960s, but that sentiment holds true in today’s era of conspicuous conflict. But will we choose to bring actual love into the corner of the world we call home? In a TED Talk
October 23, 2023
October 29 | Application (‘What Does It Mean to Serve?’)
Service has a sound. Service has a frangrance. Service has a feeling. Service has names. Service has role models . . .
May 1, 2023
In the Beginning
We are just as gullible, just as prone to wander, just as needy as Adam and Eve . . .
January 1, 2023
Speaking the Truth in Love
By Ken Idleman The title of this article is one of the most difficult implicit commands in Scripture: “[S]peaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). It is difficult to obey because it links in a single imperative the three most difficult aspects of life for human beings to consistently control: speech, truth, and love. Our speech often betrays our secret thoughts and our untamable tongues. Jesus said, “The things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them” (Matthew
August 11, 2022
10 Louisville Churches Unite to Serve 40 Local Schools . . . So that the World May Believe
This past weekend, more than 1,000 volunteers from 10 churches united to serve over 40 schools throughout the Louisville, Ky., community. Although each church served their respective schools in diverse ways, there were shared goals.
June 6, 2022
Motive
By Randy Ballinger “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matthew 7:28-29, emphasis mine). Imagine being on that Galilean mountainside as Jesus amazed the people with his words. Jesus didn’t simply recite Old Testament Law—as the scribes and Pharisees did—Jesus provided God-ordained insight. For example, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said . . . ‘You shall not murder. . . .’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother or
December 23, 2021
This Wasn’t in the Script
"It’s the late 1990s, and I’m sitting in the audience of the annual Christmas production at my suburban megachurch when something happens that’s obviously not in the script (or the Scriptures, for that matter)," writes Austin Gohn, lead pastor with Bellevue Christian Church in Pittsburgh.
July 31, 2021
#Faust25: ‘The Big Brown Chair’
(Another classic, 25th-anniversary column from David Faust.) Even the fathers we read about in the Bible had their struggles. But like them, God calls today’s dads to be faithful—and to be present during the everyday events that shape the character of our children.
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.
April 12, 2021
Apr 18 | Application
You’re not a lunatic if you believe in God and accept the truth of the Bible. These are reasonable positions.
April 5, 2021
Apr 11 | Application
Matthew's dinner companions came from different economic levels, but they shared one thing in common: They were all social outcasts.
September 14, 2020
‘Surely, You Don’t Mean Me?’
By Randy Ballinger When we read the Gospel accounts about the night before Jesus went to the cross, we see words about the institution of the Lord’s Supper: “Do this in remembrance of me”; we remember what Jesus did for us. “For the forgiveness of sins”; this is why Jesus did what he did for us. But we also see words that may trouble us, for they certainly troubled his disciples: “One of you will betray me.” When Jesus revealed that a betrayer was sitting at the table with him, it caused each one of his disciples to consider whether
July 15, 2020
How to Become an Imperfect Mentor
By Megan Rawlings I was mentoring a new believer who was struggling to make good decisions and choices. As her mentor, I knew I had to personally address this issue with her. I thought the best approach to this uncomfortable conversation was to ask her to meet for lunch. When the day arrived, she sat across from me at the table, oblivious to the reason for my invitation. Our upcoming discussion had the potential to turn negative. But, through God’s grace and intervention, by the time lunch ended my mentee had a new outlook on Christlike living. Was it difficult?
June 22, 2020
Application for June 28: Truth and Love—It’s Both/And, Not Either/Or
By David Faust In 1901 a songwriter in Chicago named Carrie Jacobs-Bond published her composition, “I Love You Truly.” The song sold over a million copies (one of the earliest songs composed by a woman to do so) and became a favorite at weddings. Three American presidents invited Jacobs-Bond to sing at the White House. Her song concludes sweetly, “Gone is the sorrow, gone doubt and fear, for you love me truly, truly dear.” Cole Porter’s “True Love,” released in 1956 and popularized by Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly, says, “You and I have a guardian angel on high, with
