What do you want people to remember about you after you’ve gone? God had greatly blessed Paul’s ministry in Ephesus – in fact, God had worked mighty miracles of healing through him (see Acts 19:11 and following). But in his farewell speech to the leaders of that church, Paul chose…

What is Paul’s greatest desire for his friends in Thessalonica? While we tend to pray for health, happiness and prosperity for one another, Paul doesn’t mention any of these things. Instead, in 2:13, he is most thankful that his friends have been saved from their sins. Spiritual blessings are thus…

Jesus told us that the essence of the Law is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves. But how do we put this love into practice in our daily lives, especially as we live with one another…

How do you share the gospel with someone from a different culture? On his first missionary journey (in Acts 13-14), Paul traveled far to the west of the traditional homeland of the Jews, visiting sites in the southern part of what we now know as Turkey. But in every town…

What do you think God is really like? Do you imagine Him to be a demanding master, always on you about something, never satisfied even with your best efforts? That can be the impression we get if we just look at God’s Law. For no matter how loving its requirements…

What does God’s law do for us? As Paul says in verse 22, it imprisons us under sin: it thus shows us just how sinful we are and thus how desperately we all need a Savior. And any honest reading of the Old or New Testaments has to yield this…

Leaders who strut around, basking in the glory of power. Hungry crowds begging for sustenance from the government, and willing to follow anyone who would feed them. These things are as old as the Roman Empire and as new as this morning’s headlines. And it’s easy for Christians to get…

What should American Christians think of those who belong to different cultures? As people from all over the world stream to our shores in huge numbers, this is not merely an academic question. Should we retreat into our holy huddles, as the Church seems to be all too fond of…

How do you treat people who have hurt you? At best, we tend to be polite to them in person, while doing our best to avoid them at all costs. At worst, we lash out in anger and perhaps even hatred. But how many of us would take a risk…

Why do the enemies of the Church always lie about us? These days, when Christians call for mercy on the unborn we are often called sexists, even though it is the Christian faith that is responsible for most of the advances in women’s rights that have occurred throughout human history….