His Face
By Randy Ballinger Do you wonder what Jesus looked like? Are you interested in his facial features? Artists and actors ranging from Leonardo da Vinci (The Last Supper) to Jim Caviezel (The Passion of...
View ArticleMasks
By Manndi DeBoef Over the past two years, we’ve been wearing masks at school, work, and in public. On Halloween, people wear masks to adopt a new persona. And, in reality, most everyone wears a...
View ArticleHarmony
By Stuart Powell We are fortunate to have access to the writings of Christians who walked the path of faith in the generations before us. They offer a glimpse of how earlier believers through the...
View ArticleA President’s Faith
By Stuart Powell Calvin Coolidge became president of the United States upon the death of Warren Harding in 1923. In his autobiography, Coolidge noted one of his first acts in office was to send a...
View ArticleThe Undiscovered Country
By Stuart Powell “Space: the final frontier . . .” Exploration and discovery of the unknown was the common theme behind all of Gene Roddenberry’s fictitious Star Trek stories. Most of the journeys he...
View ArticleClothed by God
By Stuart Powell God created humanity as male and female. He took care of their need for relationships by teaching them how to love him and each other. When they sinned and learned of their nakedness,...
View ArticleDifferent from the Herd
By Stuart Powell There is nothing strange about a herd of cattle in the farmland of Indiana. However, one herd contained a single member who stood out among the many. Amid the collection of...
View ArticleWelcoming Our Shame
By Stuart Powell By AD 32, the region of Judea had endured the shame of Roman oppression for a century. The Jews longed to see David’s kingdom restored but didn’t know how to make it happen. They...
View ArticleFocus
By Michael C. Mack Focus is vital for success in many areas of our lives. One place we see this illustrated is in sports. A wide receiver in football runs the right route and then focuses on the ball...
View ArticleNot My Will
By Stuart Powell How do you respond when life presses down on you and your situation overwhelms you? How do you cope with hard news that takes your breath away? Where do you find the strength to take...
View ArticlePassover
By Scott Franks A triptych is a picture done in three panels that sit side by side and sometimes tell a story. Today we are doing something that completes the third part of a story. Imagine the...
View ArticleMary’s Pain
By Stuart Powell Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon...
View ArticleThe Fruit of Hope
By Stuart Powell God had a plan for Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. His plan was bigger than granting a way for believers to live with him for eternity. In his first letter to the...
View ArticleIndispensability
By Doug Redford As the 20th century was ending, numerous attempts were made to select the “person of the century.” Time magazine suggested Albert Einstein. A good case certainly could be made for...
View ArticleNear the Cross
By Victor Knowles “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother . . .” (John 19:25). Today is Mother’s Day. It is also the Lord’s Day. In this verse are three images: the cross, Jesus, and the mother of...
View ArticleThe Life of the Cross
By Randy Ballinger Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34, New Living Translation). This...
View ArticleTrust in God
By Stuart Powell In John 13-16, Jesus prepared his disciples for their next big step in following him. They had left their family’s trade and their parents’ house. They spent years listening to their...
View ArticleMarking a Memorable Day
By Doug Redford On June 6, 1944, on what came to be known as D-Day, Allied troops invaded Normandy as they began their effort to free Europe from Adolf Hitler’s tyranny. This was a courageous but...
View ArticleThe Heavenly Harvest
By Doug Redford Today (Sunday, June 5) is Pentecost Sunday, celebrating the beginning of the church on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. In the Old Testament, Pentecost was one of the three...
View ArticleMotive
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...
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