LESS IS MORE April 22, 2020 | Matthew 18:1–9 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Did you know chickens have a social hierarchy? It’s where we get the phrase “pecking order.” The order is determined by pecking. The stronger and healthier chickens bully the weaker ones into submission, accompanied by a lot of squawking. Therefore, whoever takes […]
UNIMPRESSIVE TRADITION April 18, 2020 | Matthew 15:1–20 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue What is your favorite church tradition? Lighting a candle during the service to signify the presence of the Holy Spirit? Or maybe the meal your congregation shares every time they have communion. Some traditions, like the Lord’s Supper or baptism, were instituted by […]
A PROPHET WITHOUT HONOR April 15, 2020 | Matthew 13:53–58 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue When I first came to faith in Christ, I found it difficult to share the gospel with my father. He did not want to accept spiritual advice from someone who was so much younger. “I used to change your diapers!” he […]
A PECULIAR MISSION April 8, 2020 | Matthew 10:1–20 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Billy Graham was famous for his large evangelistic meetings. He followed in the steps of other evangelists, such as George Whitefield and D. L. Moody. Graham was a pioneer in evangelism by radio and television. His aim was to invite all people […]
HIS SURPRISING COMPANIONS April 7, 2020 | Matthew 9:1–13 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In a popular song from the 1960s artist Dobie Gray sang, “I’m in with the in- crowd.” According to the song, “You ain’t nowhere until you’ve been in.” One of the obstacles Jesus faced was a result of the company He kept. […]
WITH CONFIDENCE February 25, 2020 | Esther 9:1–4 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Imagine going into any sort of challenge—a basketball game, a big exam, a legal dispute—knowing with 100 percent certainty that you were going to come out on top. What confidence you would carry! That is how the Jewish people could now approach the […]
POETIC JUSTICE February 20, 2020 | Esther 6:10–14 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, Mr. Bumble is the cruel manager of the workhouse where Oliver is raised. Mr. Bumble marries Mrs. Corney, the matron of the establishment, who is just as tyrannical. But, in a twist of fate, the Bumbles […]
HOW PRIDE BLINDS February 17, 2020 | Esther 5:9b–14 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue If you were to name the “Top Ten Egotists of All Time,” whom would you include? One such list features Billy the Kid, one of the most lethal men in the Wild West, and John Wilkes Booth, the stage actor who shot […]