Attending retreats with other churches helps students begin to see that their local church is a part of the universal church. They observe that God is at work not only in and around them but that he is also bringing salvation to the whole world.
Have you ever prayed so fervently for God’s blessing and favor over your child, only to find your lifted-up request goes unanswered? We have all experienced a door being slammed in our face. Rejection is part of our…
Though I’m sure Paul prayed for concerns regarding health or God’s provision, the prayers mentioned in his Epistles center on spiritual matters.
Alone at 10:30 p.m. in a dark, smelly youth room, I got down on my knees to pick up a half-eaten chicken wing off the stained carpet floor. I remember pausing and looking around. This was not what…
Martin Luther King’s birthday is the perfect opportunity to bring your teenagers along to see the newly released film Just Mercy. The movie, based on attorney Bryan Stevenson’s memoir of the same name, is an account of Stevenson’s…
Watching Just Mercy is not an easy, lighthearted afternoon’s entertainment, but it is well worth the energy to bring your teenagers along to see it. As an aside: you will want to be sure to see the movie…
I am intrigued with stories from Everest and other great expeditions that seem to defy human ability and logic. The tragic stories always involve someone getting so focused on the summit or the next camp that they lose…
As I grieved a college breakup a few years later, I came across Psalm 16 in my daily reading and was heartened by David’s insistence that God is present in the midst of painful circumstances.
We all dread getting caught in the act. Take my student Steven, for example. He was thrilled to discover his parents would be out of town for the weekend. So he quickly texted his friends, planned a party…
