God loves stories, which is probably why most of the Bible is made up of parables and other kinds of stories. So what is the purpose of all these stories? Are they just interesting Sunday School lessons for children? No. Everything in the Bible is written for you. This is what the Apostle Paul refers to when he says, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope” (Romans 15:4,) Themes and chords By learning to faithfully read […]

By: Dr. Warren Gage “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son…” (Matthew 22:2). Children love fairy tales. Grown-ups, too, never seem to outgrow the charm of folk tales. We are made that way. Simply read a bedtime story to children and watch the magic and the music in their wide-open and wonder-filled eyes. Stories teach us to imagine. They take us to far away kingdoms and to “once upon a time.” The best stories are always about a wonderful love that wants to happen. We share the dreams of a maiden […]

Doing good for others can grow old. Doing the right things can become tiring, especially when you do not see any tangible results, and especially when it seems like the people who do not do the right things are the ones actually achieving success. In the final chapter of his letter to the Galatians, Paul wrote to Christians who were tempted to go back to their old way of doing things and give up doing the right thing. They were growing tired of supporting the church, helping the weak, bearing with one another’s burdens and doing good in the lives […]

For many Americans of a certain age, the college admissions process is an oppressive and extraordinarily stressful area of life. It is performancism writ very, very large. One’s entire worth and value as a person is boiled down to a short transcript and application, which is then judged according to a stringent and ever-escalating set of standards. High school seniors are called upon to justify themselves according to their achievements and interests, and as the top schools have gotten more and more competitive, so has the pressure under which our top students place themselves. Watching the students at our church […]

Sexual temptation is a tremendously difficult trap to overcome, but it is possible to overcome. Did you catch that? It is possible to overcome! Jesus Christ didn’t die on the cross and rise again just to remove the penalty of sin but to remove the power and practice of sin. Jesus died to set you free, and he lives to give you life as it’s meant to be lived. One of the ways he does this is through the life-giving power of his word. God’s word is full of stories, and God recorded every story in the Bible for your […]