New weekly feature! Each Saturday I’ll send out a question and would love to get your answers.
These questions will help me get a sense of where you as the reader are coming from and will help me craft future articles.
This week’s question: what is the biggest reason for optimism you see in the church today?
Content rundown:
I’ve got three upcoming books in preorder status right now:
Sunday School Catch-Up: The Bible Basics You Need to Know, written for those who feel left behind in Bible classes and sermons when unfamiliar names and ideas are discussed.
Transformed Faith: Living Out the Christian Worldview, a collection of essays I and Dr. Brad Harrub have written over the years on 13 of the days’ most pressing topics
Walking with the Word: The Gospel of Mark, a study guide through Mark’s Gospel meant for classes or personal study. Based on a sermon series I preached at Forney church of Christ.
Think Deeper podcast discussed the plague of “nice guys.”
I wrote here on passing your faith onto your children, the “brotherhood police,” and part two of the Becoming A People introduction.
And, I’ll be speaking at Highland Heights in Lebanon, TN Sunday through Wednesday as part of my whirlwind fall tour. If you’re in the area for any of these, please come out and say hello!
And, a meditation for your Sunday prep:
“Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Exalt Him who rides through the deserts,
Whose name is the Lord, and be jubilant before Him.
A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows,
Is God in His holy dwelling.
God makes a home for the lonely;
He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the rebellious live in parched lands.”
-Psalm 68:4-6
Optimism or Hope. There is only one hope: Jesus Christ, His cross and His resurrection. "If God is for us, who is against us?" (Rom 8:31) Simplistic? Maybe for some, but not for God. The church just needs to believe it and live it.
A reason for optimism? In my view, the darker the world gets, the more noticeable the Christian light gets. The contrast between wickedness and righteousness is greater today than ever before in my lifetime. With depravity everywhere we look, people with good soil hearts will be drawn to the gospel message.