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Why Jesus Came

“…This, I think, is my favorite Advent text because I don’t know any other that expresses so clearly the connection between the beginning and the end of Jesus’s earthly life — between the incarnation and crucifixion….”                                                                                        …

Three Dangers of a Successful Vaccine

“…it seems that the Bible warns of three dangers that might accompany a successful vaccine—and therefore three spiritual warnings. These, I suspect, are not so obvious. They’re certainly not in our newsfeeds….”   3 Dangers of a Successful Vaccine    
CGS Holiday Schedule

Truth and Pain, in “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”

A  57-year-old widowed father of six children, the oldest of which had been nearly paralyzed as his country fought a war against itself—wrote a poem seeking to capture the dynamic and dissonance in his own heart and the world he observes around him that Christmas Day.   The True Story of Pain and Hope Behind “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”  

I Fear God, and I’m Afraid of God

“… But now life is hard because I see that God’s sovereignty may also be inclined towards the things I dread, the things I would not wish for.”   I Fear God, and I’m Afraid of God  

“A Night of Lament for Racial Justice.”

There are many ways Christians can respond to injustice, but one response we should never neglect or minimize is prayer…. You are invited to join Christians and churches around the world in guided prayer and song.

Deus Absconditus

Even when we cannot glimpse the contours of our Father’s plan, he is still good. We can trust his hand even in those moments when we cannot see his face. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/trust-hand/  

When Moses’s Wish Came True

“Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (Num. 11:29). “Moses’s response was more than just a personal expression of humility. His answer expressed a longing of redemptive-historical proportions…” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/moses-wish-came-true/

Before Your Suffering Comes

Before the storms of suffering blow against a person’s soul, we should try to put five foundation stones under their faith. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/before-your-suffering-comes

Feasting in the House of Mourning ?

Under the sun no good gift is ours to keep. That’s what we learn in the house of mourning, and it’s a hard lesson. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/funerals-better-feasts/

Trusting God for Every Tomorrow

The Bible speaks some brutally honest words for the surety of our uncertainty.   Uncertainty is certain. Or at least, so it seems to creatures like us. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/uncertainty-is-certain

What Mercy Says in Calamity

The people listening to Jesus that day were looking for an answer that all people of all eras look for: Why this suffering? Why this evil, and why did it befall these victims? What can I do to escape from it befalling me? The answer Jesus gave accomplished, in one stroke, a number of crucial theological corrections.   https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/dont-wait-to-be-done-with-sin

Marriage amidst Quarantine

In times of trial, and because each spouse processes situations differently, it’s all too easy to take out our frustrations and anxieties on one another. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/marriage-quarantine/

Medicine from a Cave

Enter Psalm 57, a psalm of David, written in a cave while he is actively being hunted. I imagine he could relate to feelings of isolation and fear. What does it look like for you and me to run to God as our refuge, to say along with David, “In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by”? I think it looks like resting in truth and responding in faith.   https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/quarantine-hard-god-good/

C.S. Lewis on the Coronavirus

It’s now clear that COVID-19 is a deadly serious global pandemic.  Still, C. S. Lewis’s words—written 72 years ago—ring with some relevance for us. Just replace “atomic bomb” with “coronavirus.”   https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/cs-lewis-coronavirus/

What Is the Worth of Our Religion?

It is hard to read the book of James and not feel deep conviction over the ways we fall short of God’s glory. Even James himself said that we all stumble in many ways (James 3:2), and this truth really comes into focus when we read his letter. I often joke that if James was alive today and simply read his letter during the sermon time, many churches would accuse him of not being Gospel-centered enough. How does this imperative-driven…