What Following Jesus REALLY Means (and 3 practical tips)
Christians by definition followers of Jesus. But following Jesus requires us to take action. Words aren't enough, steps are needed to follow God.| Rethink
Romans 12:1 encourages us to be living sacrifices (expanded upon in the previous blog post here). That’s not all this verse teaches; let’s look at it again: I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual … + Read More The post What is “spiritual worship” in Romans 12:1? appeared first on Written for our instruction.| Written for our instruction
Christians are to be living sacrifices, which means to devote our whole lives to the service of the God who saved us.| Written for our instruction
Christians by definition followers of Jesus. But following Jesus requires us to take action. Words aren't enough, steps are needed to follow God.| Rethink
In our previous installments in this series, we have explored our culture’s discomfort with death, noting it as God’s judgment on sin, yet also observing that Scripture offers a wonderfully tender perspective. We discussed how believers, by God’s grace, escape the second . . . Continue reading →| The Heidelblog
It's a Superfriends Saturday on the Heidelcast! Continue reading →| The Heidelblog
One of the oldest and most repeated religious questions goes like this: “Why does God allow evil to happen?” Or it may sound like this: “Why is there evil in the world?” These types of questions fall under the subject of theodicy. . . . Continue reading →| The Heidelblog
I am not suggesting that American Presbyterians of the eighteenth century would approve of the political arrangement of the twenty-first century. Surely, in many respects they would not. They assumed an overwhelmingly Protestant nation where Catholics and (more so) Jews could be . . . Continue reading →| The Heidelblog
In our previous installments in this series, we began by considering the great aversion and discomfort our culture has when it comes to death. We noted the various unhealthy, unbiblical, and unhelpful coping mechanisms that are often employed in the face of . . . Continue reading →| The Heidelblog
It is truly lamentable to observe how many young men and women, of whom better things might have been expected, fall away into semi-Romanism in the present day, under the attraction of a highly ornamental and sensuous ceremonial. Flowers, crucifixes, processions, banners, . . . Continue reading →| The Heidelblog
In our previous article in this series, we observed that our culture is not one that likes to think about death. Culturally, as others have pointed out, we have done away with the traditional churchyard. No longer are we forced to walk . . . Continue reading →| The Heidelblog
But I did feel the swell of hormones that flooded my system for the next three months, bringing me to lows I didn’t know existed, sweeping me through endless forests of my own fatigued emotions. I felt the fraying of my mind . . . Continue reading →| The Heidelblog
A pastor is a human being who has been redeemed by God’s grace and called to serve the Lord as an ordained minister. As a human, he will need and want friends. It is a highly unrealistic expectation to think that pastors . . . Continue reading →| The Heidelblog
There is still another area in which the Reformed view of the law is influenced by the idea of the covenant. Even after the fall, the law retains something of its covenantal form. The law was not included in the federal relationship . . . Continue reading →| The Heidelblog
Kevin DeYoung, moderator of the 52nd General Assembly, has selected the elders to serve on the Ad Interim Study Committee on Christian Nationalism. The committee will consist of three teaching elders, four ruling elders, and two advisory members. The committee members are . . . Continue reading →| The Heidelblog
To be fair, congregational singing has been under assault for a century or more. The “contemporary” worship of 100 years ago in some P&R churches already suffered from invasive species propagated by Oxford Movement’s high-church, Anglo-Catholic tendencies. Low churches got high. Organs . . . Continue reading →| The Heidelblog
I love Facebook and Instagram. I hate Facebook and Instagram. Sometimes I love and hate social media at the same time. I am sure I am not alone. I signed up for Facebook a very long time ago. In the early days, it did seem fun and a good tool to connect with people, especially … + Read More The post Love and hate for social media appeared first on Written for our instruction.| Written for our instruction
Everyone tells me that they are busy. It has become the standard response whenever I ask anyone how their week has been. It doesn’t matter what their life situation is, whether they are a working single mother or a long-term retiree, it is a badge of honour to claim busyness. If we are busy, we … + Read More The post “I can’t help, sorry; I’m too busy.” appeared first on Written for our instruction.| Written for our instruction
Sickness reminds us that we are not in control as much as we think we are; God is in control and we are not.| Written for our instruction
One reason why the Methodist movement outlived the first generation of Methodists is because John Wesley was a practical theologian and a spiritual guide to the people called Methodist. In most of …| John Meunier
In Malachi chapter 1, God pointed out a major problem with the worship that the people of God were bringing to him. The people of Judah had returned to their homeland after many years in exile. They had rebuilt the temple and the walls of Jerusalem and had resumed the worship required in the law … + Read More The post Bringing God less than the best (Malachi 1) appeared first on Written for our instruction.| Written for our instruction
Christians should not be defeatist about saying no to temptation. We should take sin seriously and grow in holiness.| Written for our instruction
Jesus proved to the crowd that He would meet their physical needs, but what mattered most to Him was their spiritual blindness, which deterred them from seeing their Savior, who stood before them.| A Tree Firmly Planted
God doesn't owe us anything. In Jesus, He has given us way more than we deserve! We are sons, not customers of God.| Written for our instruction
Religion can be described as doing the same things over and over. We often use it in the context of spiritual matters, like praying every day or going to church religiously. Yet we can do other things religiously as well. We might eat dinner at the same time every day, or always go shopping on … + Read More The post Religion makes us think we’re in control; we are not! appeared first on Written for our instruction.| Written for our instruction
Christianity is not about keeping rules, but trusting in Jesus who died for us. All we do is a response to Jesus.| Written for our instruction
God works in mysterious ways to save people and grow their faith. Sometimes we can look back and see God's hand in events.| Written for our instruction
This is the final installment in a six-part series, “Reclaiming Humanity in the Digital Age.” By Joshua Pauling Part 1 of this series tackled why now is the time to change our relationship with digital technologies, Part 2 presented crucial strategies for parenting, Part 3 explored coming of age in the digital world, Part 4 encouraged adults to lead the way in forming healthier habits and practices, and Part 5 highlighted the church’s vital role as an embodied, living alternative to the...| The Lutheran Witness
By Bryan Wolfmueller Christians have need of endurance: that mix of courage and patience that presses on to the end. We are tempted to weariness. Our flesh is discouraged. Thanks be to God, the Scriptures are full of passages that spur us on to faithful endurance. The Bible sets the joy of the Gospel, the hope of eternal life, and the strength of the Holy Spirit before our weak and weary hearts. The Bible encourages us on the way. Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord says: “Fear not, for I ...| The Lutheran Witness
This is the fifth installment in a six-part series, “Reclaiming Humanity in the Digital Age.” Check back for more installments soon. By Joshua Pauling Part 1 of this series established why it’s necessary to live intentionally in the digital age, Part 2 offered core principles for parenting, Part 3 explored coming of age in the digital world, and Part 4 highlighted how adults should lead the way in forming habits of living that anchor us in our embodied nature as creatures made in God’...| The Lutheran Witness
This is the fourth installment in a six-part series, “Reclaiming Humanity in the Digital Age.” Check back for more installments soon. By Joshua Pauling Part 1 of this series established why it’s time to take action regarding the ubiquitous role of digital devices in our lives, Part 2 explored some core principles for parenting, and Part 3 offered some ways to counteract the unique challenges faced by those coming of age in the digital world. Now, Part 4 focuses on why this is not just a...| The Lutheran Witness
This is the third installment in a six-part series, “Reclaiming Humanity in the Digital Age.” Check back for more installments soon. By Joshua Pauling Part 1 of this series laid the groundwork for why it’s time to do something about our relationship to screens and digital devices. Part 2 focused on key principles for parenting and family life. In Part 3, we will zoom in on the challenges teens and twenty-somethings face as they are coming of age in the digital world. Reality Check A rec...| The Lutheran Witness
This is the second installment in a six-part series, “Reclaiming Humanity in the Digital Age.” Check back for more installments soon. By Joshua Pauling In Part 1 of this series, we laid the groundwork for why Christians must think clearly and act intentionally regarding the role of screen-based, internet-connected devices in our lives. (To summarize: Such devices and technologies easily nudge us in ways contrary to human flourishing and contrary to our design as enfleshed souls.) We don...| The Lutheran Witness
This is the first installment in a six-part series, “Reclaiming Humanity in the Digital Age.” Check back for more installments soon. By Josh Pauling In recent years, there has been a significant rise in public concern about the impacts of the digital revolution on human life — everything from rising anxiety to declining attention. Increasing numbers of people are now willing to acknowledge we have a problem.[1] But what are we to do about it? There has been no shortage of recent books, ...| The Lutheran Witness
Robin Phillips and Joshua Pauling, Are We All Cyborgs Now? Reclaiming Our Humanity from the Machine. Basilian Media, 2024. 453 pages. Order here. By Stacey Eising This new book, co-authored by an LCMS student of theology, offers a solution to our digital technology predicament: life together in the church. Perhaps you also saw this rather disturbing ad on TV recently: A man is sitting in a diner designing a new website on his laptop. As he types, the bodies of those sitting around him are vio...| The Lutheran Witness
For many Christians around the globe — as noted in the Snippets this month — life is a daily struggle as they face persecution and even death for the sake of the Gospel. The culture that surrounds them is actively hostile toward them for their faith. In the U.S., our feature writer Aaron Renn contends, Christians now face a “negative world” — while we do not have to fear death or even outright persecution for our faith, for the first time in our nation’s history Christians do face...| The Lutheran Witness
The March issue of The Lutheran Witness discusses how we can live faithfully in a culture increasingly hostile toward the Christian faith. From the Editor: The Sanctified Life in a Hostile World Features: The Negative World: Facing a new social reality as Christians — Aaron M. RennOur Youth Are Ready to Serve: A ‘Set Apart to Serve’ feature — James BaneckLutheran Life in ‘the Negative World’: Holding to the Gospel in a Shifting Culture — Scott AdleChristians in Enemy Territ...| The Lutheran Witness
By Scott Adle Aaron Renn’s Life in the Negative World has spurred many Christians and Christian leaders to think again about a question that is old, yet perennial. Perhaps it could be summarized as: “What is the way forward in this culture for the church, and for us as Christians?” The italicized bit is what has gotten Renn traction. His framework posits that something has changed in our culture over the last few decades, and that the ways we do things should perhaps change too. An Age ...| The Lutheran Witness
Everyone wants to express their opinion. Everyone wants to get their views across. We want to be heard and valued and noticed. All of this is perfectly natural. What has become less natural is to listen. To really listen. It is incredibly difficult to listen well to someone else. There are two broad reasons why … + Read More| Written for our instruction
Easter time is often a full time for people, whether you are Christian or not. In Australia, it is the only four-day weekend on the annual calendar. It often falls near school holidays as well so those with children have a change of pace. Many have family gatherings or a weekend away, and Christian people … + Read More| Written for our instruction
I have heard people say that they don’t feel that they feel connected to the local church family that they go to because there is no-one there who is like them. Perhaps this could be said by a young person in a church mainly populated by middle-aged or older believers. Perhaps this could be said … + Read More| Written for our instruction
Paul Rutherford provides an overview of the Puritan John Owen's classic book 'The Mortification of Sin.'| Probe Ministries
By James Jeffery Author: John Calvin Translator: Raymond A. Blacketer Publisher: Crossway Year: 2024 A compelling argument can be made that John Calvin’s four-volume Institutes of the Christian Rel…| AP
Step into this moment with me…You’re in the middle of an important conversation when it happens. Your phone buzzes, and there it is: the dreaded notificatio ...| d6family.com
Happy new year! A new year always makes us think of new possibilities. Perhaps you are making plans for the new things you want to do this year. Perhaps you have made new year’s resolutions. You might have signed up for that gym membership, enrolled in that new course, or decided to try a new sport. Perhaps you are considering how to serve Jesus in different ways in 2025 compared to how you have served Him up to this point.| Written for our instruction
I read a lot of books, and this has been a year particularly full of reading due to my Sabbatical mid-year. I have found that the act of reading longer-form pieces of writing like books is revolutionary in a world that is full of swiping from 10 second video to 10 second video. Having to think through a sustained argument builds concentration and stimulates your thinking.| Written for our instruction
Jeremiah 41:4-7 The day after Gedaliah’s assassination, before anyone knew about it, eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes and cut themselves came from She…| AP
This wilderness was a place of despair and discouragement, where everything looked dry and empty, and my once fruitful life felt barren—like the Israelites, ...| d6family.com
Dr. Michael Gleghorn makes a case for why Christian doctrine and apologetics are important for spiritual growth and maturity.| Probe Ministries
I’m sure that all Christians have heard glib, basic conclusions in Bible teaching in churches. Maybe you’ve heard a preacher tell you that God is love or God is in control. Or a Bible study leader tell you that you should love God and not money, or that you should tell other people about Jesus. All of these things are true! They are encouraging and needed. Yet it is helpful not to leave the conclusion in this general form but to help people think through what believing that looks like in ...| Written for our instruction
Mark 5:41-43 [Jesus] took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to wal…| AP
We live in a world which values extroverts very highly. School children are marked on contributions in class. Job interview processes always include evidence of teamwork. TV shows and movies portray typical social lives as being dominated by attending parties and large social gatherings. We all love someone who loves people and is in their element when spending all of their time with people.| Written for our instruction
I am the father of three boys. We have a family tradition to measure every child’s height on their birthday. The fast-growing teenagers always look forward to the confirmation that they have grown a lot, especially if it means passing the height of one of their parents! There is much banter about who is taller, and who will be taller than who when they finish growing. (It is also humbling for the parents; I lost my tallest status a few years back and am likely to be passed twice more in the...| Written for our instruction
Studies in Acts Plots and Plans! (Acts 23:12-35) The attack planned. Several fanatical Jews were enraged that their attempt to kill Paul had failed, and that the Council had not condemned him to di…| AP
Studies in Acts Struggles with the Sanhedrin (Acts 22:24-23:11) Before the Sanhedrin condemned the Lord Jesus to death, he had overwhelmingly proven to both the leaders and the people that he was t…| AP
Studies in Acts An Apologia (Acts 22:1-23) How did the mistreated apostle address his audience? The mob had violated the fraternal bond and just now had almost killed him as an enemy of God’s peopl…| AP
Studies in Acts Jerusalem in turmoil (Acts 21:27-30) None of the law-observant Jewish Christians provided the occasion for Paul’s arrest. Nor any Judaizers, but Jews from the Roman province of Asia…| AP
Those who are not married and those who are married are of equal value in God’s sight. All people are made in the image of God. All Christians are saved only by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross for our sins. In no way does our marital status impact whether we are of value to God.| Written for our instruction
Studies in Acts Paul’s Third Missionary Journey (Acts 21:1-16) Paul’s Third Apostolic Journey: Tyre, Ptolemais, Caesarea, Jerusalem By now it was three years since Paul had left Antioch in Syria fo…| AP
All relationships have emotional ups and downs to them. There are times when you feel close to the people you love and times you do not. That’s true in friendships, between parents and children, and also between married people. We don’t always feel the same about the other person day to day or month to month.| Written for our instruction
