Following Jesus is all about losing your life. In His eyewitness account of Christ, Luke wrote, Then he said to them all,“If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save …
Jesus traveled with the disciples to Caesarea Philippi and sat down to ask the disciples an important question. Describing this conversation, Matthew wrote, Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:13-15 ESV Jesus asked the question to determine His disciples’ faith in Him. He wanted to know more about who they thought He was than He was interested in what the crowds thought. …
The Apostle Paul’s admonition to the church members in Rome to “live at peace with everyone” is a message of truth we desperately need in our culture and as Great Commission Baptists. Too often on social media, in churches, and recently on committee Zoom meetings, we witness people in conflict speaking inciting words in an aggressive tone. Daily on Twitter, …
Do you speak words that build up or tear down? In his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul wrote: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4:29) ESV Sadly, whether on social media, texts, phone calls, emails, or in personal conversations, too many of us speak words that tear down rather than build up. Our conversations are not salted with …
Today’s students get a bad rap. Recent books on Generation Z make much of their short attention spans (See James White’s book Meet Generation Z). They mention how today’s youth would rather watch a video than read a book (See Jean Twenge’s book iGen). It’s common knowledge that students’ use of online access has had a profound impact upon how …
