When George H. W. Bush was Vice President, he represented the United States at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. After the service, our former Vice President spoke about how he was deeply moved by a silent protest that was carried out by Brezhnev’s widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds […]
The following article was published by Max Lucado on his personal blog several years ago. I hope that it encourages you to critically think about the life (and specifically the birth and childhood) of Jesus. Merry Christmas! In Christ, Jonathan Anderson What was it like watching him pray? How did he respond when he saw […]
There’s a story about a father who had two twin boys. He loved his boys equally, but each of them had two very different personalities. One boy was very negative. He found something wrong with everything. He always perceived the glass as “half empty.” The other son was positive. He found something right with everything. […]
When a man or woman stands on the ground in a downtown area of a big city, they can’t see too far up or out because so many large buildings are surrounding them. The only option that the person has is to stand on the corner, look down one street or another, and catch a […]
There’s a story about two siblings, Sally and Jack, who went to visit their grandparents. While they were there, Grandpa took them out to teach Jack how to use a slingshot. Jack was really good at it! After a little while, Grandpa went off, and by accident, Jack threw a rock with the slingshot hit […]
Few things can foster doubt more than prayer. “You do not have,” the Bible says, “because you do not ask. You ask and did not receive, because you ask wrongly…The prayer [fervent prayer, NKJV] of a righteous person has great power” (James 4:3-4; 5:16). So, when we pray and it doesn’t work, we want to […]
One day a farmer’s donkey fell into a well. The animal cried loudly for hours, while the farmer tried to figure out a way to rescue him. After much consideration, the farmer decided that the donkey was old and the well was already dry and needed to be covered anyway. He decided that it really […]
God’s Voice: Stills you. Leads you. Reassures. Enlightens you. Encourages you. Comforts you. Calms you. Convicts you. Satan’s Voice: Rushes you. Pushes you. Frightens you. Confuses you. Discourages you. Worries you. Obsesses you. Condemns you. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27 ESV) In Christ, Jonathan Anderson
When you listen to some people talk you would think that it’s the church’s job to serve them. They treat the church as if it’s a business that’s supposed to provide a service, and if it does not, they can point in indignant tones at the church that had apparently failed them. The problem with […]
About 18 years ago, Kyle Idleman came to my office with a serious concern. Kyle was 26 years old and had been hired six months before to be on [our] church’s teaching team. He was a phenomenal young preacher, and our congregation was enamored with him. At the time, I had been the senior [minister] […]