In 1989, First Baptist Church of Plattsmouth, Nebraska was on the brink of closing its doors. The church had been without a pastor for eighteen months. An elderly couple and one widow were the only church members remaining. But they decided to launch out by faith to call a new pastor. They believed God wanted their church to go forward, though many obstacles stood in the way.

A number of years ago, we had a skunk problem at our house. Our home backs up to a field that (at that time) had a large population of the odoriferous creatures.

The greatest ministry responsibility of a pastor’s life is noted in Acts 6: “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4).

I once received a note in the mail from one of our teenagers. I had written her, complimenting her on an important part she had played in a school play. The note was special for several reasons.

My generation tends to think of a strong spiritual leader as someone who is authoritative and able to administrate from a position of command. Indeed, we see leaders like this throughout the Bible—Joshua, Nehemiah, perhaps Paul.

What is a birthday without a birthday cake? As we get older, we may act like birthday cakes do not mean as much on our birthdays, but I am sure one still brings a smile to your face.

Titus 2:13 says, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” This verse speaks of the need for Christians to be ready! Ready for the Lord to return! Ready to live an authentic Christian life while we watch and wait for the Lord to come! Ready to be the salt and light that the Lord has called us to be! READY, in all things that pertain to the Christian life.

We know that God calls us to “Grow in grace” (2 Peter 3:18). And every Christian who is walking with the Lord desires this kind of growth. But how do we know if we are indeed growing? What are the benchmarks of growth in grace? There are many throughout God’s Word, but here are three very specific ways we know God’s grace is growing in our lives.

Contrary to what most parents think, teens really do want boundaries. When a teenager isn’t given clear guidelines, he does what seems right in his own eyes.

There’s a lot of talk in our day about transparency. Some of it is just talk in which people try to create an illusion of transparency where there is none. But biblical Christianity is transparent and free of guile.