The messianic secret’s presence can naturally befuddle us as readers. It feels completely contradictory to the evangelical nature of modern Christianity. The evangelical world depicts a Jesus that says, “Go! Tell everyone about me! To the ends of the Earth! Ask that guy in the grocery store aisle if he knows me! Tell that woman in the Starbucks line about what I’ve done for you!” How do we reconcile that with the presence of the messianic secret theme throughout the Gospel of Mark?

I’ve done a lot of living in the couple of decades since I first heard this song. In that time, something that has continued to surprise me is how good grace actually is. It never fails. I’ll have some new experience of grace that’s overwhelming and think “Ah, now I get it.” Then sometime later I’ll see it to a degree I'd never imagined possible before.

Welcome to my quarantine office. And by “office,” I mean my dining room table, which is also our family’s new homeschool. This is how most of my days look right now, trying to simultaneously run two different grade levels while not totally ignoring my other work and responsibilities at the same time.

Between the loss of routine, the new challenges of figuring out work and homeschool together, and the mounting fear and anxiety about the state of the world, I found it very difficult to pray. I found myself going through my days with so much fear and worry that I couldn’t bring myself to slow down and spend time trying to draw nearer to God. Even though I obviously knew that’s what I needed and wanted most, it seemed like it wasn’t the most pressing thing.

We are divided. Separated for the good of each other. I’ve been to and touched and experienced different parts of the world than you lately, so we cannot be together. Social distance, inserting physical barriers of the unseen divisions we naturally catalog in our subconscious.

Sin is a central tenant of Christianity. As such, there are significant implications that follow our understanding of it. Yet there is plenty of confusion surrounding the concept of sin today. Specifically, there are a handful of unhelpful but common misconceptions that continue to pop up. Here are four of the biggest and why correcting them matters.

While it is true that God encounters us through the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures, we would be short-sighted to think that the rest of our worship rites were unimportant. While we cannot reduce all of our worship down to singing, singing as a form of personal and corporate worship has been a constant throughout the history of God's people.

These voices from the past have helped me know how to follow Jesus in practical, everyday ways, how to listen to Him in all things, how to love Him above all else, and how to understand much of the scriptures. They stir my heart in a way that little else, outside from scripture itself, has ever been able to do.

If you had to rate the quality of your prayer life on a scale from 0-10, with 0 being "my prayer life is non-existent" and 10 being "my prayer life is as powerful as Jesus' prayer life", what would it be?

There’s a strong possibility John 7:53-8:11 wasn’t originally written by John. Nevertheless, I’m convinced the story is accurate and true, and I’m convinced it should be treated as authoritative like the rest of the Bible.

I hope that having faith doesn't depend on how I feel. If it does, I'm in deep trouble. My emotions can cause me to drift away from faith--from drawing near to God with the confidence that He rewards those who seek Him. My emotions are not always friendly to my faith.

People wonder all the time about what happens in the end times—Where do we go when we die? What about the rapture? What is heaven going to be like? Will my dog be there? Is there really a hell? Maybe this guide can help clear up some confusion.

I've found something new, but not in a place I would have thought. It was hiding away in the shadows. Once I brushed off the cobwebs and the dirt, it sparkled like something brand new. Only, it wasn’t. It was a piece of ancient treasure, hidden in a place that’s been forgotten.

00159339Redemption Church2139714.0Normal0falsefalsefalseEN-USJAX-NONE/* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}Where is God? Has He forgotten about us? Has He left us here all on our own? How do we trust God when we can't see Him?

As much of a family man as I am (my favorite romantic comedy is still The Family Man), I am first and foremost a citizen of God’s kingdom. I want to live like that’s true. I want that kind of devotion to God and His kingdom.