I threw myself my own little, personal Christmas party the other day. The family was around the house, but each person was settled into some activity of their own. So I retreated to the quiet of the dining room. We had on the dining room table a Christmas puzzle underway. Christmastime puzzle working has become a bit of a tradition for us these last few years.

When translating a text, is it better to translate word-for-word or thought-for-thought? The question is not so easily answered. When John Calvin translated his own book, Institutes of Christian Religion, from Latin to French, he did not translate it word-for-word. If anyone could have, it was he. But he found a literal approach did not convey the meaning of original text.

Cal Newport makes an interesting case for the usefulness of boredom. Newport suggests the discomfort of boredom is a good and necessary prompt, much the same way hunger is a good and necessary prompt to eat. To what is boredom prompting us? Productive work, he says. Newport frames this observation within the context of social media. He says engaging with social media neutralizes this prompt, but in an unhelpful way.

In John chapter four, verses 43 to 45, there is a seemingly strange sequence of statements… “ After the two days he departed for Galilee. (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast.

Should we be nuanced these days or bold and blunt? Should we pick a side, or should a third way be pursued?

I was studying John 4:1-26. As usual, at some point in the process, I consulted a few commentaries. I was surprised to find two significant disagreements on two mundane details of the text. Disagreement One "And he had to pass through Samaria" (John 4:4, ESV). Commentary One: "In Jesus' day the Jews, because of their hatred for the Samaritans, normally took the eastern route in order to avoid Samaria" (p.

To a chapel full of seminarians, Haddon Robinson stood up to preach a sermon from Romans 4:5, "And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness..." (ESV). It was the fall of 2003. Twenty-three-year-old me was sitting in the balcony, a first year, first semester student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

A beautiful reflection from my grandmother whose faith is now sight... The Attitude of Youth by Jane G Jones Youth is not a time of life — it is a state of mind, a product of imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a predominance of courage over timidity, an appetite for adventure. Nobody grows old by living a number of years.

The toll of too much busyness can be catastrophic... to our health, to our relationships, and to our faith. But a type of busyness is welcome. "Like Martha in scripture, it is easy to feel resentment because we seem to be doing all the work while others are getting more of a free ride...That is the feeling that can weigh us down for long periods during our adult years, and can make us fall asleep to something that we will wake up to only when it is too late, namely, that these years when we are young and healthy and in charge are the best years of our lives.

Churches sometimes ask people to share their testimony (or, story of conversion/confirmation, profession of faith) and their understanding of the Gospel. Answering these questions may be a condition for joining the church or a particular team at the church. Why do churches do that? A few thoughts... To protect the church from wolves. The church is commanded to evaluate the beliefs of those who claim to be Christians.

A good morsel of prayer advice I pass on to you: Pray as you can, not as you can’t. (T. Staton) What a simple but profound thought. Rather than push off prayer to some future moment when you can “really” pray, why not pray as you can now? Rather than focus on your shortcomings in prayer, why not accept your current limitations and just pray as you can?

Dear Reader, I invite you to join me for a journey through the New Testament in 2025. We’ll be using the plan below, which is based off the 5x5x5 Navigators plan. If you’ve never read the New Testament through or are new to the Bible in general, this plan is an easy way to jump into the story. A few things I like about this plan:

The good news of Christmas is not only that a Savior has been born, who will rescue us from our sins and sorrows, but that the Savior is the LORD. The angel proclaims, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). The Savior is the Lord! YHWH (often translated in all caps in the Old Testament as the "LORD") has come to earth in Jesus.

Each day contains layers of grace often unnoticed in life’s rush. Tyler Staton introduces the dayenu prayer from Hebrew tradition as an antidote to this oblivion, fostering gratitude by recog…

The real problem in the story of David and Goliath, as detailed in 1 Samuel 17, is not Goliath’s physical size but the fear in the hearts of the Israelites. The true battle is one of faith ve…

Sometimes a habit is a placeholder for attention. The habit of daily tracking a budget through a smartphone app can keep us attentive to our financial obligations and goals. The habit of keeping a …

Two observations on grief… First, everyone grieves differently. Some take it head on. Some become angry. Some are engulfed in tears. Some are helped by looking at pictures. Others cannot stan…