You are forgiven
A woman distraught over her sins finds Jesus’ love and forgiveness at the cross. She sits across from me. Hunched over. Shoulders slumped. Hands covering her face. Sobs convulsing her.…
Preachers and listeners
Serving as a vacancy pastor recently put me behind a pulpit on a weekly basis. It had been quite a while since I prepared sermons with that degree of regularity.…
Psalm 32: When you need forgiveness
What kind of sinner are you? Do you consider yourself mildly sinful, at least not as bad as others? Or do you realize how serious each sin is and what…
Please explain: What does it mean that Christians are priests before God?
What does it mean that Christians are priests before God? The sign-up sheets for the neighborhood canvass were empty. The pastor went out of his way to recruit more door-knockers.…
Beauty and ugliness
An encounter with a caricaturist provides an opportunity to proclaim the gospel message in a unique way. Caricatures can distort a single feature of a beautiful person resulting in a…
My Christian life: Raising a child with special needs
Parents of a son who lives with a disability share the blessings they've experienced and how they're helping others. Thirty-six years ago, Diane Oldenburg, member at Faith, Fond du Lac,…
Parent conversations: What tactics do you use to encourage children to tackle difficult tasks?
I love that the two authors of our articles this month both referenced science fair projects. Is there any more dreaded parenting task than helping a child navigate this complex…
Q&A: When we pray, “Your kingdom come,” what are we praying for?
When we pray, "Your kingdom come," what are we praying for? The word kingdom is short for “king’s dominion.” What does Jesus have dominion over? Everything! However, when we pray,…
Strengthening ministry teams
How can we strengthen our congregations’ ministry teams as we reach out with God’s gospel message to each other and our communities? God likes it when his people get along!…