Questioning the Gospel
Christians do a lot of back slapping when it comes to belief in the gospel. It’s like we’re afraid to ask hard questions, struggle through difficult times, and doubt the faith. Jenny is a new...
View ArticleCan Racially Diverse Churches Exist?
In 2006, I planted Emmaus Church with a small team of people who dreamed of a gospel-centered, multi-ethnic, multi-racial church. We had a vision that our church would not just have racially integrated...
View ArticleWhat is the purpose of the Bible?
I was recently taking a walk with my family through our neighborhood. We ran into some neighbor friends and in the midst of conversation began discussing the recent History Channel series, “The Bible.”...
View ArticlePraying For Bad Things to Happen To Bad People
When was the last time you were mad at someone? I mean really mad? Mad enough to pray that God would do something terrible to them? As I read my news feeder this morning articles about the trial of an...
View ArticleShould a Christian Smoke Pot?
Should a Christian smoke pot? To many in the church this question may sound too absurd to warrant serious consideration. If you live in Washington or Colorado it is a real discipleship question. Given...
View Article3 Ways to Respond to Opposing Views
How do you deal with doubts? When you are hit with a barrage of rational, popular, and culturally acceptable challenges of your faith, what do you do? Do you respond or do you react? How does the truth...
View ArticleThe Opportunity of Doubt
It is human, all too human, to doubt. When we share our faith with our non-Christian friends, we are often skirting the tension between finite understanding and infinite understanding—between the...
View ArticleThe Danger of Not Doubting
“Who is Jesus?” I asked my students on the first day of class. “The son of God” “God” “The Savior” They concluded drearily between secretly checking their smart phones and staring vacantly at me, as if...
View ArticleDoubt Is Not a Disease
Should we focus on engaging those who are skeptical about the truths of Christianity? Should Christians who are struggling with their faith join a discipleship group? Should the Church spend more time...
View ArticleJohn Calvin and Assurance of God’s Love
Spiritual Dry Spells Many times when we as Christians go through spiritual dry spells, we tend to think that God does not love us. In fact, I have met many people who have called their salvation into...
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Finding Thankfulness Amidst a Trial by Fire
On the night of October 8th, fires were sparked that would ravage my community in Sonoma County, California. That first night the fires burned with unreal and terrifying speed, sweeping over the...
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What Do You Do When God Seems Dull?
Editor’s note: This month at GCD you will be seeing articles from our team of Staff Writers and other contributors on a handful of topics that Jonathan Edwards introduced in his own Resolutions. The...
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The Surprising Antidote to Your Doubt
Editor’s note: This month at GCD you will be seeing articles from our team of Staff Writers and other contributors on a handful of topics that Jonathan Edwards introduced in his own Resolutions. The...
View ArticleWhy the Resurrection is No April Fools’ Prank
It was only a matter of time before they were caught. You can’t hide 5,000 people believing in Christ. Peter and John, sore from spending the night in jail, were shoved into the presence of the rulers...
View Article3 Tear-Wrought Lessons on Suffering
If you haven’t experienced pain or sorrow or loss, you’re either young or dead. We’re all faced at some point with the fallenness of our world and brokenness of our own hearts. A parent buries a child,...
View Article4 Ways to Foster Faithfulness in the Face of Futility
The mammoth ship started sinking into the bone-chilling North Atlantic waters. Distress rockets exploded into the sky. You could hear the pandemonium and sheer terror over the buckling, twisting steel....
View ArticleDiscontent: Comparing What Is to What Could Have Been
Sometimes I surprise myself with how surprised I am that things aren’t always what I want them to be. Not long ago, I realized I’d been griping a lot to my friends about how much it was costing me to...
View ArticleHelp My Unbelief
Have you experienced it before? The ever-irksome foe named Doubt darkens your door of faith, casting a shadow over everything you have believed for much of your life. Paralyzed by the fear of what this...
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How to Cultivate Communal Comfort in Your Suffering
Suffering powerfully highlights what has always been true—we were not created for independent living. Suffering reminds us that God’s grace doesn’t work to propel our independence but to deepen our...
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Why Does God Permit So Much Evil?
God has all power and all knowledge and is second to none. No equals and no competitors. The fact that evil is rampant in his creation is no surprise to him. It’s there only by permission. From time to...
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