There was a time when neighbors knew each other’s names, when small children and the old and infirm alike had more than their families looking out for them. There was a time when our neighborhoods were our closest communities.

The unknown Persian Jewish author of Esther probably lived sometime within 150 years of the events described in this story, while Persia was still in charge of the Middle East, before Alexander the Great took over.

Would you agree that most Christians are apprehensive about sharing their faith with others? While most Christians feel a responsibility to share Christ with the lost, many do not do so because of fear, lack of know-how, or uneasiness in using canned, unnatural approaches to sharing Can you identify with any of the following excuses?

Some people come to faith easy. Some people come to faith hard. I was one of the hard ones. I was not an easy believer. I was a hard study. Rebellion runs in my veins and rushes through my brain. I went through the wringer, and I put my parents through the wringer.

We are too quick to want to start movements and too slow to join them. We live in a culture of advocacy. We are overwhelmed by causes banding together to fight deep injustices. It’s in our faces and our social media feeds.

When I was twenty-six years old, I exercised my right to waive my rights and surrendered my life to the Lord. When I turned forty, I was surprise at how quickly the years had passed, and realized that in all probability my life was half over.

Don’t just think you are quoting the Bible, know you are. These six guidelines will help you teach with accuracy —and fill in the gaps with contextual understanding. Don’t assume that you know what a passage means based on how others use it.

In the middle of Ron’s class on disciplemaking, Jim raised his hand to voice a concern. “Pastor, I’ve decided that I could never be a disciplemaker.” “Why is that Jim?” asked Ron. “I’m not good at public speaking. If leading a class is what disciplemaking is about, I could never be a disciplemaker.”

For most of us, life is filled with frustrations, anxieties, and disappointments that tempt us to fret, fume, and worry. One author has aptly captured the flavor of this in a devotional book for high schoolers titled If God Loves Me, Why Can’t I Get My Locker Open?

The roads are dusty and dirty. Donkeys and horses, pigs and sheep, shepherds and fishermen have walked these roads—and left their mark. So have the twelve men arriving to dinner, the ceremonial Passover meal.