A Call to Pray and to Love Like Jesus
Responding to the mass shootings in Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton
I awoke very early Sunday morning with a distinct sense in my heart to pray. I’ve learned to listen to those promptings of the Holy Spirit, so, at 3:30 a.m., I rolled out of bed. The news of a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, the day before—along with the shootings last Sunday in northern California, 30 miles from my home—was heavy on my mind. I checked my iPhone news feeds as I drank my first cup of coffee, and again, my heart broke to read of another mass shooting early that morning in Dayton, Ohio.
In the predawn hours I found myself crying out to the Lord, both for comfort for those impacted by these senseless killings and for mercy for our nation. During the many years I was involved in ministry in Africa, I spoke on numerous occasions with those whose lives had been deeply impacted by senseless violence. As I prayed, I found myself wondering what was becoming of our nation.
How it must hurt the heart of our Heavenly Father to see people hating and hurting one another!
Does God Owe Me the American Dream
I’ve forced my American dream into my consciousness, cut it apart and analyzed it with Scripture. God does not owe American Christians anything. He does not owe me a savings account or health insurance. He does not guarantee that my children will have the opportunity to go to college and become prosperous citizens. He does not promise religious freedom, or pleasant vacations, or safety on American streets. He doesn’t even promise that America will continue to exist as we know it. Read more…
It’s Not Optional to Care About the Poor and Oppressed
Listen to Jarvis Williams on the gospel frame for compassion and justice
EFCA Communications Team
March 15, 2018
In the first session of the 2018 Theology Conference, Dr. Jarvis Williams, associate professor of New Testament interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, explored the stains that racism has left on the American church.
Preaching from Romans 3, Dr. Williams’s lecture, “Biblical and Theological Foundations and a Gospel Frame for Understanding Compassion and Justice: The Cross and Racial Reconciliation,” unpacked the gospel imperative for the poor and oppressed in the kingdom of God. Read more…
The Word Become Flesh
Advent and Christmas are wonderful times of the year to remember and to celebrate not just the historical recollection of God becoming a man in the person of Jesus Christ, but also to worship him. This is the time of the year for Christians to look back and remember the promises made for the coming of the Messiah the first time, and the fulfillment of those promises Read more…
A Hopeful Perspective for the New Year
As followers of Jesus Christ in 21st-century America, there are times that we may feel pushed to the brink of despair.
If we openly and lovingly express our belief that some of the social issues of our day are an abomination to a holy God, we will experience the wrath of our neighbors, our coworkers and even our friends, especially on social media. We will be called extremists and bigots.
If we are bold enough to declare that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, we will be labeled as proud, self-righteous fanatics (John 14:6). Followers of Christ used to be considered the “good” guys, but we are quickly becoming the “bad” guys! Read more…
Trusting God When it’s Difficult
There has to be a way to trust God that is not naive. It is not an entitled trusting, because I can’t assume He will do things my way. Rather, it is a settled trusting that comes from His character—that He is there, and He is good, and He has it under control. And that will always be certain. Read more…