Do you remember the first morning you woke up and knew for sure that you were a Christian? For some it’s a gradual realization and for others (like me) who searched far and wide for satisfaction and purpose, coming home was a never-to-be-forgotten, all-at-once relief and joy. That’s how I picture Easter Monday for Jesus’s followers. The Monday after Resurrection Sunday—the first morning they woke...
On the day of his resurrection, Jesus appeared along the seven-mile-long road to Emmaus and greeted two disciples on their journey from Jerusalem. Luke tells us, “They were kept from recognizing him” (Luke 24:16). The two men were discussing the events of the day, trying to make sense of the death of their rabbi. Devastated by the events of the crucifixion and perplexed by the women’s report that...
All marriages face seasons of distress and frustration—times when, thanks to a variety of factors, couples don’t feel as close as they once were. In Build a Stronger Marriage: The Path to Oneness, bestselling author and longtime FamilyLife Today cohost Bob Lepine helps couples work through the challenges that emerge in every marriage, causing couples to become isolated and alienated. He helps...
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. ISAIAH 53:3a The crucifixion along with the resurrection is the heart of the gospel, and what all our other stories in the Bible point towards. Without the crucifixion and resurrection there would be no salvation, no hope for sinners. Jesus had to suffer to save us. But to the people of Jesus’s day, it was a...
One of the main objections I hear when I talk about good-news teaching is that it sounds soft on sin and the need to obey God. When I say that teaching absolutely free grace in Jesus leads us to obey him out of gratitude, from the heart, people sometimes think it sounds like I’m saying we don’t have to obey unless we feel like it. That’s not true at all! We must daily say no to sin even if that...
