Lewis Allen

Sep 30, 2024 | crossway.org | Sam Allberry |Ray Ortlund |Lewis Allen

Christ Preaching ChristSam AllberryEphesians 2:17 kind of wrecked my view of preaching because I’d seen preaching as explaining the passage and teaching people. It’s not less than that for sure, but it’s more than that because in Ephesians 2:17 Paul says, “Christ came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to you who were near.” I never noticed that before. I stopped and thought, When did Jesus go and preach in Ephesus?

Dec 28, 2023 | crossway.org | Sarah Allen |Lewis Allen

Know God’s TruthIf we’re to stand in the battle, we must really know God’s gospel truth for ourselves in the deepest places of our hearts. We must be convinced that God’s word is true, truer even than what our circumstances and our hearts’ longings are telling us. Think of Isaiah’s warning to the king of his day: If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. (Isa.

Apr 2, 2023 | crossway.org | Sarah Allen |Lewis Allen

Hope-fulChange is possible. Hope is power. At least, that’s what an ad for one of the UK’s leading newspapers says. I’m not sure everyone would agree. Take my friend Nadia for instance. She’s bright and kind and creative and fun. But her hopes regularly come to nothing. Stuck in a tedious minimum-wage job with anti-social hours, she is desperate to branch out and do something far more interesting. So, she writes applications, sends them off, and waits.

Mar 15, 2023 | crossway.org | Lewis Allen |Sarah Allen

The Weary Go to WorshipThe hardest thing for struggling Christians to recognize is that church is exactly the community they need. So often, they feel it isn’t. Church, they tell themselves, is for the strong, the confident, the “at peace with God and man” believers. When Christians who are finding the journey hard really need to be part of the church, they convince themselves they should be anywhere but church.

Mar 11, 2023 | crossway.org | Sarah Allen |Lewis Allen

Facing the EnemyWhy do we need a shield to live the Christian life? The Bible is clear: because we have an enemy, who is poised ready to attack us. He is the enemy who never stops. Ignore him or refuse to believe in him, and the result will be the same—acute danger. So says the apostle Paul, take up the shield of faith in all circumstances (see Eph. 6:16). We have been warned! Let’s talk about the gospel and temptation.