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Nov 15, 2024 | 
crossway.org | Michael J. Glodo |Nancy Guthrie |William Osborne |Stephen Witmer
This article is part of the Key Bible Verses series. All commentary notes adapted from the ESV Study Bible. 1. Ephesians 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Read MoreBlessed be. The blessing that opens Paul’s prayer is similar to those that began first-century Jewish prayers that were commonly recited throughout the day (cf. 2 Cor. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3). in Christ.
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Aug 30, 2024 | 
desiringgod.org | Stephen Witmer
Which is closer to the center of your life as a Christian: what you’re doing for God, or what God has already done for you through Jesus Christ? Which one grounds your identity more deeply, affects your mood more frequently, rouses your passions more highly? Your answer to these questions will deeply shape the stability, tenacity, happiness, boldness, and humility of your Christian experience. Jesus wants to provide you grounds for unshakable joy.
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Jul 6, 2024 | 
theaquilareport.com | Stephen Witmer
He sees and cares, no matter how humble and hidden the issue. God took on flesh and came to earth as a tiny, fragile, helpless baby born to a manual laborer. By doing so, he was saying, loud and clear, “I care about small people. I was one myself.” Let’s bring our problems, big and small, to him. Do you ever feel too small for God, as though your worries don’t deserve his attention?
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Jun 26, 2024 | 
desiringgod.org | Stephen Witmer
Do you ever feel too small for God, as though your worries don’t deserve his attention? As though he has more important things to do than tend to that tricky relationship, those hidden regrets, that dwindling bank account? If you’re tempted to believe such lies, consider an overlooked story in 2 Kings 6 — a story of small people, small problems, and a small miracle that can transform our understanding of God.
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Jan 8, 2024 | 
desiringgod.org | Stephen Witmer
“Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” In Luke 10:20, Jesus tells his followers to rejoice that their eternal future with God is assured. It may seem odd that he commands such joy. If someone said he was sending you to a tropical paradise for an all-expenses-paid vacation, wouldn’t you rejoice without being told to do so? And yet, there are many reasons we may not rejoice frequently or fervently in our salvation.
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Oct 30, 2023 | 
desiringgod.org | Stephen Witmer
In a recent geeking-out-on-baseball moment, I watched a video explaining why Shohei Ohtani, one of baseball’s biggest stars, is able to generate the extraordinary power with which he routinely crushes home runs. I won’t bore you with all the details, but the answer involves the placement and timing of planting his front foot, which in turn allows his hips to whip around, generating the enormous force that launches the ball over the fence.
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Aug 27, 2023 | 
thegospelcoalition.org | Stephen Witmer |Cap Stewart |Alan Noble |Tim Shorey
Jesus entrusts the task of global missions to every Christian and every church, not just to super-Christians and megachurches. That’s the implication of Matthew 28:18–20. Jesus calls for making disciples of all nations and promises his presence to the end of the age. He’s present with all his people; it follows that the task he gives is for all his people. But small churches may wonder what they can contribute.
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May 29, 2023 | 
desiringgod.org | Stephen Witmer
Do you want to know an inside secret about sermons? You may have noticed it already. If you haven’t, you probably will from now on. Here’s the secret: Preachers often like to begin with an image, story, word, phrase, or Bible passage, and then return to it at the end of the sermon. Those bookends emphasize the preacher’s point, pushing it deeper into the hearts and minds of a congregation. The biblical authors understood this.
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Apr 4, 2023 | 
desiringgod.org | Stephen Witmer
In our COVID-remapped world, commutes and work and family rhythms have been permanently altered. So have attitudes toward church participation. I spoke recently with a woman passionately committed to her Sunday-morning regimen of livestreaming her local-church service. Of course, many people have pulled back altogether from church involvement in favor of consuming the podcasts and broadcasts of well-known preachers. This is not okay.
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Mar 21, 2023 | 
desiringgod.org | Stephen Witmer
The Irish poet Seamus Heaney once likened certain poets and poetry to fresh produce in a market stall — delightful, beautiful stuff that you enjoy looking at before moving on to the next display. Some poets and poetry, on the other hand, are like plants that grow inside you. “It’s not so much a case of inspecting the produce as of feeling a life coming into you and through you” (Stepping Stones, 50).
