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We find ourselves today on the brink of arguably the most contentious and divisive presidential elections our country has ever seen. There’s no question that our faith must affect our voting, so how is the Christian to sort through the dynamics and ethics of voting?

For many decades, popular media (from books and movies to social media posts) has routinely depicted something called "the mark of the beast" in frightening and Orwellian (think "1984") terms. But does the book of the Revelation support the idea that this is a literal mark that will one day be used to secure allegiance to some global movement opposed to God and God's people?

While Christians today often wrestle with marriage questions related to divorce or homosexuality, one issue discussed less often concerns marrying outside the faith; that is, when a genuine believer marries (or plans to marry) an unbeliever. It may be surprising to some that the New Testament does not include a verse that explicitly says, "Christians should not marry non-Christians."

Here is a collection of helpful verses and quotes related to my message, "Why the Good News is So Good". I pray these are as encouraging to you as they were to me

With Independence Day almost upon us once again, a good question to ask as disciples of Jesus, as those whose minds are wonderfully being renewed by God's grace (Romans 12:2), is this: "How should we think biblically about patriotism?"

From one perspective, our Sunday morning gatherings seem to only involve a handful of people in those formal and familiar positions that allow them to build others up (for example, someone praying up front, the worship leader, the pastor, etc.). And yet, acknowledging these examples, we should also ask, "What might 'building up' look like for everyone else?"

For the majority of Western readers, these verses (about women covering their heads) are likely to inspire images of sisters in a separated, Amish community or wives in a far-off, Islamic nation. But that's not the only challenge with this text. One obstacle to addressing this cultural disconnect, to helping modern readers understand the relevance of these words, is the complexity of Paul's argument in this passage. So how might we make sense of these Spirit-inspired words?

In a world that regularly preaches about doing whatever "feels good" or "feels right" sexually, a world that ferociously advocates for sex/sexuality as a 'judgment-free zone', the Corinthians' flawed reasoning might sound to many like ancient wisdom to be celebrated. But many who rightly speak of sexuality as a beautiful, natural part of human existence wrongly assume that our sexuality is not also tainted by the ugly, me-centeredness that lies behind so much of our suffering.

When John writes in the book of Revelation that at the opening of the "sixth seal... the sun became black as sackcloth" (6:12), was he witnessing some future solar eclipse that heralded the end of the world? Or when Jesus spoke about the sun being "darkened" before his second coming (cf. Mark 13:24), was he calling us to watch the skies for signs like an eclipse?

As Ephesians 4:11-12 remind us, Christ has given to his church “the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”. This has always been true, in each century of the Church's existence. We pray you're encouraged by three of these teachers, one from the 2nd century, and two from the 4th century, as they proclaim the power, purpose, hope, and wonder of Jesus' resurrection.