by Thabiti Anyabwile Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash Below are ways committed membership expresses itself. Attends Regularly This is the first and most important ministry of every Christian in the local church. Being present, being known, and being active are the only ways to make Christian love possible (Heb. 10:24–25). Seeks Peace A committed church member is committed to the maintenance of peace in the congregation. (Rom. 14:19). “And a harvest of righteousness is sown

By Benjamin L. Gladd Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash The Gospel of Mark contains two gripping stories of Jesus performing miracles on the Sea of Galilee. In the first miracle, Jesus famously stills the raging sea (4:35–41). In the second miracle, Jesus walks on the sea to reach the stranded disciples, and the storm dies down (6:47–52). This second event contains an odd line that often causes readers of Mark’s Gospel to scratch their heads: “[Jesus] saw them straining at the o

By Rev Tan Eng Boo “It’s easy to forget who’s actually speaking when a biblical sermon takes place. Although we may see a mere man standing before us, every biblical preacher is truly a herald of the King of kings. Paul commended the Thessalonians for recognizing this reality: “when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God” (1 Thess. 2:13). We must learn to hear the urgency of divi

Photo by Rolf Schmidbauer on Unsplash Mark's account also shows Jesus' tender care for men and women who were not part of His normal band of followers. Heeding Christ's call to get away and rest, the disciples try to find a place to recuperate, but the renown of their and Jesus' ministry makes it impossible. There are too many people, and there is no refuge from the crowds (vv. 32–34). Seeing this, Jesus has compassion on the crowds, for the people are "like sheep without a s

By Jared C. Wilson Photo by Michael Carruth on Unsplash Given what is taking place in the world today, do we have any indications that to follow Christ will become more and more comfortable? The Bible Belt, long the cultural bastion of “biblical values,” has long been heading toward the spiritual ruins of post-Christendom. Cultural Christianity is wasting away. And the outside world is becoming more and more hostile to the things of faith. Even some professing Christians are

A collection of vintage blacksmith tools displayed on a wooden table outdoors. Photo by SHOX ART Christ experienced this reality when He visited His hometown of Nazareth after healing Jairus' daughter (Mark 6:1; see 1:9). During the earthly life and ministry of our Savior, Nazareth was an insignificant village in Galilee where no more than about five hundred people lived. Given the small size of the town, everyone would have known Jesus and His family well. This is somewhat e

By Rev. Tan Eng Boo “And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” (Mat. 27:28–29) Pictures of Jesus being mocked. Beginning of Via Dolorosa near Lion's Gate, Jerusalem. From the moment of His arrest to His crucifixion, our Lord Jesus Christ endured relentless mockery. The Roman soldiers ridicule

By Kristen Wetherell Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash It’s been 12 years—12 long years of her very lifeblood draining from her. And not only that, but her savings, her possessions, her strength, her hope that anything will ever change. Here, standing before her, is the one they say is a miracle-worker, a change-maker, the one who can make the impossible happen—and stop it from happening. A man says Jesus is on his way to heal someone’s daughter. So I have this one chance, sh

by Dave Deane Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash The Bible is clear: We live in a world that is groaning. Romans 8 tells us that all of creation groans under the weight of sin, longing for redemption. Sin is not some floating, dark mist that pervades the universe, like the Force in Star Wars. It’s not an invisible toxin that randomly infects people. At its core, sin is separation from God—the Creator of the world. It is choosing to live apart from Him and outside of His design

By Dave Deane Photo by Steve A Johnson on Unsplash Fear isn’t just a feeling—it’s a window revealing, not just the frightful things out there, but the fragile things in here: what we love, what we depend on, what we’re afraid to lose. And in that sense, fear doesn’t simply come as a response to danger—it comes from value. Our deepest fears orbit the things that matter most to us. Unlike previous technologies, AI isn’t neutral. It’s architected by human intelligence. And we’re

By Rev. Tan Eng Boo “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psalm 100:4) (Photo of The Neo-Gothic Evangelical Church of Christ exists since 1863 in Lake Hallstatt, Austria) Psalm 100:4 reminds us of the true purpose of attending church: we gather to worship the Lord. Yet, in reality, many distractions can subtly shift our focus away from God. One such distraction is an undue emphasis on who will be speaking on a gi

By Rosie Moore An adult woman applying lipstick while looking into a mirror, expressing personal care and tranquility.pexels-michelle-leman-6798935.jpg All My Days Are Ordained by God Psalm 139:13-16 shares how all my days are ordained or planned out by God. That even before we were born, God saw the inner parts of our body and recorded the days of our lives. “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and won

By Erik Raymond Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay Christ’s Heart for the Hurting We have two pairs of spectacles to look through when reading the Gospel accounts. With one, we perceive what is natural to us and to anyone else who would look in. With the other, we see through the eyes of Christ. He Seemed Hopeless One such example is found in the fifth chapter of Mark’s Gospel. Readers are greeted by this man almost as quickly as Jesus was. Mark writes in verse 3,

By Jon Nielson Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash As the passage unfolds, we discover that Jesus’s disciples find themselves in a desperate situation! While they are crossing over the Sea of Galilee in a boat with Jesus, “a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat” (Mark 4:37). At least three of these men are fishermen, familiar with this sea. They have seen their share of storms! This storm, though, is one that they know they can’t survive. They wak

By Elizabeth Mckinney and Chris Mckinney Photo by Kindel Media: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-white-dress-shirt-beside-woman-in-black-and-white-polka-dot-dress-7578965/ Start with the Smallest of Steps The parable of the mustard seed has something to teach shy neighbors and reluctant mailbox-wavers (Mark 4:30-32) What kind of seed? The smallest of seeds. Seeds already strike us as miniature and inconsequential, but Jesus reminds us that great treasures come from these m

By Rev Tan Eng Boo Earlier this year, I came across a Facebook post about the arrival of Himalayan vultures in Singapore. I was excited about their arrival, and I contacted some birding friends who shared the location of where these rare visitors had been spotted. The very next morning, I made my way to Clementi and was rewarded with a magnificent aerial display of these birds in mid-air. I managed to capture a photo of these impressive birds of prey in flight. Himalayan vult

Photo by meriç tuna on Unsplash We see from Jesus' parable of the soils that there are at least four different kinds of people to whom the Word of God comes. The first group consists of those who pay no heed to the gospel at all. Never do they show any positive response to Scripture, not even on the surface. They are so hardened to God's Word that the devil is able to snatch it away from them (Mark 4:4, 15). The second group responds in what seems to be an exceedingly positiv

By Harriet Connor Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash Who’s Your Family? Some people argue we should see our church as our “first family.” Jesus certainly refocused membership in God’s family: Now anyone can join the family not by bloodline, but by faith in him (John 1:12–13; Gal. 3:6–9). God’s family now grows primarily through the spread of the gospel, not the birth of children (Matt. 28:19–20). Consequently, those without spouse or children have a valued place and purpose in

By Jonathan Pennington Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash Texts and Their Reception The “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” language comes directly from the Gospels and is found in parallel accounts in Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-29, and Luke 12:10. In all these cases the literary context varies slightly, but there’s a consistency in emphasizing the one greatest and unforgivable sin—the “speaking against” or “blaspheming” of the Holy Spirit. Space doesn’t permit a fuller explor

By Rev Tan Eng Boo The central promise of the Christian faith is beautifully expressed in the words of Jesus recorded in John 11:25–26: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” These words are profound, yet they can also sound puzzling—even unbelievable. I recall attending a Christian vigil service where this passage was read aloud before the