While the Christian faith doesn’t have a large number of formal rituals, there are two that are essential to the life of the believer. One of those is the Lord’s Supper. Let’s explore what that is.  The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience memorializing the death of Jesus, our Redeemer, and anticipating His second coming. This is...

One of the central themes in both the Old and New Testaments is resurrection. But what is the resurrection? Let’s find out. Both the Old and New Testaments teach that one day believers will experience a resurrection of the body from the dead. Isaiah 26:19, Ezekiel 37:12-14, and John 11 all point to this truth.  While there are many...

The New Testament, and Christians likewise, talk about two things a lot: the church and the kingdom of God. And generally when we talk about them, we tend to make them almost synonymous. But how should we understand them and their relationship to one another?  The church and the kingdom of God are closely related, though not identical. When...

For many people, the term “sin” focuses on explicit actions, the wrong actions we take, or the right actions we neglect. But what’s the best way to understand what we’re doing when we sin—going beyond our actions to our hearts? Because the Bible portrays people as responsible beings, called to respond in faith and obedience to God’s revelation, the...

The Bible uses a number of different terms to help us understand the nature of sin. One of those is transgression, which is a word that we really don’t use too often in everyday language, but is extremely profound. Let’s take a look at it together. The word transgression means “to cross over” or “to pass by.” In the...

Despite being a three letter word, sin is incredibly complex, with many facets that work together to present a complete picture-and help us understand why it is so serious. Let’s explore one aspect of sin together. One aspect of sin is missing the mark of God’s standards set for humanity. At first blush, missing the mark sounds like it...