God

December 17, 2019

How the Gospel Shines in Today’s Post-Christian Culture’s Darkness: An Advent Reflection

In greater fullness, the Incarnation is not only the coming of a person—Jesus—but also all the blessings with Him that God the Redeemer wants to give us in His agape love.
November 13, 2019

Biblical Submission in Marriage: What It IS and What It is NOT

“What is God’s Mission for Your Life and Marriage?” represents one of the most important questions a husband and his wife can answer today.
October 23, 2019

In Post-Christian Times, Who Initiates and Energizes Whom in the Marriage Relationship?

The biblical portrait of marriage presents the initiative squarely on the shoulders of the husband
October 4, 2019

Weaving a Life Together as ONE: Which Side (Bible or Post-Christian) Goes Deeper?

When both parties pursue the altruistic-good of the other in an attempt to reach deeper mental, emotional, and spiritual unity, happiness and fulfillment will mark the marriage relationship.
July 26, 2019

Marriage: The Bible’s Portrait or the Post-Christian Culture’s Depiction?

The time is right to compare and to contrast how our post-Christian culture seeks to derive meaning and value from marriage, and how the Bible portrays it for the welfare and happiness of human life and culture.
August 31, 2018

Gen Z and Their View of the Church: a Love/Hate Relationship

We have been exploring in a series of blogs what our new youth culture, Gen Z (born 1999 to 2015) thinks about life, God, the world, gender identity, and truth.  Today we take a few moments to see what they think about the Church.  There are positive things that Gen Z’ers see in the Church, but there are also deeply disturbing issues within them about the Church that should sound the alarm for any church leader seeking to reach and to disciple them in the gospel. I’m grateful for the resources from the Barna Group (their book Barna Trends 2018) and Impact […]
October 18, 2017

How God’s Greatness and Glory is Made Most Powerful: Celebrating the Life of My Beloved Wife, Karen Preston McDaniel 1957-2017

“For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. […]
May 8, 2017

What Post-Christian Thinking People Want: 7) Genuine Faith in Real Life

Martin Luther, famed leader of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, once wrote: “Faith is a living, daring, confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.”  In these days when fear is actively present in our society, one thing that captures the attention of many post-Christian minded people is the way real faith is displayed when challenging trials and heartaches come into Christians’ lives.  People want to see in authentic ways how faith is lived out as they watch believers deal with grief, life-threatening illness, unforeseen catastrophes, and difficulty. […]
February 15, 2017

What Post-Christian Thinking People Want: 3) Passion and Compassion

Back in my youth group days, Sunday nights were regularly spent in gatherings known as “Singspiration.”  One of the popular songs that we sang around the guitar was the familiar, “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” I believe you can take that song line and have a robust discussion around a number of topics that could fill-in the blank: “They’ll know we are Christians by our ________.”  To stimulate our thinking, let me suggest a BIG topic in our post-Christian times: passion and compassion.  Post-Christian minded people often pay attention to people who have zeal for something/someone and […]
January 25, 2017

Reaching a Post-Christian Culture Through the Power of Your Story

“Jesus was a storyteller. He used the language of the day, agricultural language and fishing language, to connect with His followers and disciples.”  -Drew Belz These words, from a recent article in byFaith, remind us that the changing mindsets of our times demand a form of communication that touches people where they live.  People thirst today for relationships, meaning, hope, and encouragement to help them in the struggles that they face.  And oftentimes personal storytelling and its real-life effects provide inspiration and courage along the way.  Stories present us with the lives of real people who face real problems and […]