Christward Collective

When I was fourteen, I picked up a guitar and taught myself to play. I functionally sacrificed my high school education on the altar of seeking to impress girls with my supposed singing/songwriting abilities. I took a guitar to just about every party or gathering to which I went. I could tune it by...

One of my son’s favorite Bible stories is that of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to visit the site where that event took place. As we stood on Mount Carmel and looked across the Jezreel Valley, it was surreal to think of the great altar where God...

As we think about the Protestant Reformation, one topic that I think about often is the intercession of Christ. Regarding this topic, the Westminster Larger Catechism states the following: Q. 55: How doeth Christ make intercession? A: Christ maketh intercession, by His appearing in our nature...

Leading and managing church staff can be one of the most challenging and exhilarating aspects of pastoral ministry. Unfortunately, staff can develop relational tension with other staff or volunteers. They can become resentful or bitter toward the leadership of the church. Sometimes, they can even...

I recently read Ezra 9 in my morning devotions and was struck by the character of Ezra’s sorrow over the sins of God’s people. His grief was intense; it was profound. His sorrow over the sins of God's people had tangible evidences to it and true effects on God’s people. There...

God's word is so rich and full, we will never be able to exhaust its wisdom, instruction, correction, comfort, encouragement and restorative power in this life. There is much in Scripture that we will never experientially appropriate into our lives until God has placed us in a particularly...

The previous two posts in this series argued that one of the reasons we have trouble understanding the Bible is because we do not read it in the ordinary way that books are to be read. We assume that because the Bible is the Word of God (which it most definitely is), and because it is therefore...

"You scratch my back; I'll scratch yours." This familiar idiomatic phrase sometimes simply refers to the way in which people with differing skills and abilities seek to care for one another out of a sense of need and gratitude. However, more often than not, it represents the way in...

Understanding the biblical text in light of the person and work of Christ and eschatological fulfillment in him does not simply provide an additional meaning and application of the text to be added to a non-Christocentric reading. A non-Christocentric approach often yields a fundamentally different...

We are taken, in Matthew 17:1–8, to a setting that only three disciples are allowed to witness––Peter, James, and John. Six days prior, Jesus had forewarned his disciples what to expect once they entered Jerusalem. He described the events of his rejection, crucifixion, and the...