In this excerpt from Tidings of Comfort and Joy: 25 Devotions Leading to Christmas, Mark Yarbrough shares a reflection about the promises Jesus fulfills as the eternal king of God’s people. In this recent interview with Yarbrough, he explains how a devotional provides structure for reflection during this season: My best buddy in kindergarten was a
Read more
Six Decades of Wisdom from J. I. Packer
J. I. Packer was one of the most widely respected Christian writers of the twentieth century. Author of over forty books and named one of the most influential evangelicals by Time magazine and the readers of Christianity Today, Packer’s impact is immense. Now, in Pointing to the Pasturelands: Reflections on Evangelicalism, Doctrine & Culture, decades
Read more
Jesus, the Great Serpent Stomper
In this excerpt from Tidings of Comfort and Joy: 25 Devotions Leading to Christmas, Mark Yarbrough shares a reflection on the connections between the serpent in the garden of Eden and Jesus’ ultimate victory over death. In a recent interview with Yarbrough, he named this chapter his favorite from his new Christmas devotional: For a
Read more
How Do Christians Live in a Digital World?
In this excerpt from How Do We Live in a Digital World?, C. Ben Mitchell examines some opportunities and challenges Christians and the church are presented with while living in a digital world. There is exponentially more content on the internet today than in 1991, when the first webpage appeared. In terms of volume, the
Read more
Timely Answers to Timeless Questions
The Questions for Restless Minds series applies God’s word to today’s issues. Each short book faces tough questions honestly and clearly, so you can think wisely, act with conviction, and become more like Christ. With world-renowned New Testament scholar D. A. Carson as Series Editor, the 17 volumes in the series cover a wide range
Read more
A Biblical Foundation for Understanding Baptism
Talk about baptism, and you’re immediately plunged into arguments. Whom should we baptize—professing converts or infants? How should we baptize—by immersion, pouring, or sprinkling? Why do we baptize—as a sign of God’s claim or as a convert’s public confession of faith? What does baptism do—nothing, something, everything? If it does something, how long does it
Read more
The Palms, the Temple, and the Nations
This post was written by Esau McCaulley and originally published by Christianity Today in March 2018. The black Baptists of the South are not known for their adherence to a liturgical calendar, but we do know Palm Sunday and Easter. Palm Sunday is the tremor before the earthquake of our resurrection celebration, the birth pangs. Palm Sunday,
Read more
On the Festival of Christ’s Nativity
This post was written by Thomas Howard and originally published in Christianity Today in December 1973. The most astounding and the most familiar story of all is the story of the Nativity. And this very familiarity may give us trouble, from time to time. We feel as though we ought to be perpetually awestruck by a tale
Read more
Christ and Calamity Wins Award of Merit in CT’s Book Awards
Even though it was written and released with our current moment in mind, we always believed Christ and Calamity would become a lasting balm for believers. Speaking pastorally to our suffering and uncertainty during a global pandemic has the same foundations in faith, no matter what calamities — big or small — we may face.
Read more
The Poverty of Christmas
This post was written by Katelyn Beaty and originally published in Christianity Today in December 2015. We don’t believe in Christmas anymore. We believe in Christmas gatherings, Christmas shopping, and Christmas recitals, of course, and even Christmas outreach events and Christmas acts of charity. If you are reading this issue of CT while fighting tryptophan-induced sleep, you
Read more