Christmas is all about lights! Christmas decorations are everywhere. You see them on the street corner. You see them on businesses. And, of course, you see them in virtually every house. And rightly so, because Christmas is a time to celebrate the arrival of the Light of the world—Jesus. Listen to John as he writes about it:   John 1:4-9 “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from...

Gratitude is one of the most transforming attitudes a believer can cultivate. Scripture reminds us, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Gratitude is not dependent on the absence of hardship but on the presence of God. When we choose to thank Him amid trials, our perspective shifts from what we lack to the abundance of His grace. Gratitude opens our eyes to the quiet, continual mercies that sustain us each day. In...

Richard Caldwell, Pastoral Preaching: Expository Preaching for Pastoral Work (Rainer Publishing, 2016). In Pastoral Preaching: Expository Preaching for Pastoral Work by Richard Caldwell, the author makes a compelling case that preaching and pastoral care are inseparable. Caldwell’s central thesis is that if preaching is truly to serve the church, it must be done by the one who shepherds the flock—not merely an orator in front of a congregation. He writes, for example, that “preaching is a...