hope

Thirty-one Nashville singers put their voices together to create an uplifting rendition of "It Is Well" to spread hope amid uncertain times.

Hope is a foundational idea in both the Jewish and Christian faiths. In fact, it has been argued that Judaism brought the concept of hope to the world in the first place. When the biblical Abraham lived, the prevailing belief was that the “gods” determined man’s fate. People had no control in changing their destiny. Their fate was left in the hands of the capricious gods. Abraham, however, taught of a loving God with whom anything is possible.

The number of identified coronavirus cases in the US surged past five thousand yesterday. Industries are shutting down and young people are struggling with mandated social distancing.

In PureFlix's new series Restored, former Duck Dynasty star Missy Robertson interviews women who came from difficult backgrounds but found hope when given a second chance in life. 

Yesterday, we discussed a worldview that is competing with the biblical narrative regarding original and personal sin. In this secular view, our culture is dominated by "hierarchies and power structures built around race, class, gender, sexual identity and so on."

There are seasons in our lives that feel and look like winter. A situation might appear hopeless or a dream might seem dead. But it is precisely during these times that, beneath the surface, God is at work and new life is pouring through our veins.

There is a strain of apocalyptic doom in all of Christianity. Both Old and New Testaments encourage readers to pay attention to the world around them and to be alert for signs of divine activity, especially for the time of God’s coming judgment. The Apostle Paul warned that “the Lord will come like a thief in the night” and that Christians must be “alert and sober.” While expressly forbidding his disciples to wait on the end times, Jesus, in his great eschatological discourse in the Gospel of Mark, told his disciples: “Be on guard. Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.”

About 400 ministry leaders filled a sold-out auditorium at the Billy Graham Center for GC2: Facing Hard Truths and Challenges of Pastoral Ministry, focused on the topics of leadership, burnout and mental health. Another 77 churches around the world live-streamed the event, according to Stetzer.