On the sixth day of creation, God created man. And like everything else he created, it was good. Yet shortly after, God made a striking statement: “It is not good for man to be alone.” In response, he created a suitable helper.

This moment in the creation story reveals an important truth about humanity – we were never meant to live in isolation. What was not good for Adam is not good for us either.

The same principle applies to our lives as followers of Christ. God did not design the Christian journey to be walked alone. Instead, he intended for it to be lived out in community with other believers. Genuine Christian community brings incredible strength, encouragement, and support to our faith, which is why it is so important that we intentionally build it and build it well.

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Those who don’t believe in the trinity or the deity of Jesus will often point to verses like these as “gotcha” verses. However, when you dig a little deeper, you see there is no contradiction and no real controversy at all. 

I want to encourage you to take the time to study the context of what you are reading. When you do, you will begin to understand Scripture a lot better, and most importantly you won’t add meaning to verses that were never truly intended in the first place.

Attempting to describe America as a Christian nation causes you to think of Christianity from a nationalistic point of view. Here is the problem. God doesn’t save nations, he saves individuals. 

If you are a new believer, then prayer may be a brand new practice. And let's be honest, prayer can feel strange at first. Author Clarence Haynes walks through the basics of prayer and why it is so crucial to building your relationship with the Lord.

Part of beginning your walk with Christ, for many, involves finding and getting connected to a local church. But depending on your background, that can be incredibly intimidating! With so many denominations and differences, where is a new believer to start? Author Clarence Haynes walks us through the most important things to look for in a church.

Accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is the most significant moment in a person's life. But it often comes with some questions. Journey through Scripture with Clarence Haynes as he explores just a few of God's incredible aspects and what these mean for the new believer.

Do black people get referenced in the Bible? We don't ask this question nearly enough, but it tells us something vital about the Bible's view of ethnicity.

You simply cannot go from fighting with your brother or sister and then coming to God in prayer; that will not work. This goes against the very heart of prayer.

How do you begin an article like this? I believe you do it by making a definitive, declarative statement. As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we have a lot to be thankful for. As the old song used to say, count your blessings, name them one by one. That is the right place to begin when writing about beautiful hymns to sing this thanksgiving. Aren’t you glad that for us as believers, we celebrate thanksgiving all year round because every day is a day to give God thanks?

One thing I know is that thankful people sing. When there is joy in your heart and you are enraptured with a spirit of thankfulness, you will sing. Today I want to help you give thanks to the Lord in song.

This is a moment in our nation where we stop to say thanks. I am going to share with you 15 beautiful hymns to sing this Thanksgiving. I will give the disclaimer now, my list might be just a little bit biased because these are some of my favorite songs, but I believe they will be a blessing to you anyway.

These are not ranked in any order, and contain both classic and contemporary songs. Also, because I appreciate all types of music, I decided to include different styles because thanksgiving hymns comes from all different genres of music. I have also included links to the songs, and where possible, tried to give you the original versions recorded by the artist who wrote it. I pray this is a blessing to you and reminds you to be thankful every day for all God has done for you.

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Scripture reminds us of the importance of giving thanks. As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to help put you in a posture of thankfulness. You would think as believers this would be easy, but sometimes it is important to refocus our hearts and minds on why we need to be thankful. To aid in this process, here are ten Scriptures that will help you reflect on thankfulness. 

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It is rare that events that happened 600 years ago can still affect our lives today. But that is exactly what happened in the Protestant Reformation. This was a movement in the 1500’s that focused on separation and distinction, and it drew clear doctrinal lines in the church that are still present today. There are things every Christian should know about the Protestant Reformation, which I will share with you, but I also want to ask if the church needs another reformation today.

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“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing” (Psalm 23:1).

This verse is the beginning of one of the most popular chapters in the entire Bible, Psalm 23. Many people who may not even read the Bible are familiar with the words of this psalm. One thing I have always realized is being familiar does not mean understanding. Regardless of how many times you may have read this psalm, I don’t want you to miss anything. Hopefully, you can bring fresh eyes to this passage and see the timeless truths that have been revealed here. So come with me as we walk through Psalm 23.

You Lack Nothing

This psalm begins by telling you a truth that we can easily make light of. Because God is your shepherd, you lack nothing. Let me repeat that, so it really sinks in.

The Lord is your shepherd, so you lack nothing.

This does not mean you have everything you want; it means God ensures you have everything you need. If you really believe that you lack nothing, this has the power to change your life. Imagine looking at every situation in life with the assurance that, since God is your shepherd, everything you need is found in him. Again, just let that settle in your heart.

However, the psalm does not stop there; it gets better. As you progress through Psalm 23, there are 13 things David identifies which you can tie back to the opening verse. Here are 13 things you never have to worry about lacking in, because the Lord is your shepherd.

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Cornelius the centurion is mentioned only in Acts 10, but his story has implications that have affected church history throughout the ages.