A 12-year-old girl is being praised for her courage after helping save her friend during a medical emergency in the ocean. Her quick thinking and bravery made all the difference in a frightening moment.

There are moments at night when my brain refuses to quiet down. Worries flit around. Fears arise. Or memories catch me in a loop of “what ifs.” At those times, I can either restlessly toss and turn or stare at the ceiling. Yet I often think about how those nighttime awakenings can prompt me to talk to the Lord. He is not asleep and will not grow annoyed at my questions or a simple plea to help me rest. The struggle to fall asleep, then, becomes an opportunity to pray.Throughout the history of the church, mornings and evenings have often served as essential times of prayer. Followers of Christ around the world join one another in a regular rhythm of prayer, talking to the Lord at the beginning and end of each day. Hence, we have the Daily Office with Morning and Evening Prayer, as well as the practice of early and late devotional times. Not only does it make a difference to begin our days with the Savior, but also our nights. These historical practices stem from the biblical example of individuals regularly praying at set times. For example, Daniel talked to God regardless of his situation, kneeling at key moments in the day to commune with the living Lord (Daniel 6:10). Jesus also made it a habit to get away to pray to the Father during the early mornings as well as long into the night (see Matthew 14:23 and Luke 6:12).If we are to “pray continually” as Scripture encourages (1 Thessalonians 5:17), then we can continue our conversation with the Lord during the moments before we fall asleep, or as we struggle to sleep. Doing so will help quiet our restless minds, bringing peace where anxiety often prevails.Why Should Christians Pray at Night?Evening prayer gives Christians a way to lay down the day before God. It helps turn restless thoughts into conversation with the Lord, reminds us that He is awake when we are weary, and teaches us to receive sleep as an act of trust rather than one more struggle to manage alone.These eight evening prayers are designed to help believers end the day with peace, trust, and rest in God’s presence. Whether you are anxious, grateful, exhausted, or struggling to sleep, these prayers offer simple ways to bring your thoughts, fears, and hopes before the Lord at night.The following eight prayers invite us into an ancient practice of the saints–one that enables us to end our days in the calming presence of our Lord and rest in the knowledge of His love.Photo Credit: CanvaPro

5 Ways Your Body Talks to You (And What to Do about It)

Both in theology and in practice, we’ll get ourselves into trouble by picking between two equally true ideas. We make enemies of what should be friends. For example, should we highlight divine transcendence or immanence? Is it better if our theology is Trinitarian or Christ-centered? Ought we to focus on the “objective” or the “subjective” sides of Christian life? Do we need to think of the church as universal or as local? The list could go on and on. But why pick? The mark of a good theologian (whether armchair or academic) isn’t simply affirming the “right things” but the ability to uphold multiple aspects of scriptural truth and not just pick the one that seems most useful at the time. Take the classic matter of how divine and human agency relate: Some people so highlight God’s sovereignty that human response appears irrelevant, while others so focus on individual agency that they appear to devalue or ignore God’s presence, primacy, and power. While I was researching and writing a theology of Christian life, I found myself right in the middle of these tensions, wrestling with how to uphold multiple biblical truths rather than pick between them. We can summarize Christian life as a response to the love of God. To unpack that in a simple but nonsimplistic way, we need to recognize multiple layers to that human response. Theology of Life After some years thinking through this basic idea of what this response to the love of God looks like—yes, I’m that slow—I finally framed a theology of Christian life in three sentences: Thesis: Christian life is a response to the love of God. Underlying Theology: The triune God not only first loved us, but the incarnate Son also first loved God for us. We (corporately and personally) respond to God’s love as those who have been united to Christ by the Spirit. Those brief statements describe a Christ-centered, ecclesially grounded, and personal response to God’s love. Let’s unpack this more. I think of the human response to the love of God as three strands of a rope: Messiah, ecclesia (church), and ego (me). These three cords together allow our understanding and experience of Christian life to be Christ-centered and subjectively engaged, while also ecclesially anchored. Trying to pick only one from among them is a false and destructive choice. Threefold Cord Ecclesiastes 4:12 tells us that “a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” I’m proposing that a biblical account of Christian life will keep in mind this threefold dynamic of the human response to God’s love. 1. Christ The objective reality and foundation is outside of us (extra nos). He’s the faithful One who lived, died, rose, ascended, and ever lives as our Mediator. And this Messiah not only receives our worship but also leads it. Jesus of Nazareth, God incarnate, leads and grounds the human response to love God. This is done outside of me (objectively) and yet by one of us—a true human. As the God-man, Christ isn’t just the object of our worship but the leader of our worship. This doesn’t undermine the cross’s centrality but rather frames it within the wonder of the incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, and ongoing session of Christ. Jesus perfectly loves God and neighbor, and he does this on our behalf. As the God-man, Christ isn’t just the object of our worship but the leader of our worship. Since Christian life is a response to the love of God, and Jesus is the One who leads that response, from first to last we encounter love and grace in him. As those united to our Messiah, we’re also recipients of his life and activity. We can be so familiar with the central doctrines of Christianity that we stop seeing them, so don’t miss this: Jesus doesn’t just love us—he loves God for us. Christ is both God’s ultimate expression of love for humanity and humanity’s ultimate expression of love for God. Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, the gospel is so much bigger and more beautiful than we tend to realize. 2. Ecclesia (Church) Ecclesia is the communal context, the body of Christ. Union with Christ puts us into union with his people. Since the body of Christ corporately follows its head, to speak of Christian life apart from this larger communal framework contradicts biblical descriptions. One’s Christian life is necessarily connected not only to Christ but also to his people. We in the West easily make individualistic interpretations even of the biblical image of the body without realizing it. For example, we talk about being a “hand” or an “ear” as if the body of Christ is like Mr. Potato Head, but the biblical image of the body is more organic and interdependent than that. If you cut an ear off a real body, the ear dies! Only with a strong understanding of corporate union and communion will we appreciate how vital our corporate response to God’s love is for our Christian life. 3. Ego (Me) We also need to reckon with the personal, subjective dimension (I trust, I obey, I follow Jesus). Christian life includes a deeply personal and particular relationship with God. As well as working outside of me, Christ also works in me (subjectively) by his Spirit. A biblical account of Christian life avoids radical individualism while affirming personal involvement. A biblical account of Christian life avoids radical individualism while affirming personal involvement. Although Paul describes faith as a gift from God (Eph. 2:8), it’s also clear that God doesn’t believe for us; we believe. I am called to believe, to be baptized, to swallow the bread and wine, to trust, and to follow the Savior in the little and the big things. While Christ is the center, our ego—the “I”—isn’t lost but properly centered in Christ through union with him and his people. All Christians would do well to have a much thicker account of Christian life than we currently do. This doesn’t require that we discover new theology but that we acquire a deeper understanding of classic orthodox theology that has guided the church for millennia. May God give us a fresh vision for this threefold dynamic essential to a theology and experience of Christian life.

The last Christian bookstore within driving distance from me closed in 2019, even before the world shut down for COVID-19. That has made the process of finding good curricula for Sunday school and small groups much harder. There’s just something about holding the book in your hand that aids decision-making. I can’t reopen your local Christian bookstore, but I can help by recommending some recent curricula. I’m highlighting 10 options from various evangelical publishers that may serve you well, whether you’re looking for an individual study, a resource for your small group, or a discipleship tool for your local church. 1. John Starke, Rebecca McLaughlin, et al., Making Sense of Us: Exploring Six Stories That Shape How We Live (TGC) (Amazon | TGC Store) I’m planning on using this study guide and video curriculum for a seven-week small group study this summer. The content is timely. Keller Center fellows like Sam Chan, Rebecca McLaughlin, and Glen Scrivener highlight significant cultural narratives that shape our worldview in ways we often miss. The videos are stunning. The questions in the book are thought-provoking. This curriculum will serve any age, but it would be especially helpful for teens or young adults. 2. Winfree Brisley and Sharonda Cooper, Turn Your Eyes: A Bible Study on the Psalms (TGC/Crossway) (Amazon | TGC Store) This book was published to help women prepare for TGCW26, so each of the eight lessons lines up with one of the conference keynotes. Not everyone could make it to Indianapolis to enjoy learning together. However, this study is a great way to experience a taste of the TGCW experience with your local church. More significantly, it’s a way to understand selected Psalms more deeply. 3. Wendy Alsup, Crying Out to God: Experiencing Grace Through Psalms of Lament (TGC/IVP) (Amazon | TGC Store) Becoming a Christian doesn’t make the difficulties of life disappear, but it does give us hope. And, because God is gracious, he gave us the psalms of lament. When we’re suffering, those psalms give us the words to express our emotions to him. In this eight-week curriculum with accompanying videos, Alsup equips believers to suffer well. 4. Kelly Needham and Jimmy Needham, See for Yourself: How to Study Your Bible With Confidence and Joy (Lifeway) (Men’s Version: Amazon | Women’s Version: Amazon) As a pastor in a local church, I’m always on the lookout for resources to help disciple new believers. See for Yourself is a 10-week video curriculum that can be done in a group, in a pair, or individually. The Needhams each explain what the Bible is, provide concrete tips for studying Scripture more carefully, and exhibit an infectious love for God’s Word. There is little content difference between the men’s and women’s versions, but each presenter (Jimmy for the men and Kelly for the women) contextualizes for the target audience by selecting different illustrations and examples. 5. Jen Oshman, Very Good: What the Bible Says About Being a Woman (Lifeway) (Amazon | TGC Store) As a husband and a father of two daughters, I’m regularly stunned by the demands our culture makes on the women in my life. Oshman’s seven video lessons were filmed before a live audience of women, which adds energy to her teaching. She tackles hard questions about identity, family roles, and the ministry of women in and to the church. This is an encouraging resource from a complementarian perspective. 6. Zachary Groff and Richard Phillips, Revelation: The Lamb upon His Throne (P&R) (Amazon) The Reformed Expository Bible Studies series is a consistently solid, text-based resource for digging deep into God’s Word and applying it to daily life. This 13-lesson study on Revelation can be used by an individual or in a group setting to get at the meat of John’s Apocalypse without getting bogged down in charts. 7. Lydia Brownback, Hebrews: Drawing Near to Our Great High Priest (Crossway) (Amazon | TGC Store) Hebrews is one of the most important books of the Bible to help us understand how the Old and New Testaments fit together. Brownback works through that anonymous text with characteristic care and insight. This 10-week text-only study doesn’t unpack everything the letter to the Hebrews has for us, but it’ll certainly whet your appetite for more. 8. Katie McCoy, Forever for Our Good: A Study of the Book of Deuteronomy (Lifeway) (Amazon) McCoy is an excellent theologian and also a good teacher, both of which come through in this eight-session video curriculum. Deuteronomy may be on the road less traveled for many Christians, but this curriculum brings the fifth book of the Bible to life. McCoy reads the law of Moses christologically, showing how the law’s promises are fulfilled in the new covenant and illuminating the ways the earliest Christians read the Old Testament. 9. Joanna Kimbrel, You Are Satisfied: Devotions for Your Longing Heart (New Growth Press) (Amazon | TGC Store) The whole world tells us we should long for more, but what if we already have what we need in God? That’s the question at the heart of Kimbrel’s study. She provides eight weeks of daily devotionals designed to help you find satisfaction in God’s Word, his person, and his plan. This book will help individuals or groups become more satisfied with what God has done for them already. 10. Sharonda Cooper, Wisdom for Parenting: A Five-Week Devotional Study (P&R) (Amazon | TGC Store) This accessible study is geared toward mothers, but there’s a lot of wisdom for everyone. Wherever you are in the parenting journey, this book has something for you. The book isn’t about the practical “how-to” of parenting but helps readers understand who they should become as they raise their children. It offers biblical encouragement whether you’re slogging through hard times or celebrating your child’s latest success.