What to Do When Things Don’t Sit Right?
Have you ever felt unsettled by something—a conversation, a decision, or even a passage in the Bible? Intuition, our ability to quickly sense and assess, is a powerful gift. But as helpful as it can be, intuition can also mislead us, especially in our spiritual lives. What do we do when God’s word challenges our feelings or instincts? This article explores how progress in faith often means embracing discomfort, trusting God’s truth over our emotions, and growing through what doesn’t sit right.
A New Study on Spanking
Spanking is a challenging topic in today’s parenting landscape, and within our church, it’s sometimes seen as unusually emphasized. At last year’s Parenting Conference, we discussed spanking openly, as many parents struggle to talk about it yet are curious about its role in raising children. Reflecting on my own journey, I now see the value of addressing this practice clearly and without shame. Grounded in biblical wisdom and supported by recent studies, this article explores why many Christian parents view spanking as beneficial, emphasizing the need for it to be done with love, self-control, and a commitment to guiding children in truth.
Still Stuck in a Pornography Addiction? Try This
Last year, Pastor Nate outlined three key strategies for overcoming sin—gospel, community, and behavior—in his article, “What Should I Do if My Husband is Addicted to Pornography?” This summer, I saw these principles in action as I led a group of men through Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace. By applying these strategies, the men made significant progress and have remained porn-free for over three months.
Reading List
Editor's note: To mark the end of Dr. Rob Rayburn’s “My Life in Great Books” series, we thought it fitting to compile a comprehensive list of his recommendations—all 152 of them. Dr. Rayburn is arguably the most well-read minister in our presbytery, and anyone who has had the privilege of hearing him preach or lecture can attest to his vast knowledge. If he recommends a book, you can be sure it’s worth your time. Why not print out this list and start working your way through it?
My Life in Great Books: Books to Die With
Through the years, I have thought about what books would sit on my bedside table as I came to die, added books to my list or subtracted them, and then, in the providence of God, had the opportunity to put my choices to use.
My Life in Great Books: Books Likely to be Unfamiliar to Presbyterians
Other Christian traditions have also produced enormous libraries of Christian books, and it shouldn’t surprise us that some very special and valuable books will be found where Presbyterians would be unlikely to go looking.
Three Rules for Succeeding in College
Studies are important, and so is preparing for the responsibilities on the other side of your diploma, but Jesus warns that you can gain the whole world and forfeit your soul, so I’m eager to give you advice about the latter.
My Life in Great Books: Poetry
Poetry must be a very important, even essential, means of human communication because there is so much of it in the Word of God. Certain subjects require it, or, at least, only poetry can do them full justice.
My Life in Great Books: Prayer
As you may know, Christians have not all thought about prayer in the same way, nor have they practiced prayer in the same way. There are a vast library of books on prayer and reading these books will be a great encouragement in the life of prayer.
How to Talk to Your Teens About Their Sexual Sin
How do you help a teen deal with the shame of sexual sin? How do you talk with your teen when they do sin sexually?
Train Your Teen to Use Tech Wisely
Your role as a parent is not simply to allow some things and not others, nor to enforce rules. Especially as your child enters the teenage years, your role is to train your child in making wise choices.
Contemplation and Action: Twin Beams of the Christian Life
The ministry and the spiritual life belong together. … When our ministry does not emerge from a personal encounter, it quickly becomes a tiring routine and a boring job.
Guiding a Child Through Repentance
These kinds of conversations happen regularly for every parent—from the time that their children start talking until they move out. One of the most important disciplines for Christian parents is to use these conversations as a time to lead children to Christ.
Rule of Life, Part 2: How to Make and Follow One
A Rule is about planning or organizing your life around your goals as a Christian. It’s drawing a line backward from who you want to be to what you are doing now to become that person.
Rule of Life, Part 1: What Is a Rule of Life?
As our culture descends further and further into the mindless void of technology and media consumption, more and more people are grasping for some structure to help them direct their lives in meaningful ways. And Christians are looking for structures that help them direct their lives Godward.
Are the “Sons of God” Angels?
Are the “sons of God” worshipers of Yahweh who have intermarried with pagans, or are they angels who have gone into human women? How can we decide which interpretation is the right one?
My Life in Great Books: Sermons
In this seventh installment in our series we come to another type of book that has been published throughout virtually the entire history of Christian publishing: sermons. Throughout the ages, many Christian books have been, in fact, the publication of sermons, often a series of sermons.
Let’s Think About Alcohol
Christians in the Reformed tradition have tended to have a culture of liberty around these substances, emphasizing how they are gifts from God that should be received with thanksgiving, rather than condemned because of legalism. How should we, as Christians, think about alcohol?
Learn Through Your Body: Lenten Opportunities
Lent is a season for the body. Through the imposition of ashes and cycles of fasting and feasting, Lent kneads—through our bodies, into our souls—truths we cannot live without.
My Life in Great Books: Spiritual Life
The great works of Christian devotion are classics precisely because they put timeless truth in memorable form. These books reproduce the lessons their brilliant authors learned from observing their own lives and the lives of others with Holy Scripture in hand.