What Does Baptism Do?
By Brian W. Thomas
05/01/26
21mins

What Does Baptism Do?

This is an excerpt from the third chapter of By Water and the Word: God’s Gift of Baptism for You by Brian Thomas (1517 Publishing, 2026), pgs 52-60.
The Tree That Sweetens Every Sorrow
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
04/30/26

The Tree That Sweetens Every Sorrow

Even when the bitter places sink down deep into our bones, the Restorer never relinquishes his grip on you.
A Review of
Amy Mantravadi
Amy Mantravadi
04/28/26

A Review of "To Live Well: To Live Well: Practical Wisdom for Moving Through Chaotic Times" by Alan Noble

To Live Well is therefore not a general advice book, but a message suffused with the gospel.

All Articles

Steve Byrnes
Steve Byrnes
07/04/14

Happy July 4th

We will be watching fireworks and eating traditional combinations of food and drink today, along with many other Americans. While we celebrate this wonderful day when our founding fathers came together to stand against tyranny and oppression, we are thinking about the religious freedom we have in this county.
Rick Ritchie
Rick Ritchie
07/03/14

Life Together Under the Cross (Part 3)

We have to trust that there is value in these conversations. They are not valuable only when they can be counted as a program. And what are most programs but attempts to get us to “act like” Christians at some future point of time?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/27/14

Anniversary of a Dead Marriage: The Painful Lessons of Divorce

Every year, when this day rolls around, I turn over the stones of remembrance that litter my mind, to see what lurks beneath.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/26/14

When Focus on the Family Becomes Idolatry

But what does it mean to love someone or something more than we love Jesus? It means that they who were formed as a gift we transform into a god.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/21/14

The Suicide of a Friend

There is hope and healing for you in Jesus Christ, the God who immersed Himself so deeply in our sufferings that He, too, wept over the death of a dear friend.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/15/14

A Life Worth Living: A Tribute to My Father

From you, Dad, I learned that a man is truly a man when, as Ecclesiastes says, whatever his hand finds to do, he does it with all his might (9:10).
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/13/14

How to Reach Your Full Human Potential

How will they reach this magical moment, this milestone on the journey of life? Perhaps by chasing their dreams, pursuing their passions with a heart wholly devoted to the attainment of whatever goals they set for themselves in life?
Jeff Mallinson
Jeff Mallinson
05/19/14

What's Wrong with Apologetics (Part 1)

Apologetics (providing evidence for one’s faith) is a bad word in some circles. In others, apologetics is an entirely negative enterprise: that is, it only tangles up opponents and exposes their intellectual incoherence while refusing to provide positive reasons to believe in Christianity.
Steve Byrnes
Steve Byrnes
05/12/14

Religious Operating System

What does Steve Jobs have to do with Theology? Very little. But that won’t stop me from trying to make a connection.
Mark Pierson
Mark Pierson
05/09/14

Burial of Jesus and Bart Ehrman

If you haven't seen this video clip yet (and even if you have), it's worth watching (again) regardless of your taste for Colbert's style of humor. In it, he trounces the typically smug fundamentalist-turned-liberal Bible scholar Bart Ehrman, who is so used to being fawned over by members of the media that Colbert's defiance leaves him at a near loss for words.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/07/14

The Phone Number that Could Tell My Life's Story: A Mother's Day Reflection

Perhaps a phone number seems an odd thing to get sentimental about, but I can’t help myself. You see, if that number, and the phone connected to it, could speak, they would tell my life’s story.
Sam P. Schuldheisz
Sam P. Schuldheisz
05/07/14

Legos and Apologetics: Imagination, Art, and Sub-Creation (Part 4)

But there’s more to this movie than excellent Lego graphics and artistic; in other words, imaginative storytelling.
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