The Resounding Witness of a Quiet Life
When was the last time you experienced quiet? For most of us, our daily lives are anything but quiet. We live in a world of non-stop noise, information, entertainment, and distraction. We move at breakneck speeds from one thing to the next, seldom allowing a moment for stillness. And when those rare moments come, Alexa and Siri are always there,...
The Resounding Witness of a Quiet Life
When was the last time you experienced quiet? For most of us, our daily lives are anything but quiet. We live in a world of non-stop noise, information, entertainment, and distraction. We move at breakneck speeds from one thing to the next, seldom...
The Duty of Walking with Thanksgiving
A few months back I took my nine-year-old daughter on a date. Walking to the restaurant, I noticed she was trying to walk in sync with my steps. As she achieved her objective, she happily exclaimed: “Look Daddy, our steps are matching!” That heartwarming sentence got...
Work is Worship
Why do you work? I’d never considered the question until a comment from my son forced me to reflect. I frequently find myself barrelling through our house tidying or opening my laptop to crank out email responses as if it’s a race. My son interrupted one of these...
Christian Community is Hard Work
As a staff member at Providence, Sunday mornings are often equal parts exciting and exhausting. I spend a large portion of my week preparing for our worship services, and seeing the entire congregation gathered together always makes the effort worth it. Between...
Open Door Policy
“I can’t do it. I can’t finish this for you and this is going to have to be my last day. I am really sorry.” These are not the words you want to hear from your contractor when you’re standing in the middle of a gutted kitchen. When we moved into our house, we found a...
Many Members, One Body
When was the last time you stopped to marvel at your hand? Have you ever stood in awe of the 27 bones and over 100 ligaments that God designed to work in complete harmony every second of every day to accomplish even the most simple of tasks? The intricate design of...
By This All People Will Know
“All I know is that you need love, and I’ve got a family.” If you recognize these lyrics, you might be a product of the 90’s. Audio Adrenaline had it right, though. The concept isn’t just nostalgic—it’s biblical. Scriptural Roots The idea that the church is a family...
Discipleship is More Than an Event
Note from the Editor: FOCUS Weekend begins March 1. As the student team prepares for a few days of intense discipleship, Grant Hoover explains the philosophy behind these events, specifically about what they can and can’t do. Discipleship is always happening, even in...
Set Your Face Toward Jerusalem During Lent
We’ve just finished a season of fasting as a church body, and you may be thinking about continuing to fast through Lent this year. While our three weeks of corporate prayer and fasting during Depend have been meaningful as we seek God’s will for the growth of our...
Rescue the Perishing
Editor’s Note: This post was written on the ground last year, during a vision trip to a West Asian city. During the trip, team members prayer-walked the city and asked the Lord to rescue and redeem those who are perishing. “God is great! I bear witness that there is...
Biblical Principles for Divorce and Remarriage
I never imagined I’d be here! I hear these words from friends facing divorce—far too often—and it breaks my heart. I bet you come across these same situations, don’t you? As believers, we are called to love God and to love our neighbor. Dealing with troubled marriages...
Why Study Judges?
This spring, our Women’s Bible Study will be in the book of Judges. This book is familiar to us in parts and pieces; many of us know the stories of Deborah, Gideon, and Samson. But few of us know how those stories fit together in the book of Judges. We rarely stop to...
Growing in the Spiritual Disciplines
It’s happened in almost every small group I’ve been part of for the last twenty years. We have a sweet time of prayer at the end of the group. Men and women split up into gender-specific groups; we share what God is doing in our lives and learn more about each other...
4 Things That Have Changed How I Pray
So, how’s your prayer life? Real talk. How rich is your time with God in prayer? Let me give you a few snapshots of what my prayer life can often look like on any given day. Does any of this sound familiar? When I’m having my quiet time early in the morning, I often...
A Christmas Carol for a Weary World
What makes “O Holy Night” such an iconic and beloved Christmas carol? A wide range of people have recorded it, including Mariah Carey, Josh Groban, David Phelps, Ella Fitzgerald, Weezer, and my personal favorite, The Reign of Kindo. No matter which version of the...
Joy to the World: The Lord is Coming
I have many favorite Christmas carols. One of them is “Joy to the World.” It has such an upbeat tune, and it fills my heart with joy. For many years I thought this song was about Jesus’ birth and the joy it brought to the world. I was surprised to discover that it is...
Recommended Reading for Maturing Disciples
This year our staff and elders are reviving a Providence tradition—a round-up of some of our favorite books. This year’s list looks a little different, though. Rather than books they’ve read in the past year, we asked our staff and elders to recommend books related to...
Advent: Looking Forward
It’s no secret that the best thing about the Advent season isn’t the tinsel and trappings of Christmas, the flurry of gift giving and receiving, or even the joyful celebration of our Savior’s birth. The best part of Advent is not Advent itself, but what it points...
What We’re Thanking God For This Year
Thanksgiving week is upon us! This is a special time to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for. I happen to be writing this the day after the Texas Rangers won their first World Series Championship. I know that there are many who are thankful for this in our...