In this excerpt from All Things Together, pastor and author Heath Hardesty shows readers how Jesus reshapes our imagination to make us his faithful apprentices.

Church music on Sunday mornings is not performance but participation. God, in his mercy, designed worship so that every praise directed toward him would lift our spirits in the process. 

We come again and again, hungry for mercy, weary for rest, ready for direction. Every day, he invites. Every day we decide.

The voices that influence us most must do more than say beautiful things. They should be from people who live beautiful lives.

As we imitate Christ, we pray that our children do the same. Not from shame. Not from guilt. But for the glory of God.

If we want to follow Jesus and have a life that reflects his character and heart, the surest way to do so is to deeply root our lives in a gospel-centered local church.

Our welcomes, our calls to worship, deserve the same level of intentionality as our song selections and sermon preparation. It is our first declaration of Jesus and invitation to Jesus, and all that follows in a worship service backs it up and builds on it.

When kept in their proper place, sports can serve as an echo to the grand stories we were created for.

Whatever losses we perceive to be losing on the discipleship road will always pale in comparison to what we will gain in Christ.

In this excerpt from The Man You’re Meant to Be, John Simons shows men how self-examination is both for their good and God’s glory.

I’d preached what seemed like dozens of applications on being the church, but nothing sizable happened until I preached with love, and members seized the opportunity to then walk in love.

Christ’s kingdom does not run on youth and beauty; it runs on faithfulness.