My struggles have not disqualified me. They’ve made me a witness. 

In short, because Jesus lives, everything matters. And because he lives, I will one day feel his warm embrace and hear his merciful “well done.”

In this excerpt of The Hope of the Resurrection, author Patrick Schreiner shows how the resurrection of Jesus provided the church concrete hope for the Christian and the church community.

Our faith hangs upon an extravagant, world-bending hope for that which we cannot yet see; therefore, Christians of all people should excel at stretching the boundaries of our present reality in every possible direction.

One thing I know for certain is that just as God has freed you from the penalty and power of sin through Jesus’ death and resurrection, one day he will free you from the presence of sin at Jesus’s triumphal return!

God didn’t only gift Zechariah with silence; he gifted him with anticipation…His words, moving from doubt to tentative hope, were given inwardly to God alone, who knew his heart better than he did.

Amongst all the busyness…let us not forget to behold Christ our Lord! Don’t let the hustle and bustle of the holiday season keep you from being intentional about focusing your heart on Christ.

There is personal comfort in Christmas. It’s good, but it ought not to end with us. The comfort of Christ is meant to move through his comforted people to a hurting world.

Hope rooted in Christ doesn’t pretend things aren’t hard. It looks right at the pain and still stands.

Our wasting away is indisputable; these earthly tents will perish. But our hope is not in this life but the next, not this body but our glorified one.

Make space to grieve, but watch for the ways Jesus faithfully shows up in those deep moments of grief.

Our joy might be in a muted shade, but the Holy Spirit is working, and he can fill our hearts with settled confidence in him.