Reinhold Niebuhr: The Serenity Prayer and Its Backstory
You’ve seen it on mugs and magnets: God grant me the serenity… But Reinhold Niebuhr’s original version was grittier — not just serenity, but grace. Not just change what can be changed, but what should. And it wasn’t “grant me” — it was “grant us.” Theologian, activist, realist — Niebuhr gave us a prayer for courage and community, rooted not in certainty, but in grace.
Violence & Grace: The Enduring Voice of Flannery O’Connor
Flannery O’Connor’s fiction doesn’t flinch. Her stories — stark, unsettling and laced with dark humor — press into the tension between human depravity and divine grace. A master of the short story, O’Connor crafted worlds where redemption rarely arrives gently. Instead, it crashes in, disruptive and undeniable. For readers willing to wrestle with faith and fiction in its rawest form, her work remains as urgent and convicting as ever.
The Advent of Humility
Humility was at the heart of Jesus’ life, and it’s the foundation of true Christian faith. But humility isn’t something we achieve by effort — it grows only as a byproduct of marveling at God’s grace. The gospel frees us from self-focus, replacing pride with self-forgetfulness. In a culture bent on proving itself, the quiet strength of humility points us back to the life Christ calls us to live.
Praying for the Impossible
What’s on your heart that feels too big to pray for? Grief and loss often leave us hesitant, yet impossible prayers open the door to God’s unexpected grace.
God Forgiving is God Forgetting
When God forgives, he doesn’t hold on to the past, like many of us have been taught. His forgiveness transforms us, allowing us to release grudges and extend grace to others. As we experience God’s complete forgiveness, we are shaped into people who forgive with the same freedom. This is the power of living in his grace — learning to let go and forgive as we’ve been forgiven.
What is Common Grace?
Common grace is God’s generosity toward all humanity, believers and non-believers alike. It’s what allows for cultural achievements, artistic beauty and the wisdom we find in the world around us.
Seeing The Holy In The Mundane
In the midst of daily routines and unexpected interruptions, we often separate the sacred from the mundane. But what if every moment was a form of worship? What if changing a tire or weeding a garden was just as holy as delivering a sermon? It's a simple yet profound concept: God is in everything — always present, always purposeful — turning even the simplest tasks into acts of divine grace.
The Secret of Supernatural Living — Intent
The path of spiritual growth in the riches of Christ is not a passive one. Grace is not opposed to effort. It’s opposed to earning. People are more active than when they have been set on fire by the grace of God.
The Gospel and Humor
Does the gospel have an effect on our sense of humor? The answer has to be yes—but why and how? The gospel creates a gentle sense of irony. Our doctrine of sin keeps us from being over-awed by anyone (especially ourselves) or shocked by any behavior.
Whatever Issue, It’s Likely None Of Your Business
We butt into other folks’ affairs too often. Even with good intentions, minding our own business often demonstrates way more mercy and grace than trying to play the savior does.
What Was It About Tim Keller?
In a day when too many leaders build their own brand with narrow appeals to their base and pugnacious public critiques of others, Tim Keller couldn’t have been more different.