Virginia L. Smith

We have all been there. You walk up to the pulpit, look over the sea of expectant faces, and wonder, Is my sermon going to make a difference in their lives? Will I be able to grab and keep their attention?

In that crucial first minute,…

The word caleber in the title is not misspelled. It is written that way to refer to the excellent example of Caleb, as depicted in Joshua 14:6–14 and Numbers 13:30; 14:6–9, which show that he is a leader of high caliber.

Referring…

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and…

Christopher Yuan, professor-at-large in biblical studies at Moody Bible College, suggests that holiness, especially holy sexuality, is God’s will for everyone. He maintains that the biblical framework reveals (a) our true identity as humans…

Since I started pastoring in 2006, I have faced many difficult situations. In my very first district, a young man whose same-sex relationship had recently ended asked me what the Bible says about homosexuality. I have encountered several…

Picture yourself in the scene in Acts 1:11, approximately 40 days post-Resurrection. Glance at the mist-covered mountains as the sun rises into the blue Jerusalem skies. See the disciples waiting in anticipation. They were expecting something,…

Ash dropped from the man’s cigarette and landed on the shoulder of a young woman in a market in the Montmartre district of Paris. Apparently embarrassed by what had happened he wiped the ash away, apologizing again and again. As he disappeared…

Seventh-day Adventists in the 1960s numbered around 1.55 million worldwide. Tom Ashlock, then an associate in the General Conference Sabbath School Department, wondered what would have happened if the Church had never done any evangelism…