Showing results for "The Open Door" in Christian Living

For many of us women, inviting people into our lives and homes feels like inviting judgement of our entertaining skills and stress on our already maxed-out schedules. But what if you knew that opening your front door was a simple and radical way to change the world? Jen Schmidt is determined to prove it to you. She has set out to reframe how we think about hospitality and to encourage us to walk a road of welcome in our everyday lives. She aims to shatter the image of model homes and model lives, replacing it with relatable, everyday invitations.

As a teenager, Kristin Berry had heard all the horror stories surrounding foster care and adoption - abuse, neglect, rejection, anger, and misunderstandings. But instead of closing her heart, God opened it wide. This is Kristin's honest, unvarnished story of some of her experiences as a foster parent of 23 children over the course of nine years. What she learned is that living in a foster home is like living with a revolving door. You never know who will arrive or who you will have to say goodbye to. Leaving the door open means there will be heartache and pain, but also adventure and unexpected joy.

Don’t waste your awkwardness. The most difficult subjects in our lives are also the ones that we find most uncomfortable to talk about: divorce, body image, sexuality, pornography, or depression. Our awkward silence reveals the gap that exists between what we are and what we know we should be...

We all long for homes where we can thrive and flourish. What does it take to have a spiritually vibrant household? Don Everts invites us to contemplate what the Bible says about households and consider what a new research project has revealed by pulling back the curtains on everyday households of faith. Original research from the Barna Group and Lutheran Hour Ministries shows that some of the healthiest, most vibrant homes extend beyond the nuclear family and include people that may not be biologically related but feel like family.

Gospel unity creates racial harmony. However, Martin Luther King Jr. once said that the most segregated hour in America is 11 o’clock on Sunday morning. Equipped with the gospel, the church should be the catalyst for reconciliation, yet it continues to ignore immense pain and division.

Why is the message of the cross such an object of offense, stumbling, and foolishness to so many? It is a narrow message that defies human logic in its simplicity. It also reveals that our efforts merit us no place or favor in God’s Kingdom. Yet Bayless Conley shows why the message of the cross is also fundamentally God’s loving open door to mercy, grace, and eternal joy for all who come.