#stephen witmer

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Keep the Gospel at Your Fingertips

The death of Jesus is supremely important — but we often lose track of it among a thousand daily thoughts. How can we remember what we know?

Some months ago, my church installed a new security system. One day soon after, I entered the building, unaware that the system was active. To my surprise and consternation, a panel by the door began to count down. If I didn’t enter my personal code, an alarm would sound. Sweating bullets, I tried desperately to remember the code. I couldn’t. Time expired. An alarm began to sound, making it even harder to think. I could imagine the headline: “Pastor Arrested Entering Own Church.”

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Will I Ever Change? Fresh Hope for the Spiritually Stuck

Anyone who has battled sin has been tempted to ask, Will I ever change? If you are in Christ, you are not as stuck as you feel.

by Stephen Witmer | Years ago I got stranded with a few friends and strangers in the elevator of a tall building. We waited for help to arrive, chatting awkwardly and laughing nervously. I’m not claustrophobic and don’t remember feeling terror. But I definitely felt helpless. It was clear that we were...

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When Shame Keeps You Away

by Stephen Witmer | Some of us are unsure of God’s full acceptance. We suspect he’s disappointed with our best efforts. We live with low-grade guilt, feeling like we’ve never really pleased him...

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Preach Like a Poet

Good preachers avoid expressing beautiful truth in boring language. They cherish words. They deploy metaphors. They preach from the imaginat

Pastors should preach like poets (and like SpaceX engineers). Unfortunately, some pastors preach more like technical writers — too much exacting clarity and not enough exuberant curiosity. Others preach like Jackson Pollock painted — lots of vibrant energy but little clear specificity. Neither approach propels God’s people to where they need to be. All energy and no order? The rocket explodes on the launchpad. All order and no energy? The rocket remains on the launchpad.

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He Satisfies Our Hunger with Holiness

Jesus cares not only (or even mostly) about our thoughts and deeds. He cares about what we crave — and he wants us to crave righteousness.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6)

When I was growing up, my family shared our daily evening meal at 5:30pm. The aroma of supper began to waft through the house half an hour before. When we heard the call “Supper’s ready! Come to the table!”

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No Service for Jesus Is Small

Most of our days are filled with mundane tasks and chores. But when we act from Jesus’s goodness and for his glory, even little deeds grow g

Most of us live most our lives doing mostly mundane things. We might experience a few pivotal, defining moments in life. But most days we don’t get married, receive a positive pregnancy test, or achieve a breakthrough in our field. Most days, we’re commuting, studying, parenting, working, doing the dishes, mowing the lawn, or paying the bills.

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Rejoice Up, Out, and In: A Pattern for Everyday Praise

True praise may begin in private, but it doesn’t stay there. It rejoices to be overheard and gladly invites others to join.

I will bless the Lord at all times;      his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord;      let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me,      and let us exalt his name together! (Psalm 34:1–3)

Some Bible passages are helpful not just because of what they tell us but because of how they help us understand what the rest of the Bible tells us. Psalm 34:1–3 does just that. These three short verses provide a framework for understanding how human praise of God works best. 

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Life Will Not Get Easier

“Life will get easier if . . .” But will it really? What if it doesn’t? Truer, sweeter, more hopeful responses to hardship await us in Scrip

There’s a lie we all want to believe — even against all available evidence. It trades on our God-given capacity for hope. It tempts even those with impeccable theology. It lures us in and then leaves us in the lurch. It goes like this: “Life will get easier if I just make it past this current challenge.”