Quick Backdrop:Quick thought exercise: Besides Mary, Joseph and Jesus, who are the other people who immediately come to mind when you see the words nativity or manger scene?Jesus' birth attracted some interesti...

How has the Bible shaped you?That's not to be a guilt-inducing question, but rather a "How does this work?" question.The amassing of biblical information, while necessary, does not get us closer to God. Bible s...

Quick BackdropCheck this out. Here are the first two verses of the Bible."In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep,...

Quick BackdropWhat's your favorite Bible verse? Write it down on a blank piece of paper. If no verses come to mind, here are a few well-known verses. Feel free to use one of these for this devo.John 3:16Ro...

The BackdropYou've probably heard the phrase: "You only have one opportunity to make a good first impression." This also applies when you are introducing a friend to a group of people (other friends, family, et...

Quick BackdropSeveral times in the Old Testament, we find God's people, Israel, disobeying God. Some instances were worse than others. In fact, toward the end of the Old Testament, God had to send special messe...

Quick Backdrop:This is a second devo in what we're calling a one-chapter wonder series—diving quickly and deeply into a one-chapter book of the Bible. (Click here for the first devo.) This gives us a...

Quick BackdropHere's an idea. Let's start with Scripture and let the Word do the teaching. No intro of an issue. No creative opener. Just a little backdrop info, and then we dive into the Word.You may have noti...

Can you remember your first Bible wow moment?Maybe it was discovering a new detail in a familiar passage, or making a connection between the Old and New Testaments, or observing a simple fact such as "Jude sure...

The BackdropProbably one of the biggest beefs people have against God can be summed up in this question: Why do bad things happen?It's a fair question and a logical conclusion given the nature of God that we kn...