Aaron Armstrong's Blog, page 3

The Obvious Part of Studying the Bible We Forget

Studying the Bible can be both easy and exceptionally challenging. I’ve shared this at different times and in different places, but there is a sense in which the Bible can be read in much the same way you might read any other book. It has a flow that you pick up on as you become familiar with it. It has a storyline that carries from one book to the next. We can use the basic rules we intuitively employ when reading a novel, blog post, biography, history book, or anything else you can imagine.

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Yes, We Should Thank God for Our Meal

For as long as my kids have been alive, we’ve made family dinners a high priority. For nearly 18 years, with rare exceptions, we’ve all gathered around the table to eat and talk together. It’s where we read through family devotional books when the kids were small, discussed what we were thankful for, and tried to talk about big ideas. It is also where we have a regular opportunity to pray together.

When We Sometimes Miss the Point About What to Pray

As Christians know, prayer matters. It’...

The Beauty of Reading the Bible Deeply and Widely

As those who’ve known me for any reasonable length of time know, I don’t believe there’s really a wrong way to read the Bible. (Except for not reading it at all or reading verses without regard for their context, of course.) We need to both deeply read single books of the Bible and read the Bible in big chunks. Both are essential to our experience of Scripture. Why? Because they feed off of one another. Together, they help us identify patterns and themes through individual books and across Scri...

Be the Kind of Person the World Needs

As one year comes to a close and another begins, many of us reflect on our past goals and experiences. Maybe you planned to read the Bible more consistently than in years past. Perhaps you set out to read one book each month. Maybe you committed to a new exercise regimen. Perhaps you chose to continue your education. What were those things for you? Whatever they were, I hope that you feel a genuine sense of accomplishment—and of gratitude—as you look back on them. These are good things worth ce...

The Peculiar Good News of Christmas

Every Advent and Christmas season, Christians around the world our attention turns to the most astounding event imaginable: the birth of Jesus. The incarnation of God the Son, the Word who was with God and was God in the beginning (John 1:1-2). The specific moment in history when this eternal Word became a human being.

But let’s be honest: For the rest of the world, Christmas is about presents and a general sense of goodwill and cheer. It is unmoored from what it commemorates. And what Chri...

Beware knowledge without wisdom

Back in the Spring, I shared that I would be starting seminary again. With two courses completed and the next one about to begin, I can safely say that I am glad I’m doing this. It has been good for me in many ways. But in this short time, I’ve already been reminded that a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

Knowledge is good

Now, here’s what I mean by that: Knowledge is a good thing. We ought to pursue growing in knowledge about everything we can. Knowing how the world work...

My favorite books of 2024

It’s that time of year when book enthusiasts everywhere humblebrag about the books we enjoyed! I am, of course, no exception to this, with this being my fourteenth annual compilation.

As always, my reading spans genres and mediums, so this list does not represent a single focus. Some were published before 2024. Even so, I think they’re pretty rad. So, without further ado, here are my favorite books of 2024—or at least the ones that most stuck with me.

Faith, Formation, & Spiritu...

Ministry Plans and Prayer Requests for 2025

For many years, ministry planning rarely went much deeper than this: Do whatever the Lord calls me to do. However, as I’ve sought to live, work, and serve sustainably in recent years, my approach to ministry planning has matured. I need guard rails to allow me to be at my best as I seek to follow the Lord’s direction.

In 2024, I began working toward a Master’s Degree through Redemption Seminary. One of the key aspects of the first graded course was understanding your individual calling. Tha...

Give Thanks in the Worst of Times

As regular readers and friends know, this has been a challenging year for our family. It’s been stretching in ways few of us experience outside of loss. And, if I’m being entirely forthright, it’s a year that we’ll be glad to be done with. Which isn’t to say that there hasn’t been anything good, of course. On the contrary, some amazing things have happened—including having the opportunity to write a book for Harvest House. (You’ll hear more about that in the new year.1)

But without a doubt,...

Immaturity, Memorials, and Maturing

Back in 2021, I was hard at work entirely revamping this website. Revamping it is actually understating it: I was rebuilding it from the ground up. During that process, I spent a great deal of time revisiting my blog. There were thousands of articles going back over a decade. As you can imagine, more than a few articles were pretty cringe-worthy. I was still a fairly new Christian back when this began. As a new Christian, I didn’t have the benefits of time and experience sitting with and ponder...