Aaron Armstrong's Blog, page 4

Maybe you should talk to strangers

Most of us were taught as children not to talk to or take candy from strangers. (Except for on Halloween, and then get all the candy you can handle.) There is wisdom in this, of course. But we can also take it too far and not speak to anyone at all. At least, not anyone real.

But what would happen if you put down your phone and asked the person nearest you a question? And I don’t mean something surface-y or small talk-oriented either. (I loathe small talk.) I mean being curious about other p...

Mercy in the Message of Jonah

One of my favorite books of the Bible that I’ve not yet taught through is Jonah. Besides being beautifully and creatively written, it’s a powerful study of God’s character. Throughout the Old Testament, we often read that God is “a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness” (Jonah 4:2 NKJV; Exodus 34:6). Throughout this book’s narrative, this aspect of God’s character is shown repeatedly.

Mercy in His Pursuit

Jonah, despite being a prophet of God, resisted G...

Beware Those Who Would Bind Your Conscience

At the time of this writing, we’re days away from the 2024 presidential election here in the United States. And, if you’re like me, you’re probably exhausted. But even though we’re all tired and want it all to go away, I’ve felt compelled to offer a word—and possibly a challenge—to us all.

But before I get there, keep in mind that I am an immigrant. As I write this, I am ineligible to vote in this election because the citizenship process takes time. I am also from a country where politics st...

Logos Bible Software: AI, Subscriptions, and New Features

I’ve used Logos Bible Software for well over a decade now. Every new edition has brought several amazing features that enhanced my experience. In every role I’ve held over the years—as a small group leader, a teacher, an author, and a student—Logos has been invaluable to me. And now, Logos is moving the way that all software is in our day: toward a subscription model.

Yeah, I know. Whether it’s entertainment, creative tools, or easy-prep meals, so many of us are exhausted by subscriptions—es...

The World Doesn’t Need You to Be Angry

Every so often, I find myself drawn to one specific book of the Bible. No matter how many times I read it, I can’t get away from it. Most often, that’s been the Psalms. But recently, it’s been 1 Thessalonians. While not being one of the more popular epistles, this letter and it’s encouragements for enduring perseverance, questions about anti-Christs, and calls for personal holiness in the last days, is one I’m stuck in (in a good way).

And it’s especially that call to holiness that keeps m...

The Good News in a Difficult Passage

There are some portions of Scripture where the meaning is extremely clear. These are passages that we can understand what its author is communicating with relative ease. Acts 4:12—”And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved” (NET)—does not require a great deal of explanation, for example. The same is true of Acts 16:31, Romans 10:9, and many others.

But some passages are a little more challenging. These passages...

Grief and Gratitude When a Church Ends

On Sunday, September 29th, 2024, my church gathered to worship together for the final time. It was a day we knew was coming, and I don’t just mean in the sense that we’d made the announcement a few weeks earlier.

Throughout 2024, our congregation prayed about what the Lord would have us do as we sought to move past a season of living in survival mode. Perhaps we were to replant or merge with another congregation at some point. Possibly, the Lord was preparing to send more people hungry for deep f...

Is there a better way to respond when sin is exposed?

When a person’s sin is exposed, it is simultaneously tragic and a good thing. The tragic aspect is that evil of any sort has been perpetrated. People have been hurt. Trust has been violated. Harm has been done. Sin is never victimless because it doesn’t exist in a vacuum, something we’re reminded of every time the sin of a Christian with any degree of notoriety is exposed.

The good, of course, is that exposure brings sin into the light. This is true whether its exposure was motivated by inw...

2 Challenges We Face When Relationships Are Disrupted

Whether we admit it or not, all human beings are relational creatures. We need relationships to function and flourish. The people in our lives are essential to our well-being and our witness in the world. After all, if Jesus said we would be known as his disciples by our love for one another, then it means Christianity cannot be fully experienced without other Christians in our lives.

Our relationships matter deeply to our faith. But what happens when those relationships are disrupted? When...

Our Greatest Tool for Reaching the West Again

It’s easy to be discouraged today. The West—especially North America—has largely abandoned any pretense of a morality or cultural identity rooted in Christian values and ethics. Ideas about gender, sexuality, the value of life, death, and everything else under the sun have become so distorted that it’s difficult to know what to do.

Many Christians have been raising the alarm for decades. The Gnostic Empire was preparing to strike back. And all have offered different solutions to the problem....