The Banner

Centering Justice in Food Security
11/06/2024

Jodi Koeman recently had an opportunity to visit The Table, an organization in Denver, Colo., that is part of the food justice and community growing project Koeman oversees in her work as Church With Community mobilizer for World Renew.The food justice and community growing project is a grant progra

Seeds, Weeds, and Kingdom Vision
11/06/2024

I’m both captivated and confused by Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field” (Matt. 13:31). Really, Jesus? Are you telling us that the sovereign rule of eternal God—spanning from before the creation of time to the e

Unspoken IV
11/05/2024

The band Unspoken has never garnered big headlines in the Christian music sphere, but that doesn’t mean these guys lack talent. Unspoken proves how talented they are with their fourth studio album, simply titled Unspoken IV. The engaging recording offers soulful, high-energy music with lyrics about

Let's Go! haw ekwa!
11/05/2024

Cree-Metis author and illustrator Julie Flett’s tribute to her son, his friends, and their skateboarding community zings with energy and sings with the possibility of learning and enjoying the skill of skateboarding.In an author’s note, Julie Flett writes, “When I was thinking about the story Let's

Can We Really See God at Work?
11/05/2024

Can we really see God at work?It’s a common question these days, especially in missional circles, and I suspect that you, like many others, want to see God at work—even long to—but the possibility often seems quite elusive. Can we really see God at work?I believe we can, because I believe the Spirit

Getting Stood Up
11/05/2024

She stood me up. I didn’t get too worked up about it, because it meant I would have some free time to do things I thoroughly enjoy. She had insisted we meet at Agua Caliente Park at 9 a.m., and it was almost an hour after that. She wasn’t responding to texts, so I just sat in the park and enjoyed th

The Bible in a Tree
11/05/2024

Dusk gloomed the back of the plaza where I was walking early one morning. Against the horizon, the shapes of several trees loomed dark, their branches barren and brittle due to winter rest and possibly disease. Never a pretty sight, no matter the season, these trees seemed slated for an appointment

The Elder Brother
11/05/2024

My favorite book by the late Timothy Keller is The Prodigal God (2008). In it, Keller dives into the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), or as Keller calls it, the parable of the two lost sons. For Keller, both the younger brother and the elder brother in Jesus’ parable are lost, but in dif

Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible
11/01/2024

This slim volume by German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was first published in German in 1940 before the Nazis banned the theology teacher from publishing. It was later translated and published in English in 1974. Readers will find a spiritual director in Bonhoeffer as he guides them in how to app

The Crown, Season 6
11/01/2024

As a longtime fan of the often profound, but totally soapy-in-a-good-way series The Crown, I wondered how the last season would land with me and other viewers. After all, the past five seasons were anchored by historical events such as World War 2, the Welsh Mining Disaster, and other grave contexts

This Special Blessing for You
11/01/2024

Authors Eric and Meredith Schrotenboers’ catchy, rhyming verse, and illustrator Denise Hughes’s sprightly, cheerful artwork together express the beauty and comfort of the Aaronic Blessing found in Numbers 6:22-27, adapted so young children can better understand its meaning.In a note to parents, the

Classis Watch: Fall 2024
11/01/2024

Two or three times each year, Christian Reformed churches each send representatives to its classes, a regional assembly of churches.Many of the actions taken by classes are governed by the CRC’s Church Order, the rules that govern denominational life. Here are some of the actions by classes in the p

Clergy Health Initiatives Offer Help for Burned Out and Exhausted Pastors
11/01/2024

The Banner has a subscription to republish articles from Religion News Service. This story by Genevieve Charles was published Oct 11, 2024 on religionnews.com. It has been edited for length and Banner style. The final paragraph, with context for the Christian Reformed Church, has been added.“I’m Exh

In Memoriam: Rev. Jacob Peter Heerema
11/01/2024

Jake Heerema, whose passion was being Jesus to everyone he met, was an ordinary man through whom the Lord did extraordinary things. “He was kind and would go out of his way to connect with people that most of us would overlook,” said his daughter. “Jake was a wonderful, caring brother in Christ,” sa

Churches Serving Churches
10/30/2024

Over nine days in July, a group of 14 volunteers from Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, Calif., caravanned 900 miles to the Navajo reservation in New Mexico to help a fellow CRC in need. The group blessed Crownpoint CRC by fixing windows, renovating a bathroom, and restoring water to

Until Our Time Comes
10/29/2024

In her riveting debut romance novel for adults based on true events, author Nicole Miller offers a glimpse into World War II not often encountered in novels based on that period. In 1939, with Janów Podlaski Stud Farm in Poland as the main setting, Miller explores the traumatic history of how Russia

The Science Behind Your Salad Podcast
10/29/2024

Whether you’re a farmer or just someone who loves to learn, The Science Behind Your Salad podcast offers a unique and insightful look into the world of agriculture, food innovation, and sustainability.One of the things I love most about the podcast is its rhythm—it's a refreshing change of pace from

What Do I Do When I Can’t Honestly Sing a Song in Church?
10/28/2024

Occasionally I cannot honestly sing all the words of a song. With “Amazing Grace,” for example, I would be lying if I sang “How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.” I did not have a Damascus Road experience. What should I do when I cannot honestly sing some lines in church?One

Thankful for Adoption
10/28/2024

My wife and I adopted an infant daughter more than 50 years ago. A couple of years later, we adopted another. They have brought great joy into our lives and are wonderful, caring wives and mothers.When she was quite young, our oldest daughter heard a mention of abortion during a newscast and asked m

The Lost Gifts of the Vanished
10/28/2024

The evening sky was rapidly darkening as my family frantically huddled outside our broken-down van on the rocky shoulder of a busy mountain highway. As smoke streamed from our engine, large semi-trucks continually blasted down the road beside us, going 120 km per hour (about 75 mph).We’d been happil