Bryan Johnson has one chief purpose in life: not dying.

The 47-year-old tech entrepreneur notes that immortality is “the most fundamental of all human desires” and that most world religions focus on some version of it. But now, he believes, something like immortality is “technically, potentially possible.”

Johnson explains: “What I’ve done as a project is I’ve said: Can I slow down my speed of aging to the greatest extent of any human on the planet? And can I then eliminate all the sources of death? Can I become…

“Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!” we often sing. But what does it mean to be redeemed? Think about two New Testament words that our English versions usually translate “redeem.”

One word means “to buy out” (Gr. exagorazō, from agorazō, to buy). It was used, for instance, when someone purchased a slave in order to set him free. It is this word that Paul uses when he says, “You have been bought with a price” (6:20; 7:23). Having been redeemed from slavery to sin, we must not allow ourselves to become…

A Lonely Ember

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services
regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, one of the elders decided to visit
him. It was a chilly evening. The elder found the man at home alone, sitting
before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for the elder’s visit, the man welcomed
him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited.
The elder made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he
contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs. After some
minutes, the elder took the fire…

“It’s Just Singing”

Years ago the church we were a part of would occasionally devote a service to
hymn singing. One good, knowledgeable brother who was usually faithful to
attend the assemblies, would choose not to come then, because, as he put it, “It’s
just singing.” I have also heard people say, “Some people like to sing, but that’s
just not my personality.”
How would you answer this question: “Why should we sing in worship to God?”
A quick answer could be, “Because He has commanded it.” However there is
much more involved than that.
God created us with the capacity…