The Banner

Earlier this year we were standing in the eating area of prison block Number 4 at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

What the story of Uriah and Bathsheba tells me is that none of our stories is lost to God. There is a reckoning for Uriah and Bathsheba. God has not forgotten what happened to them, not in 3,000 years. And God does not forget your story either.

In sparse, rhyming verse, author Carole Boston Weatherford relates for children the story of John Newton’s life and why he wrote the renowned hymn “Amazing Grace.”

Dumplin’ endears while it explores body image, loyalty, grief, and tricky mother-daughter relationships.

In a letter to the Prime Minister of Canada, member churches of the Canadian Council of Churches requested that Canada sign on to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

As a Christian university with strong ties to the Christian Reformed Church, The King’s University in Edmonton, Alta., had conversations this fall and winter with churches questioning its choice to operate without explicit positional statements on marriage and sexuality.

Against the backdrop of glittering white twinkle lights strung along the living room walls and quiet piano music played by a pianist I’d hired the day before, the painful story spilled forth. 

Can you imagine an entire church, congregation, or denomination “doing” discipleship?

This picture book highlights the glory and goodness of God’s creation and the love Saint Francis poured out on all creatures.

The burden of guilt and shame caused Sokolov to carry his story of being the “tattooist of Auschwitz” in secrecy for 50 years.

In 1907, a man named Leo Baekeland made a discovery that changed our world forever.

Self-denial is at the heart of Christian calling. How different this is from popular conceptions of calling!

As a lifelong member of the Christian Reformed Church, I grew up hearing two very different narratives.

In Philadelphia, a design competition called Sacred Places/Civic Spaces wanted to show how three houses of worship could be redesigned to realize their potential for both congregational and community programming.

A “Big Night of Worship,” gathering up to 200 teens from six Chicago-area congregations, is one of the ways a youth ministry champion is energizing youth ministry in his classis. 

In October, as part of an ongoing partnership, a team from New Hope Fellowship Christian Reformed Church in Monroe, Wash., visited an orphanage under construction in southern India. The partnership began because of the persistent plea of one teenage girl requesting help.

In this accessible, inspiring book, author John Ortberg contrasts two ways of thinking about Jesus’ gospel.

Monsters and Men is a small indie film that tries to dig deep into big topics.

When we reject God and follow our own purposes, ugliness results. These ugly stories hold up a mirror to show us how sin looks

Busy. Overwhelmed. Chaotic. These are the words I most often hear when I ask people to describe today’s families. Because of this busyness and the shifts in society and parenting, churches everywhere are seeing a decline in both attendance and engagement from young families.

When Dmitry heard a radio message that touched him, he decided to write a message of thanks to the program’s producers in Russia. He didn’t expect the conversation to go any further.

Millennials may find this album resonates with the common challenges of their generation, particularly around authenticity and love.