Olive trees are abundant on the slopes around the Mediterranean Sea. They grow slowly and form long roots. With these long roots, olive trees can absorb water from deep out of the ground, if necessary. They can also produce fruits on rocky ground. Olive trees have an extraordinary long lifespan, sometimes surviving for several centuries.

This article discusses ethical aspects of organ donation.

The word watchfullness is used quite often in the Bible. It is used by Jesus when it is concerns his return: “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.”. This article discusses some aspects around watchfulness and endurance.

This article discusses the words of Ephesians 5:16, “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

This article on Galatians 4:4 explains the counsel of God and the fulfillment of God’s promises.

This article makes a number of comments on speaking in tongues, prophesying, healing, and exorcism, and concludes with some remarks on the role of gifts in congregational life.

How does the Bible speak about confessing? This article surveys some of the biblical data, and offers up some conclusions based on the data.

This article identifies what it means for Christians to share in the sufferings of Christ, carry their cross behind him, and live a life of self-denial.

How does the Lord look at people? Some say he regards and accepts us the way we are. But the Bible offers a different reason for the love of God. God loves because of who God is.

This article discusses the “second prayer”: the prayer that usually happens after the sermon. What is striking? In that prayer the well and woe of the congregation is often raised in detail and rightly so. But when the amen of the minister is heard at the end of his prayer, you still think: Was this it? Where is the world? Where is the world church? Oh, sometimes a plane has been shot down or ISIS has been in the news — then the world enters in the prayer for a moment. But after a few Sundays the world disappears again.

What are you to do when you doubt as a child of God? This article first mentions the various kinds of doubts that can exist among God's children, then considers a passage often mentioned in this discussion, Mark 9:24. We are to go to Jesus with our doubts, and surrender to him.

What are we doing in the house of God? What are our minds busy with in worship? This article considers this matter by highlighting the action of the Lord Jesus in Mark 2:16, 17, where he shows his zeal for the house of the Lord that had been turned into a marketplace.

This article discusses the gifts of the Spirit (charismata), revealing that the scriptural category of gifts of the Spirit is much broader than that of charismatic circles today. The article also details how signs and miracles differ from these gifts.

This article considers what conflict in the church looks like, and how brotherly love should prevail instead. Direction is taken from Proverbs 6, as well as 1 John 3.

Based on Philippians 4:5 this article argues that friendliness should mark every congregation. It shows how friendliness relates to mission and self-denial.

Racism has a root somewhere, and it manifests itself in a certain way. It can also be cured. This article explains how.

A biblical way for attaining happiness is through sorrow. This article shows how through sorrow for and confession of sin happiness is gained.

What is the greatest threat facing Christians today? This article argues that consumerism is a threat to discipleship. It destroys the Christian virtue of sacrifice that is at the heart of doing good and living in communion. These two points are essential to regaining the meaning of following Jesus.