As we look forward to the new year, we would like to take a moment and reflect on everything we talked about here on StPetersFireside.org in 2013. In case you missed any of the most read articles throughout the year, here are the 10 top posts from the past year:

10. The Slap Bet

by Michael Chase

“I don’t like surprises. I like to know exactly when things are going to happen so that I have time to prepare.”

9. Afraid To Hope

by Alastair Sterne

“True hope lays ahold of Jesus and anticipates what He will do with such great expectation that it surpasses all our smaller expectations and little hopes. We can face disappointment, we can face shattered dreams, but none of these things can rob us of our ultimate hope.”

8. How Facebook Saved My Sanity

by Julia Sterne

“I desire a village around me, in Vancouver and abroad. I hope that my family and friends and our communities across the world can point each other towards Christ in all things—even Facebook.”

7. What Is The Church?

by Alastair Sterne

“To call the church the body of Christ is not to draw attention to a society or collection of people, but it is primarily to draw attention to Christ Himself in His own being and life. The church, then, can only be understood in the death and resurrection of Jesus.”

6. The Holy Spirit Is Subtle

by Alastair Sterne

“While we may not always experience the miraculous (like superhuman strength, healings, tongues, and what not) we are always being formed and fashion by the Spirit. The Spirit is always with us, and you can rest in his abiding yet subtle presence while  hoping and asking for his mighty power to show up in tangible ways.”

5. Unproductively Uprooting The Idol of Productivity

by Julia Sterne

Okay, technically this went up in 2012 but it continued to get shared and passed around throughout 2013. “The greatest gift in the Garden was not the work given to Adam and Eve, but the presence of their loving Creator. I long for good work and productivity but even more I ache to be in the presence of my Lord, my Father, my King. I have misappropriated my gifts. Work is a good gift, but even better is the Giver.”

4. Warm Bodies: The Impossibility of Love

by Alastair Sterne

“What we need, what I need, is hope anchored in true love. In Warm Bodies, a teenage love brought a zombie back to life. A great twist on a zombie tale. A solid movie. But what about when love actually brings dead stuff back to life? Since the moment Christ stood up out of the grave, and filled up his lungs with a fresh breath of air, nothing has ever been the same.”

3. Why Millennials Are Leaving The Church: A Response

by Alastair Sterne

“In a tiring world of new, new, new, better, better, better, it should be no surprise that some are beginning to cling to the tried and true, and to the dominant way the church has worshipped for thousands of years: liturgy.”

2. Atheism Helps My Faith

by Alastair Sterne

“I have come to find that sincere dialogue can challenge our faith, but in such a way that it deepens and strengthens. Hard questions need not shake our faith apart.”

1. Listening To Young Atheists: A Response

by Alastair Sterne

“It is immoral to not share the gospel. We have received a message that reveals every square inch of the universe being renewed by God, that every fracture of your heart and soul is being mended by Jesus, and a message that sets you right with God. Regardless if people recognize it, this is what they need, not solely because it will improve their lives but because it is truth.”

St. Peter's Fireside