THE BLOG
Topic
- Anxiety 2
- Beauty 1
- Bible 5
- Blessings 1
- Body of Christ 1
- Burden 1
- CEO 1
- Christian Living 127
- Christlikeness 6
- Christmas 12
- Commandments 1
- Community 1
- Conflict 1
- Cults 1
- Culture 1
- DDM 1
- Death 1
- Discipleship 5
- Emotions 4
- Eternity 2
- Evangelism 6
- Faith 2
- Forgive 2
- Freedom 1
- Fusion 1
- Gather 1
- God 2
- Gospel 2
- Gratitude 1
- Hebrews 11 1
- Holiness 1
- Holy Spirit 1
- Homosexuality 1
- Humility 1
- Israel 2
- Jesus 6
- Joy 2
- King of Glory 1
- Lying 1
- Missions 1
- Outreach 1
- Pastor Jeff 1
- Perspective 2
- Prayer 7
- Psalm 119 3
- Reading 1
- Salvation 13
- Sanctification 1
- Satan 1
- Scripture 2
The Fellowship of the Unashamed
Before my dad went home to be with the Lord, he loved to preach, share the gospel, and write. One of his favorite ways to write was composing monologues which he compiled and put into a book, Words Aptly Spoken. These monologues were designed to motivate believers to live for Christ.
Never Stop Doing 3 Things
Growing up, my parents would tell us to avoid using the words “always” or “never.” These words tended to overexaggerate what really happened and lead to a potential and needless conflict.
God doesn’t avoid using the words “never” or “always” because He knows best what needs to be carefully avoided and intentionally perpetuated in our lives.
It is interesting to read the 9 English words (or 7 Greek words) in 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 that tell us three things God wants us to always keep doing (present tense imperatives).
What’s Your G.E. Quotient
One of the ways churches want to stand out is by their culture of friendliness to newcomers. I call this the G.E. quotient, meaning our guest engagement factor.
One of the truths and experiences we hold dear as believers is how God designed us as relational people who find great joy in all the various relationships He blesses us with: marriage, family, siblings, friends, neighbors, classmates, teammates, gym partners, work colleagues, affinity groups, church family, AND meeting those who are new to our church.
What Your Trials Are and Are Not
I saw the following posted by Owen Strachan (provost and research professor of theology at Grace Theological Seminary) and it is worth sharing:
Your trials, Christian, aren’t accidents unplanned by God, spiraling out of His control.
Your trials aren’t attacks— God hating you and making you pay with bitter resentment.
Your trials aren’t mere allowances of God, occurrences He oversees but aren’t really from Him.
Your trials are God’s appointments in which He uses real pain and difficulty to
Keep the New in View
How many times did you hear the words “Happy New Year” this past week? Most likely more than a few times. It is part of our annual tradition of ringing in a New Year and there is always something enticing about new things: new opportunities, new friends, new energy, new experiences, new blessings, a new year. The word “new” is often used to highlight things that are fresh, updated, or improved. It is used by marketers to bait us into wanting things that are “new and improved.” God uses the word “new” and its derivatives to teach and motivate us about the best and ultimate kind of new which never needs an update or improvement, but only a regular application of its fresh dynamic in our lives.
Why Read the Bible
There are many reasons to make a commitment to read your Bible regularly, and there’s no better time to start than at the beginning of a new year.
God is all-knowing, all-wise, all-truth, and all-good, so what He says is authoritative, accurate, supernatural, sufficient, and indispensable for our lives. Here are just a few of the many benefits of reading God’s Word:
Christmas Quotes
Three of my favorite quotes around Christmas time are the following. Take a moment and let them sink in, especially the third one.
A Savior in 16 Words
Which part of Christmas causes you to think about your great need of a deliverance? The decorations? Gifts? Songs? Lights? Food? Parties? Maybe the family traditions?
Christmas American-style is not designed to highlight our need for deliverance, but our wants for lesser things and this can cause you and me to miss one of the central truths of God’s Christmas story: deliverance.
