“Here is what I know: you don’t get to schedule trials. You don’t get to look at your calendar and plan the most convenient time for someone to die or a pandemic to drastically change your life. When you go through trials, there is an overwhelming sense of pain. Physical or emotional, it does not really matter. It just hurts. You want it to end. The expression of pain in trials is called grief.”
Read More“The world has taken God’s plan and systematically reduced sex into something that does not come close to what God intended. We have a responsibility to lead our children into the goodness and glory of what God intended sex to be or the world will.”
Read MoreNever before in ministry have I experienced a year where the church has faced more divisive issues. We are bombarded by the discussions, and social media has only increased the noise. Everyone has an opinion. It is easy to want to retreat.
As the lead pastor and elder of Christ Church, I have not been able to retreat from the chaos of one particular issue: our church’s response to the Coronavirus.
Read MoreThis is the problem: the church has spent an inordinate amount of time discussing biblical sexuality and financial stewardship, but we rarely talk about power. People step into roles of leadership without any conversation about the stewardship of power. We should not be surprised by the slew of abuses of power that we see all over the Kingdom of God.
In marriage. In ministry leadership. In parenting. In workplaces.
We need to promote conversations about right biblical stewardship of power. We need to think about how we are stewarding power. You have power just because you are alive. Your life will impact others positively or negatively. If your faith is in Christ, then you also have the Holy Spirit in your heart…more access to power. How are you going to steward it?
Read MoreToo often we think idols are relegated to the Old Testament. We remember reading about people turning back to God and tearing down these poles or statues used to worship foreign gods. That was a picture of idolatry in that time, and that still occurs today in some parts of the world. But idolatry goes beyond that limited picture. Idolatry is alive and well in our society. Most often, idols are found in our hearts. This is what John was addressing in 1 John 5:21 when he wrote, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
Read More“Why do you read the Bible?
Do you read it begrudgingly as an activity that you feel you have to do, or do you read it with joyful anticipation because you know Who is waiting to speak with you through it? Do you read the word because it gives you some sense of accomplishment or an impression that you are acceptable to God because you perform certain activities, or do you read the word to commune with God and develop a deeper relationship with Him as the sure and secure source of your fulfillment and salvation?
Why do you read the Bible?”
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