THE BLOG
Topic
- Anxiety 2
- Beauty 1
- Bible 7
- Blessings 1
- Body of Christ 1
- Burden 1
- CEO 1
- Christian Living 192
- Christlikeness 6
- Christmas 14
- Commandments 1
- Community 2
- Conflict 1
- Cults 1
- Culture 1
- DDM 1
- Death 2
- Discipleship 5
- Emotions 6
- Eternity 2
- Evangelism 7
- Faith 2
- Forgive 4
- Freedom 1
- Fusion 1
- Gambling 1
- Gather 2
- God 2
- Gospel 3
- Gratitude 2
- Hebrews 11 1
- Holiness 1
- Holy Spirit 1
- Homosexuality 1
- Humility 1
- Israel 2
- Jesus 9
- Joy 2
- King of Glory 1
- Lying 1
- Missions 3
- Outreach 1
- Pastor Jeff 1
- Perspective 2
- Prayer 8
- Psalm 119 3
- Reading 1
- Salvation 13
- Sanctification 1
- Satan 1
Gathering Matters
I recently (March 12) ran across a very interesting social media post on X by Ryan Burge. Dr. Burge is a former pastor, Professor of Practice at Washington University in St. Louis, and is a leading data analyst on religion and politics in America. He regularly takes the pulse of the church in areas like church growth and decline, the rise of “nones,” faith and voting, among other topics and writes for outlets like The New York Times, Politico and The Wall Street Journal along with his popular Substack newsletter on Graphs about Religion.
Worship is a Verb
This last Sunday we learned from Jesus that true worshipers worship the Father in spirit and truth. Worship is not about being in the right place, but it is about exalting the right Person in the right way. A.W. Tozer said, “Go to church once a week and nobody pays attention. Worship God seven days a week and you become strange!” That is no doubt true, but I’d like to alter that quote a bit: “Go to church once a week and nobody pays attention. Worship God seven days a week and you will look like a true worshiper!”
Promises Made, Promises Kept…Eventually
One of the many great blessings God gives us as His followers is: He always keeps His word. He is both a lavish promise-maker and a flawless promise-keeper (Number 23:19). He never lies, and therefore never breaks His promise…ever. In fact, it is “impossible for God to lie” (Heb. 6:18), so He calls us to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23).
How Long Should I Pray?
I have been taught all my life to pray—to keep prayer lists and to assume that the longer I pray, the more committed I must be. Prayer is a precious gift God has given us, a sacred means by which we express our utter dependence upon Him. In prayer we exalt His attributes, celebrate His works, confess and repent of our sins, and plead for His gracious intervention in our lives and in the lives of others.
Don’t Bet on It
Last week, I listened to an eye-opening episode of The Briefing by Al Mohler on The Crisis of Sports Gambling. The Briefing is a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian perspective. Each episode is between 22–25 minutes and worth listening to. I highly recommend you give this episode a listen and be aware of this growing and perilous crisis, especially among our teenage boys and young men.
A Victory That Never Expires
What a great victory all the 12s had this past Sunday as we watched and celebrated our Seahawks who received the Vince Lombardi trophy and now stand atop the football world for one unforgettable year. The victory was real (what a defense), loud (nobody’s louder than the 12s), and convincing (now we can lay to rest the ugly 2015 Super Bowl final play…we love you Marshawn)…but it was only a temporary win.
The Crisis Beneath the Crisis
Recently I was doing some research on what is often called “mental health” in the United States. I don’t love that term, mostly because it’s so broad that it can mean almost anything, but the data behind it is difficult to ignore.
The Dual Power of the Tongue
I heard someone once say, “life and death are often only a word apart.” Scripture does not treat our speech as neutral. The Bible presents the tongue as a small instrument with enormous influence and capable of healing hearts or wounding souls, of proclaiming truth or spreading destruction. In a world full of words, God calls His people to speak with reverence, restraint, wisdom, and love.
