THE BLOG
Topic
- Anxiety 2
- Beauty 1
- Bible 7
- Blessings 1
- Body of Christ 1
- Burden 1
- CEO 1
- Christian Living 191
- Christlikeness 6
- Christmas 14
- Commandments 1
- Community 1
- 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
- Gather 1
- 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
- Scripture 3
Work On Your Hate Life
I’m sure the title of this note sounds a bit odd, if not outrageous. But I would submit to you that God commands us to hate and we don’t often think about it. He said, “Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9).
To state the obvious about how most human minds and emotions work, it is easy to hate the evil that others do, but it is much harder to hate the evil we do. In fact, we often play it down and call our evil a weak moment or just a mistake, or worst of all, “I’m only human.”
Do Your Best
Mediocrity seems to be the norm these days. Let’s do enough just to get by at home, at work, in relationships, and even in our walk with God. But while mediocrity may suffice for those living only for the moment, it is totally incompatible with a life devoted to the eternal.
The Word Became Flesh and Attended a Wedding
On Sunday we looked at Jesus’ first sign to manifest His glory in John 2. One element that I wished I was able to spend more time on was Jesus’ humanity.
John starts his Gospel with some of the highest Christology in the Bible: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1, ESV). But then, shockingly in v14 he says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
The Beauty of Christ’s All-Sufficient Merit: Why Grace Changes Everything for the Weary Soul
We live in a world that constantly attempts to measure worth by achievement, success, and perfection. People are obsessed with earning—earning approval, earning success, earning acceptance and love. Yet it always seems just out of reach. Many of us fall into the trap of thinking we must somehow earn God’s favor, and we’ve become weary from shouldering a burden we were never meant to carry.
Understanding Our Mission Field
Researchers Ryan P. Burge (associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University) and Tony Jones (theologian and outdoorsman) revealed some key takeaways about the American Religious Landscape and The Nones Project. Here are some things we can learn about our mission field.
Practice Your Dual Citizenship
It is always good to remember that as Christians, we are dual citizens. First and foremost, we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven (Philippians 3:20). Secondly, we are citizens of the kingdom of this world, and in our case, Americans. Jesus reminded us that we have a duty to both:
Disappointment
Just in case you didn’t notice, something happened this past Monday night that struck the hearts of so many Seattle Mariners fans, fair-weather fans included. It was disappointment, and it hit hard. We missed our dream of reaching the World Series.
Salvation for the President?
This interchange went viral Monday (October 12) when President Trump was interviewed by White House journalist Peter Doocy on Air Force One.
PETER DOOCY: "You talked about how you hoped to end the war in Ukraine because it might help you get into heaven. How does this help? Does this help?"
The Light Shines in Darkness
Did you know a single candle can be seen from over a mile away in total darkness? In 2015, astronomers Krisciunas and Carona found its light visible up to 1.6 miles — and under perfect conditions, even farther. Physics tells us light is measurable energy, but darkness isn’t a “thing” at all — it’s merely the absence of light. As one of our Life Group members said last week, “We have flashlights, but there’s no such thing as flash-darks.”