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
Be Faithful Unto Death
“Be faithful unto death.” These are the words that jump out of the four verse assessment Jesus gave to the church in Smyrna (Rev. 2:10). In the midst of vicious slander and persecution for refusing to swear verbal allegiance to Caesar as Lord and willing to be social outcasts in the face of all the gods and goddesses that dominated every aspect of life, Jesus says just stay faithful to the end.
Go or Stay?
This last Thursday morning, Kim and I, along with most of our family, attended our daughter Annie’s graduation from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. It was an emotional time for Mom and Dad to watch our last child walk across the stage to receive her diploma. We felt the joy of her four-year achievement mixed with the tears of seeing her ready to begin a new season of life as a young adult and face the rough and tough world where she wants to make a difference. And then, the president of GCU, Brian Mueller stepped up to the podium and challenged all the freshly-minted graduates to do what God has called us all to do: “Go” and not “stay.” His words not only inspired the graduates, but they motivated me as a parent, grandparent, and disciple of Jesus Christ.
He Is Risen!
He is risen! What an incredible weekend with our Church family!
We had a wonderful Good Friday service focused on the thief on the cross. We had over 100 kids participate in our “Flapjack Feast” and hear the story of the resurrection in our children’s ministry. And over 1000 people attended our Easter services hearing the gospel preached alongside a fantastic time of praise!
Jesus Saves us From our Enemies (Matthew 27-28; John 19-20)
Family Worship Card: Jesus Saves us From our Enemies Matthew 27-28; John 19-20
Think Deeply About the Cross
Take a moment and read through some very profound words about the incomparable cross work of Jesus Christ.
“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:18
“Come, and see the victories of the cross. Christ’s wounds are thy healings, His agonies thy repose, His conflicts thy conquests, His groans thy songs, His pains thine ease, His shame thy glory, His death thy life, His sufferings thy salvation.” Matthew Henry (1662–1714)
“There is no tribunal so magnificent, no throne so stately, no show of triumph so distinguished, no chariot so elevated, as is the cross on which Christ hath subdued death and the devil.” John Calvin (1509–1564)
Who Do We Boast In?
On Sunday, we sang, “I will not boast in anything–no gifts, no power, no wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.”
The gospel leaves us unable to boast about anything that we can do, but in awe of Jesus Christ so that all we can say is “praise God!”
In 1 Timothy 1:15–16, Paul said,