So much of your energy may be spent maintaining your life on the surface—your physical needs, your appearance, your life experienced through your five senses. But there’s a world that lies below the surface of your life too—a part of you that can often get ignored or...
Sometimes you can tell yourself lies without even realizing it. But your life can take on a completely different perspective when you learn to tell yourself the truth. Let’s begin this New Year with a reminder of five simple affirmations that can change the way we...
There’s nothing like the suspense of anticipation. Sometimes the wait seems like it lasts forever—like a child waiting for Christmas to finally arrive. When Jesus was born that first Christmas, the world had been waiting hundreds of years. But now for all of us, the...
Every human being is born in critical condition. We’re in trouble. Our inability to personally save ourselves and get right with God leaves us completely vulnerable. Christmas begins with your need and ends with God’s love. You need a Savior—a Savior who has come to...
During our Be Rich series, our church has been mobilized toward radical generosity, acts of service and simple gestures of kindness. But it’s possible to be rich in another area that often gets neglected. In each of us lies a capacity of enormous power. It’s a power...
It’s easy to get swept downstream in the current of consumerism. In a me-oriented society, our lives can instinctively become all about us—our money, our time, our pleasure. But the one wishing to follow Jesus and walk as He walked will eventually be confronted with a...
Imagine our whole church unleashed into our community to make a difference. It’s called Be Rich. We’re taking Paul’s simple advice to Timothy and putting it into practice: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” (1...
Three decades is a long time—long enough to experience the consistent faithfulness of our God. He has been with us through every twist and turn. God continues to empower us to be influencers who can help others discover His love and grace. Today we celebrate our first...
Life is filled with the unexpected. Sometimes our plans exceed our expectations and other times we fall short as we trip and stumble along the journey. We need to leave room for both successes and failures. Our plans must always create space for God to work in ways we...
We’ve all failed. From minor mistakes to persistent sins, failure has marked our lives. The best place to turn in times of failure is to God. But sometimes turning to God about our sins just seems to magnify our moral crisis. Thus, we’d prefer to keep our distance...
It’s not unusual to find people paralyzed by doubt. But with God’s help we can go beyond where we are to where we could be. And that means our doubt can get replaced with confidence and faith. Nehemiah led the people of Jerusalem in a rebuilding project that was met...
It’s usually a good sign when we’re reaching for things that require God’s help. If we could make progress without God, then maybe we should reconsider the goal. The story of Nehemiah and the Jewish people is one of remarkable accomplishment. It all began with an...
Relationships can get strained and twisted and even broken. But a wrecked relationship is ripe for reconciliation. A reconciling community is one that creates an environment that anticipates reconnection and healing—the expectation that things can be put back right....
Relationships can get strained and twisted and even broken. But a wrecked relationship is ripe for reconciliation. A reconciling community is one that creates an environment that anticipates reconnection and healing—the expectation that things can be put back right....
Sometimes secrets are meant to be told—especially when those secrets could help us change for the better. For many people, finding courage can be a difficult assignment. But what if we all discovered the secret path to courage? Maybe it’s possible to create a...
We can be individuals to a fault—independent and self-sufficient, never needing anything from anyone and never giving anything to anyone. But we were created by God to function in community with others. You can surround yourself with people who, with you, can make a...
At some point in your childhood you were most likely asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Maybe you followed those early inklings or maybe not. Regardless of your profession, you can make a difference in the world around you. God only holds you...
We live in a selfie-centered culture. We seem to be people increasingly concerned with “likes” and “follows.” But the energy required for image management can take its toll. What if it’s not about you? What if your life is to be all about God and His desires for you?...
Take a casual survey and you might find your answer at the top of the list. What is your greatest desire in life? Common answer: “I just want to be happy.” There’s certainly nothing wrong with wanting to be happy. But maybe there are different kinds of happiness and...
Each year Easter is celebrated all over the world in all kinds of cultures. Some celebrate out of tradition or even religious ritual. Others consider the Easter Bunny to be the center-stage character in the Easter story. But of course, Easter is the celebration of the...