Confronting others concerning biblical/theological compromise is never easy or pleasant. Such encounters must be handled with sensitivity to the needs of others, directed by spiritual wisdom and the Scriptures, and guided by the Holy Spirit. Paul closed chapter two of...
Eternal Life: Heaven or Hell?
Many people struggle with the idea that in Christianity God is both a God of love and of justice. They believe that a loving and forgiving God who accepts people into heaven can’t also be a judging and sometimes angry God who sends others to hell. In the parable of...
Forgiveness
As God has forgiven us, we are to forgive each other. In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Jesus is teaching His disciples, and us by extension, that forgiveness should be in like proportion to the amount forgiven. The first servant had been forgiven all, and he...
A Beautiful Thing
As Jesus prepared for the cross, an unnamed woman responded to Jesus with faith in a unique way. She understood truth about Jesus that eluded other disciples and gave Jesus an extravagant gift. Let’s remember how her example teaches us to follow the Lord with faith...
Divine Authority
While Jesus entered conflict with religious leaders over his authority, he also revealed significant truth about his mission, God’s good gifts, and our responsibilities. What can Jesus’ teaching, storytelling, and confrontation with religious authorities teach us...
Life Happens
Life happens. Naomi anticipated a better life for her family in Moab but returned home with what she labeled as a bitter life following the deaths of her husband and two sons. Ruth married into a loving family but later finds herself trying to make ends meet as a...
Light of Love
Joseph must have been excited to get married but crushed when he learned his fiancée was pregnant (and he was not the father). After listening to a messenger from God, Joseph was reassured that Mary was miraculously pregnant and would fulfill God's promise by giving...
Trusting God Through Transitions
Moving from one season of life into the next may cause us to face certain challenges. Successfully transitioning through those challenging conditions or situations involves trusting that God is always with us and is moving us forward even when it doesn’t feel like it....
The Numbers
The Numbers There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under heaven – A time to be born and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what was planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to...
Connecting and Reconnecting Others
As followers of Jesus we are able to share with one another the rewards and joys of our faith as well as its demands and sorrows. In doing so, we come to experience the love and comfort of belonging to a community of believers that is as concerned for us as we are for...
A Clear Perspective In Unclear Circumstances
Experiencing hardships is a normal part of life that can cause us to focus on negative feelings and anxiously anticipate negative outcomes. Being courageous followers of Jesus Christ doesn’t exempt us from these experiences and may, in fact, be the cause of them and...
Remembering Who You Love
The twists and turns of life can sometimes feel like an assault on our confidence that God is good. Doubts can begin to surface, directing our attention away from God and negatively impacting our relationships with Jesus Christ and others. In these instances, we must...
Simple Unplugging
Our immediate access to people and information through the use of technology has become a prevailing cultural norm. What has become the normal daily consumption of input can have a numbing effect on our soul and lead to our faith gradually growing thinner and thinner...
Choose Wisely
We are accountable for the words we choose to use. As believers who have put off the old self and put on the new self, we have to make a conscious effort to move from using corrupting words to using encouraging words. Although we have lots of words and scriptures to...
Small Group/Huge Impact
Growing in Christian community is sometimes reduced to our gathering together in worship services and attending other congregational activities and events. While community growth can certainly occur in these venues, it is much more than that. Meaningful, life-changing...
Grace in the Ordinary
A right relationship with Jesus Christ manifests itself not in some extraordinary otherworldliness, but in and through our Christ-like conduct and loving human relationships in this world. It is in our conduct and relationships that we are most in need of...
New Life in Jesus Christ
Practical Christian living is built on the foundation of theological truth. Because we know that Jesus was raised from the dead, our identification with Him becomes real. This should lead us to see things from God’s perspective and to put His priorities for us into...
A Call to Action
It is great to gather as the church. But we are also told by Jesus to “go” as the church, sharing God’s word with others and making them disciples. Fulfilling the Great Commission is not an option or a suggestion. It is a command to each of us as believers to actively...
Caring for One Another
God has gifted each of us to contribute to the spiritual well-being of the body of Christ. Being good stewards of our gifts means using them to impact the lives of others. Loving one another, serving one another, accepting one another, and encouraging one another are...