It might seem natural to equate spiritual health with an absence of weakness and vulnerability. Maybe it’s exactly the opposite. Sometimes power and strength are found where we least expect them. Could it be that running from weakness is actually a weakness? We become...
If we said we had a personal relationship with another person, we’d all assume, at the very least, some degree of regular, back-and-forth conversation. So how does a “personal relationship with God” work? We talk to God through prayer, but how does God talk back to...
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...
Our past marks us. Those experiences go into making us the people we are. But some of those experiences we would rather forget. Guilt, shame, and regret can carve deep gashes in our souls—permanent reminders of another life we would prefer to leave behind. But God...
Following Jesus on the path towards spiritual health sometimes leads us up mountaintops. Here, God's presence is a tangible experience, and activities like prayer, scripture reading, and worship are fulfilling. However, as we continue to follow Jesus, we will...
Spiritual health is impossible apart from discipleship. We can hardly say that, as Christians, we are spiritually healthy if we are not following the way of Jesus. The question is how do we follow Jesus in a healthy way? It is very easy for discipleship to become...
Getting to know God ranks high on the list of life’s most meaningful quests. God has revealed Himself to us. He is knowable. And we can grow to know Him in deeper and deeper ways. But our knowledge of God is always connected to the knowledge of ourselves. As we get to...
We live in an age of information overload, and the amount of information increases every day. Yet the most important information ever written is contained in one book--the Bible. The words in the Bible, God's words, give us life--spiritual life, eternal life. Jesus...
When opportunities arise and we are thrust into the spotlight, we have a choice to make. We can choose to camouflage our convictions to match our surrounding culture, or we can stand true to the people God calls us to be. Today's sermon will awaken us to the reality...
One-third of our lives are spent at work. When you consider errands, chores, hobbies, or raising children, the percentage of our lives we spend working can be significantly higher than 30 percent. Considering how much time we spend working, is there a connection...
To be spiritually healthy is to be thriving in your desire to pursue Jesus and walking in the strength of the Holy Spirit. But spiritual health is tricky. We might be so obsessed with looking good outwardly that we fail to pay attention to what’s going on inside us....
Seems like there’s plenty to be upset about in our world. We can even get personally offended by the actions and comments of others around us. Here’s a radical, relational idea: What if you can become unoffendable? That’s right—unoffendable. It’s rare but possible....
Finding the will of God is both a mystery and an adventure. Certainly, we would be short-sighted if we didn’t curiously and diligently pursue the path God wants us to walk. If Jesus is our Lord, it makes sense for us to do what He wants us to do. Can we know what He...
Saying that Jesus is Lord, implies surrendering to His will over ours. No matter how you frame it, surrender is frightening. When we surrender, we are vulnerable. When we surrender someone else determines our path and can take us where we do not want to go. Jesus...
Temptation is real. And so is the danger of making sinful choices that displease the Lord of our lives. Fortunately for our sakes, others before us have made unfortunate choices that we can learn from. While the Bible is filled with examples of success, it is just as...
When you think of the word authority, what comes to mind? You might think of someone who used their authority to control or manipulate you. If that's the case, the word authority may cause a negative reaction. But as Jesus used the authority given to him by God the...
If we grudgingly view Christ’s lordship in our lives as a threat to our freedom, we don’t understand the real freedom we’ve been given through Him. Jesus has come to make us new, literally! Through the new birth, we’ve been given a new nature and the cord to sin and...
The glory of God can seem like a confusing idea. The Bible makes a big deal of it, even making it a matter of life and death. But we tend not to think about it very much. What exactly is God’s glory? What if understanding and seeking God’s glory dramatically changes...
No one makes Christ Lord; He is Lord. So, it goes without saying that His lordship extends over the life of every person. Whether or not we acknowledge His lordship is another matter altogether. The price paid for the sins of all was a high price indeed—the death of...
Every person in every church and every pastor should never forget a singular, irreplaceable truth: Jesus is the head of the church. Jesus is first in everything. Get that priority confused and you invite the disintegration of what’s most important usually replaced by...
No other event is more central to our finding and following Jesus than His resurrection. Without it, the Christian faith is just wishful thinking. But if Christ is raised from the dead, that changes everything. Because Jesus lives so can you! You can be raised to a...